Step One

Grab a piece of paper and pencil to jot down measurements. Using a measuring tape, measure your waistline and subtract 4 inches for the closure.

Measure your bustline (breastline) at the fullest part of your bust, which should pass under your armpits. Measure from your shoulder to your waist, noting where that measurement crosses your bustline. If you have a full bust, it’s best if this measurement falls in the center of one breast. Measure from your waistline through your center bust (cleavage) to about 2″ above your bustline. If you have a lot of cleavage, you might want this measurement taller. Measure from that center/cleavage line to that shoulder to waist line and write that down. From the shoulder to waist line, measure to your armpit. All of these measurements help determine the height and width of the sweetheart neckline, as well as the taper from the front to back. Keep in mind that the apron bib will have a ruffle trim along the sweetheart neckline. If you’re wearing this apron as the Annabelle costume, you’ll have a white shirt underneath.

Measure from your armpit to your waistline, so the apron can taper down without making you uncomfortable. If you don’t want ruffle touching your armpit, shift that armpit measurement down 2″.

Measure from about 4″ down from one shoulder, around your neck and 4″ down the next shoulder. This is for the neck straps. These will be adjustable, so it’s better for them to be too long than not long enough.

Measure from your waistline to your knee or mid-thigh. This is for the skirt part of the apron. If you aren’t using this apron for a costume, mid-thigh is good. For Annabelle, she isn’t actually wearing an apron, so that sweetheart neckline is part of her dress. I chose knee length, so it was long enough to blend into the petticoat, but not a trip hazard. Add 2″ to the length for a hem. If you have a larger waist, you’ll have 2-3 skirt panels. I only used one skirt panel for my daughter. I’d probably need 2 panels for myself.

Step Two

On a big sheet of paper (I use the backside of cheap wrapping paper) with a pencil and clear ruler, lets plot out some of these measurements to create an apron bib pattern. This pattern will be cut on a fold, which makes this project easier. Draw a long line for half of the waistline. This is where all of our vertical measurements will intersect. Draw that center bust line at one end of the waistline. Mark the vertical shoulder to waist line, at the measurement from the center bust to the shoulder to waist. Mark the armpit line, at the measurement from shoulder to waist to the armpit, but 2″-3″ down to accommodate that ruffle. Draw curved lines between the top points, to create the sweetheart neckline in front and taper in the back. I could only draw straight lines on the computer.

For my apron, I estimated her waistline and bustline, as she was at school. The front segments are 4″ apart. I adjusted all the plotted measurements as I curved the shape.

Here are my measurements:

• Half waistline – 12″
• Center bust – 6″
• Waist to shoulder – 8″
• Armpit – 4″
• Armpit to back is 6″

Add 1/2″ seam allowance around all of the pattern sides.

Step Three

Please adjust waist measurements and piece amounts as needed. From these materials, draft or trace and cut the following. These measurements are all written as Width by Height.

White Cotton

• Apron Bib – Using pattern, cut two
• Bust Ruffle – 44″ x 5″ – Cut 2 – For a fuller bust, you may need more ruffle strips
• Neck Closure – 12″ x 3″ and 20″ x 3″ – Cut one of each
• Skirt – 44″ x 24″ – Cut 1

Red Cotton

• Waistband – 22″ x 3″ – Cut 2
• Waist Closure – 4″ x 3″ and 16″ x 3″ – Cut 2
• Flower – 45″ x 6″ – Cut 1

Structure

• Waistband – 22″ by 3″ – Cut 2
• Neck Closure – 12″ x 3″ and 20″ x 3″ – Cut one of each
• Waist Closure – 4″ x 3″ and 16″ x 3″ – Cut 2

Stabilize

• Apron Bib – Using pattern, cut two. In this project, I used Structure, but Stabilize would have been better for the apron bib
• Bust Ruffle – 44″ x 5″ – Cut 2
• Flower – 45″ x 6″ – Cut 1

Smooth

• Circle – 6″ Diameter – This is likely bigger than needed, but it’s better to have too much than not enough

Step Four

Match up the interfacings with their fabric pieces. Set up the ironing board. Set the iron to cotton with steam. For the Structure, use a pressing cloth or parchment paper, to prevent the iron from sticking to the interfacing. This isn’t necessary for the Smooth and Stabilize interfacings. Press the interfacing and fabrics together. I like to start with the fabric on top of the interfacing, so insure the are no wrinkles. Then, flip over the fused layers and press them on the back for the best adhesion. You may find that not using steam is better than steam for your fabric.

Step Five

Load the sewing machine with white thread. Match two short ends of the bust ruffle and straight stitch them together 1/4″ from the edge. Fold the connected strips lengthwise, so that seam will become encased and pin in place if desired. Length the sew machine’s stitch length for basting. Straight stitch down the strips lengthwise, 1/4″ from the raw edge. I stop midway, lift up the needle, pull the thread for excess, and finish stitching. I hand gathered the strip, in which that middle section is helpful in being able to pull gently from two sides and make the ruffle even.

Alternatively, use a ruffling foot on your sewing machine. It’s much faster.

Pin the ruffle along the sweetheart neckline of one apron bib. Machine baste stitch 1/4″ from the edge. This stitching will be hidden later, which is why it should be narrower than the final seam.

Step Six

Time to make all the tie closures. For each tie piece, fold in one short side 1/4″, fold the piece in half lengthwise, and fold in the long edges 1/4″. Pin in place. Lengthen the sewing machine stitch to 3.5″. Use white thread for the white ties and red thread for the red ties. Top stitch around the 3 folded sides, 1/8″ from the edges.

Step Seven

Slip 2 D-Rings on each short tie piece. Fold in the stitched short end and pin in place to help with sewing. Add a zipper foot for easier sewing. Straight stitch with a matching thread, 1/4″ from the previous sewn edge. Make three full passes to make this stitch line stronger. Place the set of red ties aside after sewing.

Step Eight

Line up the two apron bib pieces right sides facing. Put the ties between those layers, at the top of each heart half. The ties should be pointed downward with the raw edges all together. Pin all of the layers together. Straight stitch around the bib top 1/2″ from the edge. Trim the excess fabric from the heart center point, making sure not to cut through the final seam stitching. Turn the bib right side out, shaping the heart. In white, topstitch around seam, to keep the layers flat.

Step Nine

Lay 1/4″ red grosgrain ribbon along the sweetheart neckline, pinning in place. With red, machine sew along the ribbon middle.

Step Ten

At the ironing board, fold twice and iron the apron skirt side and bottom edges. At the sewing machine, with white thread, topstitch those folds into place.

Step Eleven

Extend the stitch length on the sewing machine. Baste stitch along the apron skirt top, 1/4″ from the edge. Hand gather the apron skirt until it’s 1″ smaller than the waistband. Alternatively, you can use a ruffler foot. Line up the waistband and apron skirt, right sides facing. With red thread, machine stitch 1/2″ from the edge.

Step Twelve

Line up the two waistband pieces with the apron bib. Make sure the waistband front and apron bib front are facing each other. I didn’t put interfacing on my waistband back, so it didn’t matter which side faced the apron back. I folded the apron bib ruffle ends down to become encased in the seam. Pin these layers together. With red thread, machine straight stitch the seam 1/2″ from the edge.

Step Thirteen

Fold in the waistband back edges to cover the apron skirt gathering stitching. Pin in place. Fold in the short ends, insert the red tie raw ends, and pin in place. With red thread, machine topstitch the layers together.

Step Fourteen

Fold the flower rectangle in half. Fold in all raw edges 1/4″. I hand basted and gathered the flower along the folded sides, with red thread and a hand sewing needle. This could be done on a sewing machine. Spiral the ruffle onto the red circle, radiating from the center outwards. Hand tack the ruffle into a spiraled flower shape. Cut away any excess circle fabric.

Step Fifteen

Hand sew the flower along the circle, to the right front of the apron.

Step Sixteen

To complete this costume, I layered the apron over a white long sleeve t-shirt, and thrifted wedding gown petticoat. In the movies, Annabelle is wearing a dress, which would be difficult to construct. By breaking her dress down into separate parts; a shirt, skirt and apron; I was able to replicate her costume. A bonus would be wearing a turtleneck long sleeve shirt, but that’s not something we have on hand. For the photos, I didn’t have her wear shoes, but black mary jane style shoes would work well.

Step Seventeen

I braided my daughter’s hair into two long braids. Annabelle has two red bows at her braid ends, which we forgot. I used an image of Annabelle as a guide for makeup, keeping my daughter’s face shape in mind.