Whether you are cooking a feast indoors, or hosting a barbeque outdoors, you know preparation is vital. In addition to getting the necessary ingredients for your dishes, you’ll also need the proper apparatuses. Depending on the extent of your food preparation, you’ll also want to practice good hygiene. To do this effectively, make sure your clothes are properly guarded from the inevitable mess. Wearing an apron is an easy, yet very efficient way, to minimize clutter and spillage while cooking.

If you don’t think wearing an apron is necessary, you’d be mistaken. No matter what sort of preparation you are conducting within your space, it is a key piece of clothing to wear. From making a spaghetti sauce, to working on batter for cakes, mess is bound to affect your attire. Aprons protect your clothes through and through. At times, an apron can even be a stylish fashion accessory, especially if you order embroidered aprons that are custom designed to your liking.

Even if you just want to make a specific dish on the fly, you are better off wearing one. The more you mitigate wastage occupying your clothes, the less time you can spend on cleaning up. Plus, most aprons come in different themes and colours to match your preferred style!

How exactly does one wear this superpowered piece of clothing? Here are the five different ways on how to wear an apron in the kitchen:

1. Wearing the apron over the neck

Another way on how to wear an apron is over the neck. To begin tying your apron, there is the most commonly-used option of the neck loop. This involves placing the bib area of the apron just below your collar bone. The bib is the top portion of your apron, and this placement helps with the overall adjustment. Make sure you don’t place it too high, however.

You’ll want to place the bib at a level that is proportionate to your chest. Keeping it too low, in addition, will have your shirt exposed to potential spillage. Once the bib is in place, tie a knot in a loop at the back of your neck. This helps to let the bib hang in the front, depending on how you adjusted it.

How to loop the apron

Once the preliminary work is done with creating the loop, you’ll have to next thread it through a closure. After it has been thread through the apron’s closure, continue to position the bib accordingly. When you have found your preferred position, tie the remaining loose end around the loop and onto itself.

If your neck loop warrants it, cut the neck loop in half at the midway point. Again, you’ll want to position the bib again, and then tie the two strings in a final knot behind your neck. For this method to completely work, just ensure that you can take the apron off, before cutting the strings.

2. Wearing the apron in the front

Wearing an apron over the neck is one of two common ways in which you can wear one. The second popular method is wearing it in front. First, ensure you have the neck loop organized as you would in the first method. Once it is on, the apron should be worn in front of your body.

There are two ways to go about this option, once you have it on. Should the apron hang below your knees, you can hem it accordingly, to match your frame. Or, if you are pressed for time, fold some of the apron up, before you start the tying process.

How to tie the apron knot

After the apron is being worn in a frontward-facing fashion, grab the ties. Bring the ties behind you, and then switch your hands to grab the opposite end of the other tie. Next, bring the ties to your front once more. The ties here should then be appropriately tied into a knot.

The resulting knot can be tied in a way that is preferred, such as a shoelace knot. No matter what sort of knot you create, make sure that it isn’t tied too tightly. The knot should be made in a way that it can be released easily, once you tug on a respective tie.

3. Wearing the apron behind the back

One final method to use when wearing an apron is tying it behind your back. The apron’s strings should be brought together behind you, and then tied together. To ensure that the knot is adequately tightened, pull the ties together before you start the knot.

Remember, it is key to not make the knot so tight, to the point of suffocation. Finally, test the knot’s strength; aim for a modest balance here. You don’t want it so loose that it falls off during cooking, after all!

Tying an apron may seem simple enough, but it can definitely initially throw you off. It all lies with how you want the knot to be worn. For simple dish preparations, wearing it in front or behind your back should suffice. In a hurry, however? Use the over the neck method and you are good to go!