Planning

The apron project was a fun learning experience as I only had experience sewing quilts so this took some more brain power and planning. Initially I choose a black and whitish arrow pattern fabric that I liked and I worked with Sara to measure and layout the outline of our aprons on paper. We chose to do the large measurement of 36 inches and a 26 inches long waistband. I decided to increase the angle at the top of the apron to give it more of an apron shape and make it more comfortable to wear afterwards.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sewing

I pinned in all of the edges of the my apron with a 1/2 inch seam allowance and sewed that into the apron with the OEDK Singer sewing machines. For the straps, I attempted to sew them at the top and sides with box stitches for stability. I also sewed two pockets onto the lower half of the apron by first sewing in the hems and sewing all the edges except the top opening onto my apron. I was experimenting a lot with the size of the pockets because I wanted them to be able to hold my phone. However, I think I ended up underestimating how much sewing in the hems of the fabric took and made it slightly shorter than i wanted.

Improvements

I wish I had made my pockets taller to securely put my phone in while keeping the compact size. I also thought it would be nice to make my apron double sided and add some unique patterns to it if I get another opportunity. I would also clean up some of my stitching, especially on the box stitches and the pockets.

Cost Estimates

I spent about 5 hours on this apron. I found that the average labor cost for a sewing machine operator was around $13 and $15 for a custom sewer or tailor. Since this apron can be considered custom sewed, the total labor cost multiplying 5 hours by $15 would be $75. I used about 1 yd2 for the apron fabric and about 70 inches for the straps. The fabric cost around $10/yd and $3/yd for the straps and $3 for a thread roll would amount to $18.82 for the material cost of the apron. Without taking into account the sewing machines at the OEDK, the overall cost of the apron with labor and material cost would be $93.82.