For the first project in ENGI 210, I learned how to use a sewing machine and sewed my own workshop apron. The body of the apron is made up of one long piece of fabric and, instead of having separate straps for the neck and sides, I created one long adjustable neck and side strap. As this was my first time sewing, I was able to learn a lot and really enjoyed my experience.
My Process
Due to my complete inexperience with sewing, I decided to utilize the “beginner” level assignment in the ENGI 210 textbook. Additionally, I utilized this YouTube video to help create my adjustable neck and side strap.
The first step to creating my apron was figuring out the dimensions that I was going to cut the fabric (Figure 1). Drawing inspiration from both the dimensions in our textbook and the dimensions from the video, I decided to make the apron 38 inches tall and 28 inches wide at the bottom. For the top, I measured 6 inches from the edge of each side and 10 inches down on either side. By connecting these marks, I was able to make my apron more angled at the top. Additionally, based off of the video, I wrote down how much I would fold over the sides and how long I would need my adjustable strap to be.
Figure 1. Apron Dimensions
After figuring out the dimensions that I wanted, I created a sketch of the apron on the masking paper and cut out the outline so that I could use it to cut out my fabric (Figure 2). However, when I aligned the masking paper on my body, I realized that I needed to add about an inch on the bottom so that the apron was as long as I desired. With this revision in mind, I taped the masking paper to the fabric and began tracing the masking paper outline onto the fabric, keeping in mind the additional length that I needed at the bottom. After tracing my outline, I was ready to cut out my fabric with the fabric cutter.
Figure 2. Masking Paper Outline for Apron
Although I initially had trouble due to the fabric’s length, I was eventually able to cut out my fabric (Figure 3). After cutting out my fabric, I began hemming the edges according to the folding size that I had written down prior. I started with the top and both horizontal sides, pinning just the top and bottom after one fold and then pinning the entire side down after the second fold. Since my fabric cuts were not the most even, I decided to match all the folds to the ruler, so that even if some areas were more or less folded, they apron would have an even edge in theory. After pinning down the top and sides, I was ready to start sewing.
Figure 3. Initial Fabric Cut-Out of Apron
For this project, I utilized both the Singer Tradition model (Figure 4) and the Singer Heavy Duty model (Figure 5) found at the OEDK. Initially, I started with the Singer Tradition since it had a nice yellow thread attached to it that I thought would look nice with my blue fabric. After a couple stitches, I switched to the Heavy Duty model since I was having issues with the Tradition model. After a little help from Rachel, I was able to thread the bobbin with the same yellow thread and finish my sewing on the heavy duty model.
Figure 4. Singer Tradition Model
Figure 5. Singer Heavy-Duty Model
Initially, I had planned on folding the fabric twice so that the rugged edges with the cut threads would be inside the fold and invisible even from the back of the apron. However, after attempting to hold the folds in with just pins, I realized that the video that I was drawing inspiration used a iron to press the first fold down and then used the sewing machine to sew the second fold in. Since I did not have access to an iron (nor do I know how to use one), I just folded the sides once to the total length of my original planned folds. For the top, I sewed the hemming twice since it was a longer fold but for the bottom and the horizontal sides, I only sewed the edges once. Even though the diagonal sides were a longer fold, I only sewed the edges once since I would need the gap to be big enough for the strap to move through. After hemming all of the edges, I was ready to create the strap.
For the adjustable strap, I drew inspiration from the YouTube video and measured one long strap of 145 inches. After making sure that the length of the strap would be enough, I cut out the strap and was ready to sew the box stitches onto the edges. After folding over the strap 1 inch on each side, I sewed the box stitches on each side and my straps were ready to be inserted into the apron. Using a clothespin, I was able to push the strap through the gap on the right diagonal side and then bring it around through the inside of the left diagonal side.
After my strap was inserted into the apron, I called my apron complete (Figure 6 and 7) and went to try it on. Since this was my first experience with sewing after having seen my parents sew my entire life, I felt extremely accomplished, especially because I was able to create a more unique apron than the directions required by making mine with adjustable straps.
Figure 6. Front View of Complete Apron
Figure 7. Back View of Complete Apron
Areas for Improvement
The majority of areas of improvement come from my lack of experience with the sewing process. If I were to go back and do this project again, I think I would have spent more time messing around with the sewing machine on scrap fabric so that I could get a better handle of sewing on fabric. Additionally, I would have started my project earlier so that I would have had more time to go slowly and make sure every part of the process was conducted thoroughly.
My first minor issue occurred when I was trying to cut out my fabric. Due to my inexperience with fabric cutters, or perhaps the fabric cutter was becoming dull, I did not realize that I had to run over the cutter several times. This led to some uneven cuts on my fabric that I would later try to address with folding to varying degrees of success.
My first major issue was when I started hemming the edges. In the YouTube video that I was referencing, the directions said to fold the fabric around 1/4 inch twice to hem the edges. When I tried folding twice, the first fold would not stay and the fabric kept unfolding, even with pins. I realized that the tutorial used an iron to press down the first fold, which I was unable to do. As such, I decided to just do one fold of the same length as the two smaller folds combined. However, due to my inexperience with sewing, even this fold was sometimes a little too small and I struggled to sew the hemming in a straight line. This especially occurred on the long horizontal sides of the apron, as the fabric would bunch together on the sewing machine and become slanted. I think I should have cut my fabric to a bigger size so that I would have had more room to fold for the hemming and I think I should have practiced sewing in a straight line on fabric more prior to starting on my apron.
My other main issue that I had was with the box stitching on the straps. When I did my first box-stitch, it came out a little uneven but it was good enough. However, during my second box-stitch, I tried correcting my mistakes from the first one and ended up overcorrecting and making an uneven box-stitch. I ended up having to cut off the box-stitch and do another one, which was still a little uneven but usable. In hindsight, I definitely should have practiced box-stitching, since mine ended up a little lopsided and took a lot of time since I hand-cranked the sewing machine instead of using the foot pedal.
Cost Analysis
For this analysis, I will be looking at the costs for: fabric, masking paper, strap fabric, thread, tool costs (scissors, fabric cutter, rulers, sewing machines), and the cost of my personal time.
For the fabric, the Joann website said that a yard of the blue fabric that I used is $9.09. Due to the size of my apron, I will say that I used about one full order of the blue fabric. For the masking paper roll, I found one from Lowe’s that looks like the one we used for $5.48. Approximating about 40 inches of use, the total for the masking paper came out to be around 10 cents. For the cotton strapping, I found that one yard is around $2.30 and, since I used 4 yards, the total for me would be $9.20. For the thread, I found on the Joann website that a roll of 400 yards costs $2.99. Although I used an infinitesimal amount compared to how much you get, I will give a generous estimate of about 5 cents. Since scissors and rulers are common household items, I will not count those in my cost analysis. However, since fabric cutters are not as common, I will include their cost which I found was around $10.00. For the sewing machines, I found that the Singer Traditional was around $90.00 and the Heavy Duty was around $200.00. Finally, the cost of my time will be compared to my job as a Design Mentor, so around $10.00 per hour. Since I spent around 4 hours on this apron, the cost of my personal time is then $40.00.
Overall, the cost of the apron is $358.44, however, if we discount tool costs, it comes out to $58.44.
