day 1
Sewing has always been a skill that I wanted to learn but never found the motivation to try– and I was intimidated of the sewing machine. I was excited to start this project because it gave me the push I needed to try my hand at sewing. I’ve also been in the market for an apron, but found that the ones available at retail stores were too expensive. I figured that making my own custom-made apron would be worth investing in and so I decided to buy my own patterned fabric. I created a board on Pintrest with some ideas that I like and opted for a neutral-tone, simple-styled apron.
Day 2
I went to a specialty fabric store in Rice Village and was surprised to see how expensive the fabrics were… I wanted to find something a bit more budget-friendly and so I stopped by good ole Hobby Lobby. Luckily, they were having a 40% off sale for all fabrics! Seeing the selection was overwhelming, but I ultimately chose a striped pattern, canvas-like fabric which I thought would be hardy enough for an apron.
Day 3
I wanted to break up the project into components so it would be easier for me to tackle:
- Measure, cut, and create paper templates of all the components (body, neck strap, waist straps, center pocket)
- Cut fabric using paper templates
- Sew each individual component
- Pin pocket to the apron
- Sew and assemble all of the components
- Clean up apron and discard loose threads
On Day 3 I completed steps 1 and 2. When I cut the paper templates, I laid them onto the fabric and attached them using painter’s tape. This allowed for the template to stay put while I cut the fabric. My apron measurements are as followed:
Apron Body: 36″ x 15″
Center Pocket: 13″ x 9″
Neck Strap: 26″ x 4″
Waist Straps: 33″ x 4″ 
Day 4
The next day I was ready to start sewing all of my individual components. I chose a beige-colored thread in order to make my stitches match the theme of my neutral apron. I’m grateful that we went through the process of setting up the sewing machine and refilling the bobbin in class because I was able to comfortably do both without too much trouble. My biggest difficulty, funny enough, was inserting the thread through the needle’s eye. I would try for 10-15 minutes straight with no success and at times I felt like I couldn’t even focus on the needle long enough to see where the eye was… I found that the best way to help my vision focus was to look elsewhere and honestly just take a breath haha. Eventually I got the hang of threading the needle and the hand movements became second nature.
I sewed boxed stitches at the end of my waist straps so they were reinforced. I did a double stitch on all of my start and end stitches to make sure they were securely joined. At the end of Day 4, I completed my tasks of sewing the neck and waist straps and pinning the pocket to the apron body. 
Day 5
On Day 5 I assembled all of my individual components together. I started by sewing the pocket into place and sewing a line down the middle of the pocket so that I could create a double pocket– a pocket for my pens and a pocket for my phone. After securing my pocket to the apron body, I worked on the seams of the upper part of my apron. I folded the edges over twice, pressed the fabric with the flat edge from a pair of scissors, and sewed the seams. It was difficult to sew the seams because it required a steady hand to guide the small width of fabric. Once the upper seams were done, I attached the waist straps and the neck straps, reinforcing them with double stitches. The last bit of sewing was just sewing the bottom seam of the apron. I did a double fold, similar to the upper seam, and secured the seam. After discarding any loose threads, I successfully sewed my own apron! I’m honestly very proud of my apron, despite some of the seams being uneven, but nonetheless! I now had my very own hand-made apron! 
Cost analysis
Materials
Fabric: $9.99/yd x 1.25 yd x 40% OFF = $7.24
Thread: $3.90/1200 yd x 2yd = ~$0.01
Total Material Cost: $7.25
Labor
Buying Fabric = 1 hr
Measuring/Cutting Components = 1.5 hr
Sewing = 4 hr
Total Labor Cost: 6.5 hr x $7.25 = $47.13
Overhead: $5.00/hr x 2 hrs = $10.00 (watching tutorials, troubleshooting videos, inspiration gathering)
APRON TOTAL = $64.38
