The Process

Over the past week, I have been working to create my very own apron! I had an idea of what I wanted to accomplish, and though it has been some time since I last touched a sewing machine, I wanted to challenge myself to add some pockets and a creative decorative aspect to my piece. Overall, I found this process to be rather therapeutic, and even in the troubleshooting stages, coming out the back end having solved problems as they arose added to the satisfaction I felt as I held up my finished apron. Here is the play-by-play…

I started by selecting the color palette, looking to match our black sheets to a complementary fabric. Ultimately, I went with solid blue and white and grey-blue geometric patterned fabrics for the straps and pockets. After gathering my chosen fabrics, I used the dimension table provided in the homework instructions to measure out the main apron cut out on the black fabric. I was able to fold over the excess edges and hold the apron up to myself to determine its fit, and repeated this process after adjusting the dimensions accordingly. I left about 1″ extra to my measured dimensions to account for ~1/2″ seams I planned to add, and used fabric scissors to cut my black fabric into its shape.

After removing the excess fabric, I folded over the edges of the apron to make for ~1/2 inch seams and sewing around the perimeter of the apron. I made sure to use light blue thread to match the rest of my color scheme.

I then moved to cutting fabric for my straps out of the white and grey/blue patterned scrap I found. I measured long rectangles (1/2 waist long, 10 cm tall) and used fabric chalk to mark the edges. Using fabric scissors, I cut out the shapes. I folded each long edge to midline, then folded it once more to make double-folded strips. Using the sewing machine, I sewed close to the open edges to secure the strips, followed by a box stitch at one end of two of the strips (these would later be my waist ties). I took the third strip (the one without the box stitches), and attached it to the lateral edge of the top of my apron with a box stitch. After securing the one end, I held my apron up to my body and looped the neck strap around the back of my neck to determine the appropriate length for the strap. I used fabric chalk to mark off the desired length of the strap, added about 1″ to the length (which I would use for the box stitch), and cut off the excess strap length. I then secured the free end of the neck strap on the opposite lateral edge of the top of the apron with another box stitch. Since I free-handed this part, the boxes came out different in size. I wish I created a template or marked out a perfect 0.5″ x 0.5″ box with chalk prior stitching my box stitches.

Next, I attached the side straps to the apron by overhanging 1″ of the strap to the inside of the apron. I positioned these straps just below the end of the taper of the apron and secured them with box stitches.

Moving onto the pockets, I opted for a design that entailed one long attachment that would be compartmentalized using vertical stitches. I figured this approach would maximize pocket space and take less time. I measured out on the blue fabric a large rectangle that was the same width as my apron (hoping that after taking in the margins, it would be slightly shorter than the apron). I eyeballed the height of the rectangle I wanted for the pockets, and added 1″, again, for the margin seams I planned to sew. After drawing the perimeter of the large rectangle with fabric chalk and cutting out the shape using fabric scissors, I folded over the top and sides with ~0.25″ seams and sewed in the middle of the fold. To secure the bottom edge to the apron, I oriented it inside out with the bottom edge pointing superiorly towards top of the apron. My goal was to sew the bottom edge to the black fabric (top of the pocket faced inferiorly) and flip up the pocket piece after securing the bottom edge. I then followed by sewing the edges of the pockets to the apron, leaving the top open to function as a pocket.

After adding this bottom panel, I felt there was an visual imbalance to the apron. I decided to add one more accessory pocket to the top of the apron, which gave me the opportunity to do something fun from a design standpoint. I freehanded a pocket shape on the blue fabric, adding ~0.5″ to all dimensions to account for thin seam margins. After cutting the shape out with fabric scissors, I folded over all the edges and sewed a thin margin. I should have done this in a continuous fashion instead of intermittently like I had done (this was the case for all pieces).

For some extra pizzazz, I freehanded a flower design on the white and grey/blue patterned fabric with chalk, and cut it out with fabric scissors. Additionally, with the solid blue fabric, I cut out a small blue circle that would be positioned in the center of the flower cut out.

I sewed the circle onto the flower (the turns were very difficult on the sewing machine and required frequent repositioning), then the flower onto the small blue pocket piece. After this, I placed the assembled pocket on the apron and measured an equal distance from the edge of the pocket to the lateral edge of the apron on both size to ensure proper positioning. After securing this position, I used the sewing machine to attached the sides and bottom edges of the pocket to the black fabric. This, I did continuously, and made my life a lot easier.

I am so happy with my apron! With four pockets, I can comfortably fit my phone, tools, and other belongings as I work in the OEDK. Lots of learning and a degree of personal growth having done this exercise, and I am grateful for this experience.

Before leaving the OEDK, I made my sure my workspace was clean and ready for the next person to follow. Below are my workspaces after sweeping away scrap fabric and loose threads.

Reflection

As previously mentioned, I learned a lot throughout this exercise. Mr. Bobbin and I became good friends after initial struggled with each other. Once I figured him out, I found that most of my problems arose after cutting the string after sewing with too much tension, as this caused the needle thread to bounce and unhook from the machine at slot “4”. I would often have to restring the top of the machine each time this happened before I realize my troubles could be solved by cutting the string on less tension.

There were a couple other things I will look to implement the next time I use a sewing machine. These include continuous stitching when possible, actually finding and using pins to secure my fabric pieces, and exploring other stitches (there are prettier options).

Cost Estimate

Materials

• 1 yd black fabric: $4.99
• 1/4 yd solid blue fabric: $0.99
• 1/4 yd white and grey/blue patterned fabric: $0.99
• 7 yd thread: $0.14

Time/Labor

• 4 hours at $15/hour: $60

Overhead

• Estimate: $20

Total: $87.11

As I gain experience, the quality will increase, and production costs will drop as the time required to make it shortens.