Hello Everyone!
The past week I used a sowing machine for the first time to make my apron. I started off the process by looking at the instructions and using the recommended dimensions to sketch out the design of my apron. I then proceeded to transfer the design to paper and made a pattern.
Once the pattern was made I pinned it to the fabric and cut out the apron. I decided to buy my own fabric and used the provided fabric as lining. I placed the lining on the backside of the denim fabric I bought and folded the denim edges over, I then secured it all in place temporarily for sowing by ironing them in place. Then I proceeded to use the industrial sowing machine to sow the boarders. Once the boarders were sown, I measured and cut pieces of black twill tape to use for the neck piece and side straps. I folded over the edges of all the twill tape pieces and sowed them to avoid fraying and to make it more aesthetically pleasing. Once the edges of each of the twill tape pieces were secured, I sowed them to the apron using box stitching to make the neck and side pieces.
| Cost Type | Cost | Price | Source | Quantity | Total |
| Materials | Fabric | $13.19 | Joann.com | 0.5yds | $6.60 |
| Thread | $1.64/400yds | Joann.com | 10yds | $0.02 | |
| Zippers, Clips, etc… | $4.99/yd | Joann.com | 2 yds | $9.98 | |
| Labor | Sewing Operator | $15/hr | Ziprecruiter
Paper and Stitch |
.17 hr | $2.55 |
| Prototyping Engineer (You!) | $36/hr | Ziprecruiter | 1hr | $36 | |
| Overhead | Facility Cost (Machine Time)
Initial Prototyping |
$22/day | Fat Llama | 3.17hr | $8.72 |
| Quality Control | $21/hr | Ziprecruiter | 0.08 | $1.68 | |
| Design | Engineering and Development | $47 | Ziprecruiter | 1hr | $47 |
| Iterations | $15/hr | Ziprecruiter | 1 hr | $6.10 | |
| Misc. | Waste and Scrap | 15% | Business Waste | $2.73 | |
| Total | $121.38 |
Based on the calculation above a single apron after designing and prototyping has been taken care of would cost approximately $21.29. The bulk of these cost is due to materials and could be brought down by procuring them from a wholesaler instead of Joanns.
With regards to some of the cost I decided to base the prototyping engineer, engineering and development and iterations on how long it took me to do this. However, it took me much more time to sow the apron but I assumed based on the article I found that a proficient person would take approximately 10 minutes to make one. I also assumed that a skilled seamstress would do QC and based that off the higher salary in the pay scale and that it would take them less time to check a piece than make one.
