The Process:
I have done sewing for a crafting club that I was part of during middle school, so I do have some brief experience in sewing by hand but not by machine. To start the project, I made a brief sketch with the dimensions of the apron that I will be making. I used the dimensions given at first but also made some adjustments according to other apron designs online.
I used the black fabric given for the majority of the apron and found some long strips of material that were suitable for the straps from the scrap box. I taped paper on to the fabric and drew the pattern that I previously sketched in my notebook on the paper with correct measurements and using T-squares and meter sticks. After making sure to also mark the extra 1/2″ all around for the seams, I cut out the fabric according to the pattern.
I was really nervous before I started using the sewing machine on the final product, so I did a lot of practice on scraps before starting on the seams. To prepare the fabric for the seams, I first measured 1/2″ off all the edges and pinned them inwards. When sewing, I made sure to align the edge of the fabric to edge of the presser foot to produce a straighter stitch while making sure to also take away the pins before each one came too close to the presser foot.
After finishing all the seams and cutting off the remainder threads, I moved on to making the straps. First, I worked on making the neck strap. After wrapping it around my neck and deciding that the length should be 22″, I cut the fabric as 22″ by 2″ so that there was enough room for me to hide the edges by a fold at the back side of the strap. I used the same process of pinning and then sewing, but there was a section where the stitch failed to hide the edges of the fabric due to how this fabric was thicker and had different qualities than the black, given fabric. To solve that, I did another trail of stitches, making the neck strap lined with three rows of stitches. I also realized that the threading of fabric is really loose, which results in many loose threads in the back after hiding the edges there.
With this experience with the new fabric, I did the waist straps a different way. I cut them as 29″ by 3″ each so there was more room to do a double fold to hide the edges of the fabric completely. I still did the ends of these waist straps with a single fold, since a double fold like the edges would make the fabric fold 4 times, something that is too thick for the sewing machines (after testing multiple times).
I also practiced the box stiches multiple times before doing them officially. Starting with the neck strap, I realized that one box stitch was significantly larger than the other one, so I did a smaller rectangle inside the bigger one and a bigger rectangle outside of the smaller one to balance them out. The waist straps were more successful so no adjustments were needed. I also switched the bottom strings to black as well since I didn’t like how the white bottom strings turned out in the neck strap.
Even though it took many practices on scrap material, the learning process was fun and the outcome was successful! Here’s some pictures of the final apron:
Cost estimates:
- 1 yard of black fabric: $7.95
- extra fabric for straps: about $3
- threads: about $0.50
- labor of about 6hrs: $13/hr * 6hrs = $78
*All prices checked from Amazon, labor priced checked from Indeed.
Total $89.45
(Costs might be high due to time spent on practicing, so labor price should decrease significantly after this first product)
