Starting the project was very exciting as I had never used a sewing machine before or really worked with any sort of fabric. The entire assignment was interesting because it didn’t seem like it would take too long, but I ended up spending way too much trying to simply set up or fix the sewing machines when the thread would suddenly be out of the needle, or the bobbin would not catch the needled thread. I’ll go into the details as I go through my process.

Measurements and Design on Pattern:

 

The first step was to take measurements and decide on the type of fabric I intended to use. Cris took my measurements for me and I wrote them down on a piece of paper. These dimensions seemed correct, but as I drew it onto the pattern itself, the apron looked huge.

 

 

I also might not have cut pattern paper straight so that was another problem that I could have avoided. The new measurements were kinda taken by eye and I tried to make a center line and create equidistant points on to ensure the apron would be symmetrical. After cutting the pattern paper,  it was time to get to the fabric.

 

Cutting and Pinning Fabric: 

Let me start by saying, I did not enjoy that pizza cutter looking blade. It would not cut the first time and I would have to go over it again, giving me many frayed edges. After that ordeal, I pinned the pattern onto the fabric and used scissors to cut any excess edges and especially the curved part of the apron. Again as I never really did this before, I learned from Cris how to properly pin the fabric to the pattern because I kept poking myself with the needles.

 

 

Sewing:

Now came the “fun” part, I guess. My hands were surprisingly steady and I learned how to lightly press on the foot pedal to have a controlled and straight stitch. Before even starting to stitch, the thread got stuck onto the hook (the step before the thread is inserted into the needle). After that was done, I also forgot to put down the presser foot, which led to a lot of thread pieces just coming out and not sewing. But after these issues were fixed, I had a great time sewing the apron. It was incredibly smooth and I had straight lines for the most part. The curved portion of the apron did cause an issue where I cut the fabric too close to the intended fold, resulting in a very slim margin. I messed up on one side of the curve and made a decision to manually remove all the thread on the curve (which took a good 30 minutes) and re-do the stitching. I am glad I did that though. For the most part, I did remember to reverse stitch when starting but there were a few times where I forgot that.

Straps and Pockets:

After the main apron part was finished, I came another day to cut out straps and make two pockets that could easily fit my phone and other things. The pocket was pretty easy to cut out and then I stitched the pocket alone before pinning it to the apron. I did forget to reverse stitch on one side of the pocket but I am proud to say I stitched the entire pocket without cutting the thread. Going to the straps, I did not want a box stitch on the straps by my neck because it would have ruined the look of the apron. So I rolled the material over twice, and then stitched it from the back part of the apron. For the side straps, I did not intend to initially do a box stitch either, but I committed and tried to do it.

Unfortunately, I did not do it correctly because I stopped the machine at the wrong place, resulting in a perpendicular line that did not start from the corner. As I ruined it on one side, I wanted it to be at least even on both sides, so I made a smaller box instead of what the original plan was. I guess it’s still a box stitch of some sorts. I also closed the edges of the side straps to make it cleaner.

 

 

Reflection: Something that I wish I had done would be to fold in the frayed edges of the main apron body. I realized that after I finished everything. Also, for the box stitch, I did not do a good job on the actual apron, but tried it on a different fabric portion for practice and that one turned out a lot more like what a box stitch pattern should look like.

Overall, I would totally use a sewing machine again because it was fun and relaxing. The only downside would be the prep part which is actually taking the measurements and cutting the fabric. Because of all the machine errors I faced, I learned how each part operated, especially with the bobbin.

Cost Analysis:

Assuming I don’t own a sewing machine, the cost analysis is as follows:

Singer Sewing Machine = $85

Spool of thread = ~ $3

Fabric = $7/yd

Labor ($15/hour) = $75 for 5 hours

The total average cost would be $170.