Hi everyone! Today I am going to introduce my minimalist design apron.

Background:

This is definitely my first time using the sewing machine. My only previous experience with fabrics might be sewing buttons on the shirts. Therefore, using sewing machine is a very challenging while exciting experience for me as I am completely not familiar with any of the structures.

Design inspirations:

I am a person who is really fond of simplicity. As a result, my apron would be consisted of only one color which is the theme color of my college Duncan. For its function, I would like it to have one place where I can store my small personal belonging like ID cards or cell phones. I would also like to use black threads for the upper part and white thread for the lower part as black and white are also colors of simplicity.

Sewing Part 1:

The first step is to cut out the pattern paper. I used a mixed dimensions of M and L aprons to determine the basic sizes of my own apron.

Then, I used fabric scissors to cut the shape of the pattern on the dark green fabric. Finally, I folded the unprocessed edges in and sew the edges for the first time. When putting it onto my body, I found that the top edges of the apron is too wide for me. Although I cut the fabric with the instructions (1.5 inches), I discovered that it is not ideal for my own body. In the meantime, I also found that the green fabric provided is a little too thin for me. Therefore, in order to shorten the length of the upper edge, instead of cutting the original part, I folded the edges with quadruple layers so that it can be thicker and firmer.

Sewing Part 2:

The second part is to sew the straps onto the apron. For the upper loop around the neck, I measured the length by trying different lengths using the only the safety pins for connection. As there were only thin straps left, in order to make a box stitch, I have to sew a piece of fabric to add on the box stitch.

After finishing 2 pieces of connection fabric, I sewed the box stitches on the neck straps.

After the processing like that, the strap would be firmer and more beautiful.

Sewing Part 3:

The final part would be sewing the pocket on. The primary function of the pocket was to put my hands or my phone. As a result, I measured the size of the pocket using the 1.5 times size of my phone. The sewing process of the pocket was much more delicate than the main part of the apron as it is much smaller and needed to be sewed on the very edge of the pocket.

Finally, the pocket was fully sewed and I used a triangular stitch on the sides of the pocket to finish it.

Successes and failures

Successes:

The pocket is well done. Although the seams are very delicate and difficult to sew (for beginners like me), I still managed to sew it carefully and most of them were in a very good condition.

The apron has a very good overall shape and the symmetry is perfect.

Failures:

At first I was having some trouble using the sewing machine. The most difficult part for me might be controlling the tension when sewing on different thickness of fabrics. Finding the correct amount of tension is a very time-consuming activity, as it is different to sew on 1, 2 or 4 layers of fabric. The thread would snap itself if tension is too high, so that the bobbin and upper threads need to be redone again and again, which had wasted a lot of time for me.

For the apron, some minor corners of the seams are not perfectly done. The edges of the box stitch are a little bit disconnected. The threads and seams in the inner face of the apron are not very perfect.

Estimated Costs:

For a 60” piece of fabric, accourding to Amazon, (Fabric by the Yard), it is about $5.

For the thread, the normal price of the thread is about $5 for 150 yards.

For the strap, the normal price of poly strapping is about $9.10 for 10 yards. I used about 1 yard, which is $0.91.

For the work I done, the normal price would be $15. For 5 hours of my work, it would be $75.

Total cost: 5+5+0.91+75=$85.91