Making the Apron

Prior to ENGI 210, I had no sewing experience, so I was pretty nervous to even begin with this assignment.

To start, though, I went ahead and roughly sketched out the intended dimensions for the apron cut, based on the beginner instructions. I wanted to trace out a rectangle, and then cut out triangles to make the apron shape:

With the help of Luke, a TA, I was able to find a decently-sized piece of pattern paper. However, the paper was quite wrinkled so that the rectangle came out 22″ on one end but 25″ on the other. Making do with the situation, I decided that the 22″ would be the top, so that the apron flares out a little on the bottom, rather than flaring out up top. Following the instructions on measuring the straps, I finally had my cut fabric for the base of the apron and the straps:

After taking some time to set up the sewing machine and practicing a double-folded seam I saw on this previous ENGI 210 blog, I stitched the seams of the apron, starting from the bottom and working my way up:

I noticed that the connection between the “arm” and “torso” of the apron were a bit loose, so I went back over them like so:

Finally, I attempted to sew on the straps using box stitches. I had trouble maneuvering the fabric to make these stitches. I got the straps onto the apron, but I think I could have practice this stitch beforehand to make them better:

Once all the straps were on the apron, I realized I could fold in the loose ends of the waist straps to hide frayed edges, and I did so by mimicking the double-folded seam on the body of the apron like so:

And finally, the basic apron was done!

 

Reflection

As briefly mentioned before, if I could back and do another apron, I would acquire good pattern paper so that the pattern comes out as intended. I also would practice straighter stitches overall, with a focus on mastering the box stitch.

 

Cost Estimate

1 yd red fabric: $5

1 yd strap material: $5

Thread: negligible

Labor (4 hr, $13/hr): $52

Total: $62