Introduction
One week ago from today, Amelia and I set out to do the impossible: Create two perfect aprons for the world to marvel at. And BOY do I have news for you…we did just that. Even more impressive is that both of us have not sewed before. Here documented is my journey in creating one of the two beautiful aprons.
Starting off this project, I was genuinely nervous that I would not be able to do this project well. Like I said before, I had never sewed before and this unfamiliarity was scary for me. BUT, I carried on and I’m definitely glad I did. Amelia and I arrived at the OEDK, pulled open our laptops, and read the instructions. Being completely honest, the project document wasn’t the most helpful, but there was a link to a previous student’s post that gave us much insight on the steps for this project.
First Step: Designing Apron
Starting with the large measurements, I got my fabric from the fabric bin (Animal Crossing hehe) and set it aside. I then took butcher paper and first measured out the length of the apron. While thinking about the width, I realized that the width of the butcher paper was less than the width I needed for my apron. I solved this by cutting two sheets of paper of the correct length, then taping the length sides together to create a singular sheet of paper with the correct length and more than the needed width of my apron. Following this, I used a ruler to measure out the correct width of the apron, as well as made marks of where I wanted to cut the edges leading up to the apron. Once all these lines and marks had been drawn, I used a pizza paper cutter to cut the paper.
After I had my outline, I laid the butcher paper cutout onto my fabric rectangle. I then traced on the fabric the outline of the paper using chalk. Once this was completed, I took the paper off and cut the outline on my fabric, ending up with a general shape for my apron. This is where I realized my first mistake. The general dimensions of the large size that I had originally cut to were too big for me, which was apparent when I held the cutout up to my body. So, I had to repeat the process of measuring length and width and angles, keeping my body’s dimensions in mind. After the second time of doing this, I was satisfied with the dimensions of the apron.
Second Step: Pinning and Sewing Edges
Next came the most annoying part of the process: pinning the sides. Essentially, I had to fold in twice each of the edges and pin them to each other so then I could sew the overlapping folds so that there is a straight edge along each of the angles/sides on the apron. The pinning was SO ANNOYING!!! Not to mention that I did it wrong. Instead of pushing the pin through the layers of fabric and then bringing it back up, I just left it pushed through, so then I had to go through all the pins again and complete the pin structure. That was a little mess up, but a quick fix.
Finally, I got to sewing. The machine’s pedal was a little finicky, but it worked. I made quick work of sewing the edges, carefully taking out the pins as I got to them (because I can’t sew through them). Finally, when I finished the edges, I was ready to start on the neck and waist straps.
Third Step: Neck and Waist Straps
The neck strap was an easy cut, but looking at my final result, I think I would have stitched the ends of the strap to the apron a little closer to the top so that it wouldn’t naturally crease down whenever I wear it. But, I cut the strap based on where I wanted the apron to hang. Then, I cut two waist straps whose length was the same as the width of the apron. This is where I made my final mistake. Whenever I would try to sew on the machine, the bobbin string would not make the loop around the needle string. It frustrated me, until I realized that the bobbin itself was not seated properly on the sewing machine. Once this fix was made, I quickly stitched all the box stitches I needed for the neck and waist straps.
Reflections
And there we had it! I had the perfect apron, not to mention Amelia completed hers too! In retrospect, I had a great time doing this project and it was a different experience for me, a different kind of thinking. I think next time I did this, I would take more care to measure my body properly. I would also use a pizza cutter to cut out my fabric to get more clean lines to begin with. Finally, I would set the string tension a little higher so that my stitches were tighter.
Cost Estimate
- $15/hr for 5 hours: $75
- 1 yd. Of Animal Crossing Fabric for $13 a yard: $13
- 5 ft Nylon Strap Material for 5 cents an inch: $3
- 3 yd. Sewing thread (Red and Blue) at $3.30 for 400 yards: 3 cents
Total Cost: $91.03
