After a brief chance to mess around with a sewing machine in class, Mina and I decided to put our skills to the test and create something of use: an apron. Each of us set out to create an apron that could protect us and our clothing from the various debris we would encounter in the OEDK over the course of the semester and the rest of our time at Rice. Having little sewing experience, we both decided to pursue the “beginner” option. Our mission: to create a simple apron using a pattern based on our own measurements. 

Creating a Custom Sized Pattern 

I based my initial pattern off of the “small” measurements given in the assignment document, which were 22” for the width and 32” for the length. Once I traced the pattern with those dimensions, I cut it out and held it up to my body to get a sense of how the apron would fit.

Initial reactions: the apron looked like a massive box on me. I knew that all the dimensions would end up being slightly smaller because of folding over the edges, but I definitely needed to take some inches off. The upper portion was much wider than my shoulders, even accounting for losing some width from folding the seams over. I carefully took material away from the upper corners until I had a size I was satisfied with. 

Cutting and Pinning

After creating a pattern, I taped it to the fabric I intended to use for my apron, traced it, and cut out my apron fabric. I then double-folded over the seams about an inch and pinned the edges. I tried to keep the edges about finger width, as that was a measurement that I could easily test for and confirm. 

Sewing!

Now we get to the meat of the project: the actual sewing! My sewing went relatively smoothly, although the placement of pins I used made it slightly difficult to remove them as I sewed. I tried my best to keep the stitch a uniform distance away from the edge by lining the foot up with the inside edge of my folded over fabric. As I was sewing, the thread came out of the top needle, so I had to rethread it, like I had learned in class.

Adding straps

After the main part of my apron was complete, it was time to add the straps. To make the straps, I held the apron up to my body and determined how long I needed the neck strap to be so that the apron fit correctly on my body. For the waist straps, I cut two pieces the size of the width of my apron. I attached the straps using a box stitch, which was a little difficult for me due to the precision the technique required. It was hard to sew the small increments because the control I had over the speed of the sewing machine was not great. However, I did manage to attach my straps securely and as cleanly as I could. 

Takeaways:

By creating my apron, I gained more confidence in my sewing skills, and feel like I could tackle a more complicated sewing project if the situation arose. If I were to do this project again, I think I would practice the box stitch more, and make sure to use a sewing machine that had finer pedal control.