For this project, I worked alone to produce a simple apron. This project was the first time I ever got to work with sewing, so while certainly a challenge for me, it turn out to be pretty fun to experience in the end.

phase 1: fabric Choice and template Creation

The fabric I decided to choose for was the Animal Crossing fabric due to my interest in the series. It also worked as a neat pattern for an apron overall.

 

To start with the measurements of the apron, I utilized the chart for the small apron, so I drew a pattern with a pen that would match these measurements. The overall length of the apron was 32″, and I estimated the other dimensions. The top length was 5″ and the bottom length 14″, and the second height was 21.5″. It was here where, in hindsight, I made a mistake, as I forgot about the waistband measurements. For my size, it would have been 22″, so ideally the 14″ estimate should have been 11″. I also added a 1″ seam tolerance for the side of the apron to create two 1/2″ folds when sewing.

Finally, the template was cut out with some scissors.

Phase 2: Cutting out and trimming apron

After creating my template, I placed it over the fabric. The full length edge was placed on the fold of the fabric so that when cut, the two sides would be even. The fabric was cut with some scissors, which proved to be a bit challenging as some force was needed to cut it, and it made it difficult to follow the template exactly. If possible, utilizing a dedicated fabric cutter would have helps in making the process more efficient and cuts cleaner.

In this phase is when I recalled the measurement for the waistband, so in order to get to that measurement, I had to cut excess fabric from the cut apron. To do this, I used a ruler to cut out at a spot 12″ from the ruler, keeping in mind the 1″ seam tolerance of the edges. Thus, the apron was left trimmed to more accurate measurements for the project. Once again, utilizing the scissors proved difficult and not the neatest.

Phase 3: sewing edges

The next phase of the project involved sewing the length edges of the apron. To do this, we would need to approach the sewing machine. For my project, I utilized the Brother VX-1435 sewing machine. Before making any seams on the apron, scrap fabric from my cuts was used to practice. An error that I can improve on is to next time use matching thread color, as I haphazardly grabbed the available thread on a bobbin that I could find.

To start, I had to use pins to pin down the edges I worked on so that the fabric held in place when it went through the machine. This proved difficult sometimes as I had to see which side I had to have the pin bulb be in so I did not cause a disruption when sewing. There were issues as well with the tension on the sewing machine, as the top thread kept snapping. The issue was discovered to be that it was loaded incorrectly, as it did not follow the guide of the top diagram on the sewing machine.

After getting accustomed to the sewing machine, I created my first seem on the short top edge of the apron. Some practice would be needed, as something I struggled with was using the reverse stitching method, as when reversing on my stitches, it was hard to match what I worked on prior. From there, I seemed another edge to create a corner over the top edge, and then sewed the remaining edges. Another challenge I noted when sewing was how to neatly cut excess thread from a sew. During the process, some thread strings clumped together, and overall made the seems appear not neat.

Phase 4: sewing the straps

The next phase dealt with sewing the neck and waist traps of the apron. For the neck strap, I simulated how it would be when wearing the apron, and cut the length with an extra 3″ as recommended by the instructions. For the waist straps, I measured my waist to be around 28″, so I cut two straps length of 29″ to allow 1″ of tolerance for the strap edge to fold over when being sewed.

The first strap to be sowed was the neck strap. Two challenges of note were that it was very challenging to work with the thiner straps that were available, and that my curved cut of the apron made it much more difficult to attach the neck strap. In the future, it would help to use thicker straps and have a design with straight edges.

For the sticking itself, a bog-pattern stitch was attempted to connect the ends of the strap to the apron. The use of pivoting was smooth and helpful, but the difficulty was once again working with much smaller straps.

For the waist straps, another box pattern stitch was used to sew the ends of the straps. This again reflected the challenge of working with the smaller straps, and so the stitching became messy unfortunately. During this process, I also ran out of the thread used in the bobbin, so I had to grab another spooled thread, which lead to a mismatch in color.

Phase 5: coMPLETION

With all the straps attached to the apron, the last process to do was to cut and trim any excess thread from stitches. It was very difficult to trim those around the straps due to their size, but I tried the best I could.

With the trimming done, the apron is complete!

When I fitted the apron on, there were no issues from what I saw personally, so I had no adjustments to make for the fitting of it.

 

PHASE 6: REFLECTION and COST ESTIMATE

My overall experience with the apron project was a challenging, but an interesting experience. I got to work with a new skill, and while I may not be the most proficient with it, I felt I was able to complete a fair product. Getting to use the sewing machine was pretty neat, and if in the future I feel more interested, I would certainly look into sewing as a skill to further practice.

If I were to repeat this project, I would certainly plan things much better in regards to time, design, and material choice. With the time I had left, many steps felt rushed or not well planned, so with more time, I would be able to design an apron that would be much neater with more accurate measurements. Furthermore, tool choice would be much better. Instead of scissors, I could have made cleaner cuts with a rotating cutter for fabric. For material choice, I would make sure to be consistent with the use of yarn of matching or coherent colors, and utilizing larger straps would have mitigated a lot of issues with stitching the strap, and neater ends would have been present.

The following is an estimated cost of the apron:

• 1 yard of Animal Crossing fabric: $12.99
• White embroidery thread: $0.00145273/yd (Amazon) x 25 yard approximate =  $0.03
• Lavender thread: $0.00145273/yd (Amazon) x 25 yard approximate =  $0.03
• Yellow thread: $0.00145273/yd (Amazon) x 15 yard approximate = $0.02
• Cotton strapping: $1.998/yd (Amazon) x 3 yard approximate = $5.99
• Labor: $14/hr  (national average for a sewer) x 7 hours = $98

 

The estimated cost of my apron is $117.06. To lower the cost of the apron, more efficient use of time would reduce labor costs, and to potentially use a different fabric as fabric with licensed products (such as Animal Crossing) would cost more than a traditional pattern.