Hi!!

This is my first time sewing an apron from scratch, and let me tell you it was quite the adventure! From designing to finishing, the process had its ups and downs (including a few dramatic battles with the sewing machine), but in the end, I loved every bit of it. Although I had learned to knit and hand sew before, sewing with a machine was completely new domain for me.

Like a creative soul, I began by falling down a Pinterest rabbit hole. I wanted my apron to be well-fitted, functional, and most importantly to have pockets (because let’s be honest, everything is better with pockets). The next big debate: joint pockets or side ones? After some serious deliberation (and possibly too much time spent analyzing apron aesthetics), I decided joint pockets looked best.

I chose a black fabric for the apron and canvas for the straps. But I also wanted the pockets to stand out a little. Just as I was wondering what to do, I found a small piece of fabric that caught my eye and thought, why not use this for contrast? A little happy accident turned into a fun design choice!

To start, I used 1.5 yards of fabric, folding it lengthwise as shown in the figure below.

Once the layout was ready, it was time to tackle the side seams. I started by folding the edges ½ inch inwards so they’d be neatly hidden, then planned to fold them once more to give the seams a cleaner finish. To keep everything in place, I first used ball pins only to quickly realize that removing them while sewing felt like an unnecessary battle. So, in a moment of innovation (or frustration), I swapped them out for tape instead. The tape worked surprisingly well as a guiding point for the seams, making the process much smoother.

For the stitching, I kept it simple a straight line with a stitch length of 0.5, tension set at 2, and a stitch width of 2. (Basically, I was aiming for precision without complicating things!)

Next, it was time to prep the straps. First, I measured out the length needed; 6 inches for the neck strap (with ½ an inch folded in and 1 inch for the box stitch) and 5 inches for the waist straps. Simple enough, right? Well, not exactly.

Holding the canvas in place while stitching turned out to be trickier than expected. Pins and tape? Useless. No matter what I tried, the folds refused to stay put. Eventually, through a lot of persistence (and a lot of repeated sewing), the folds finally settled into place.

Since the canvas was on the thinner side, making it stiff was another challenge. To solve this, I reinforced it with a box stitch before attaching it to the apron. Originally, I planned to make just four box stitches but somewhere along the way, that number doubled. First, I stitched four on the canvas, and then another four while securing it to the apron. (At this point, I just accepted that my apron was getting some extra durability!)

     This is how the box stitch turned out:

Time for some pockets! I followed the same routine as before folding the seams inwards and stitching them up before attaching them to the apron. Once that was done, I placed the pocket on the apron and gave it a few test taps (because that’s the best way to see if it “feels right”).

After securing the vertical sides and bottom with stitches, I took a step back to admire my work… and realized the pocket was massive!!! Instead of undoing everything, I decided to get creative. To make it more practical (and a little more fun), I transformed the oversized pocket into a three-section design one large pocket in the center and two smaller ones on consecutively next to each other.  More storage, more organization, and way more apron personality! Yayy!

With everything finally stitched together and trimming the frayed ends, I let out a sigh of relief, my apron was complete!! I couldn’t believe I had actually pulled it off from start to finish. Excited about my creation, I immediately showed it to a friend. And to make the moment even more fun, he decided to try it on too! Safe to say, my apron had its first test run, and it passed with flying colors.

The final finished product:

This is my cleaned workspace after:

Reflections on my Apron Project: What started as a simple sewing project quickly turned into a fun challenge full of trial, error, and creative fixes. From stubborn folds to oversized pockets, every step had its own little surprise.

Pins failed me, tape barely helped, and my fabric seemed to have a mind of its own but somehow, everything came together. Turning a giant pocket into a three-section design? Unplanned but worked in my favor. Adding extra stitches everywhere? Maybe unnecessary, but at least it’s durable!

In the end, I didn’t just make an apron, I stitched together a whole new learning experience. And watching my friend try it on? The perfect finishing touch.

Cost Analysis:

Fabric : 4ft x 2ft = $10 (Amazon)

Straps : 40 inches = $10 (Amazon)

Thread : All purpose sewing polyester thread = $ 0.99 (Hobby Lobby)

Tapes : $3 (Michaels)

The total cost of the materials would be $33.