Intro
This was the first time I had ever used a sewing machine. In fact, before this project, I had never sewn anything by hand. This apron took me a long time to complete as the machine kept breaking, and I didn’t understand how to fix it, and no video seemed to address my issues. It took me many attempts to learn how to remove a sewn piece of fabric from the machine without breaking the thread and having to thread the needle again and fix the bobbin because the thread was too short.
Preparations
I decided to make a more custom curve for my apron as I did not understand how difficult it would be to sew. However, I cut the thread by starting off with a piece of paper. By utilizing the symmetry found in an apron, I only cut the paper to a form that I liked and fit one-half of my body. Once I had this piece of paper ready, I folded the fabric in half and traced it by cutting it with the paper, working as my guide. Once unfolded, it was the correct form that I wanted.
This is how the cut piece of fabric looked, and once unfolded, it looked like an apron. Once this was ready, I began to hem the apron.
Procedure
I began sewing with the only machine that had a thread on it. Although the first line, which I hemmed, gave me no issue, when I tried to rotate the apron, the thread broke. This is where I learned that I should treat every edge I will hem as a separate sewing operation instead of trying to do a continuous operation. However, when trying to remove the apron, the sewing machine jammed. I didn’t understand why it had jammed, and when I would try to follow along a video, it wouldn’t be helpful, and I couldn’t understand why. I moved to a different sewing machine, which again allowed me to hem one edge; however, when attempting to remove the apron, it got jammed and did not work for the next edge. Again, I couldn’t solve how to fix it. I would ask some friends who understood sewing machines more than me to help. However, they were confused as well, mostly because in my attempt to fix the machine, I would worsen the situation, which confused them when observing the machine. The other sewing machines had no thread anywhere; however, I couldn’t properly prepare the bobbin of the machine to work, and they simply did not let me sew. At this point, I had essentially given up and left for the day, deciding to come back during the week when a lab tech would be here and could help me fix the machine.
When I would try to sew, the machine kept jamming, and the thread kept breaking. It was only after many trials and lots of pain that I realized it was because of the way I was holding the fabric. I was breaking the thread from both ends, which would then make the thread in the bobbin too short, and after trying to keep sewing, the other thread would jam the bobbin. Finally, I understood what proper technique looked like, and after taking over 4 hours for every edge, I was able to finish the box stitches for the straps in under 1 hour. This was because, using the machine properly, it barely jammed. The box stitches are not the best; however, after so much pain of not understanding how to work the machine, I am proud that I was able to learn and make them.
Clean Workspace
Here is my clean workspace
Improvements for the future
My apron does not have a clean hem on the edges. I think the biggest improvement I could make in the future is now that I understand how to work the machine properly, redo them, and cut the fabric more evenly to make it easier to have shorter hems that leave out less fabric. The one thing I would still need to improve on here is making clean hems in the edges that are not straight.
Cost breakdown
Total cost: $134.06
12 hrs of labor – $120 dollars at $10/hr (this feels fair as this is what I am paid in my other jobs)
green fabric – $1.99 (https://www.michaels.com/product/solid-cotton-fabric-by-loops-threads-10411672?michaelsStore=9444&inv=4)
1 spool of white thread – $2 (https://www.michaels.com/product/coats-clark-dual-duty-xp-all-purpose-thread-10557642?michaelsStore=5804&inv=3)
Cotton twill tape – $10.07 (https://www.michaels.com/product/wrights-twill-tape-5x3yd-384631359179997217)
Conclusion
I think this project broke my soul more than any engineering project ever has. I had never sewn, and it really showed in my technique and struggles. Unlike other engineering projects, it wasn’t something I felt comfortable doing, and because of that, I struggled more. It’s something I didn’t understand, which made me take a lot longer than I would have hoped for. I am happy that by the end, I feel a lot more comfortable sewing, and I feel confident that I will not break any machine I touch in such a way that it took a lab assistant an hour to fix. If I ever need to sew my clothes now, I feel comfortable doing so.
