When I touched the fabrics and the sewing machine in OEDK, my childhood memories woke up. Before I went to elementary school, my grandma often brought me to the clothes factory she worked in. I took many naps on piles of clothes in the hyptonizing humming of sewing machines. Although I was surrounded by those machines, my grandparents never let me touch one. This is my first time sewing, and I chose the beginner-level task of making an apron. 

First, I measured my waist and designed my apron on a grid paper in Notability (Fig. 1). Every grid is 1 inch. I added an additional 1 inch on every side to create the double fold later. I created the design of a cat in a pocket, so that she can accompany me whenever I am working and wearing this apron, just like my cat nanny when I was a little kid.

Figure 1. Apron design.

I measured the fabrics with a ruler, drew the design using a chalk, and cut out the designs. Because the bottom of the fabric naturally has a cute fluffy edge (Fig. 2), I decided to not double fold it but keep it as it is.

Figure 2. Dark blue fabric.

Before sewing, I prepared the bobbin and followed the thread guide to set up the Brother machine. I used pattern 6 on the brother brand (Fig. 3). Unlike Singer I learned in class, this one does not have a lamp and a thread cutter. The locations of the reverse lever and the presser foot lifter are a bit different. Overall, it is very similar to Singer.

Figure 3. Brother sewing machine.

I practiced on a piece of small fabric before trying on my apron. I habitualized myself with the presser foot and the reverse stitch. I found that it was very difficult to control the right amount of pressure on the foot pedal. When the machine went too fast, the thread tended to clog (Fig. 4), and the thread on the top would break. Given that people were using other machines, I continued using Brother.

Figure 4. Thread clogged around the bobbin case.

I encountered lot of issues during sewing, including clogging, missing stitches, thread break, and thread falling off. I tried strategies, such as adjusting the parameters using recommended ones online, rethreading the bubbin, and turning the hand wheel when the fabric was thick. 

After Wen-Yi finished her apron, I tried sewing on Singer. The settings I used are in Fig. 5. It was much easier to control the speed of sewing on Singer. 

Figure 5. Singer setting.

Then, an accident happened – when the needle reached a 5-layer of fabrid, it bent (Fig. 6). Therefore, I loosed the needle clamp and replaced the needle. 

Figure 6. The bended needle.

Whenever I encountered a trouble, a voice spoke in me – “Never give up without adequate trying.” Finally, I finished sewing the cat, the pocket, and the top three edges. It took me around six hours. The front turned out nice (Fig. 7), but the back was very messy.

Figure 7. Cat in a pocket.

My favorite part was to hand sew the cat and its black-button eyes (Fig. 8).

Figure 8. Hand sewed cat.

When I came back later to OEDK, I played with all five sewing machines. I learned how to thread them and place the bobbin. However, none of them worked properly. Although the machines malfunctions, I gained expertise in how to use the machines, which made me happy.

The apron means a lot to me, and I did not want it to be half-finished. Therefore, I hand-sewed the remainders – two long edges (Fig. 9) and the ribbons around the neck and around the waist. I hand-sewed the box stitches (Fig. 10). It took me 1.5 hours to hand sew these parts. Had the sewing machine be functional, it might take only 0.5 hour. Nevertheless, I found hand-sewing meditative. I was happy about the steady slow progress. The rawness of the stitches has its charm. 

Figure 9. Hand-sewed edges.

Figure 10. Hand-sewed box stitches.

Finally, I finished the apron, or rather, a warrior’s suit (Fig. 11). There is nothing that can beat me. I can achieve anything that I am committed to. That is my magic.

Figure 11. Finished mewgic apron.

Cleaned space:

Cost table for the apron

 

Cost Type	Cost	Price	Source	Quantity	Total
Materials	Navy blue and yellow fabric	$ 12.7 / yard	Onlinefabricstore.com	0.72 yards	$ 9.144
	Ribbon	$ 0.25 / foot	Amazon.com	7.5 ft	$ 1.875
	Black, white, and red threads	$ 5.8 / spool	Amazon.com	0.1 spool	$ 0.58
	Buttons	$ 4.99 / 120 buttons	Michaels.com	2 buttons	$ 0.083
Labor	Prototyping Engineer (measuring and cutting)	$17 / hr	ZipRecruiter.com	0.5 hrs	$ 8.5
	Prototyping Engineer (working on and troubleshooting sewing machines)	$17 / hr	ZipRecruiter.com	10 hrs	$ 170
	Prototyping Engineer (hand sew)	$17 / hr	ZipRecruiter.com	2 hrs	$ 24
Overhead	Sewing machine (rent)	$ 15 / day	Quiterslodge,com	11 hrs	$ 6.875
	Scissors	–	–	–	–
	Needle	$ 4.99 / 5 needles	Amazon.com	1 piece	$ 0.098
	Quality control	$ 27.5 / hr	LinkedIn.com	0.2 hr	$ 5.5
Design	Engineering and Development	$17 / hour	ZipRecruiter.com	0.75 hrs	$ 12.75
	Iterations	$17 / hour	ZipRecruiter.com	1 hr	$ 17
Misc.	Waste and Scrap	$0.17 / L	Houstontx.gov	0.02 L	$ 0.003

Sum: ~ $ 266.41

The labor cost from working on the sewing machine accounts for 64% of the total cost.