Hi everyone!
This past week in the OEDK has been an absolute whirlwind of thread and fabric. From battling tangled bobbins to celebrating straight seams, to finally being able to sew a successful box stitch, this challenging homework assignment (for someone who has never touched sewing before) has turned into one of my most memorable experiences.
My mission was clear from the start: to create a sturdy, full-size work apron for my mom. I settled on a Medium size, which gave me a 34-inch wide apron body with a 24-inch half-waistband. I also measured a 24-inch long neck strap and two 34-inch long back ties all from white yarn.
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(I added an extra 2 inches around the paper pattern for a double-fold hem, marking the future folds with chalk.)
I then pinned and ironed all the folds. Looking back, pressing each corner flat with the iron helped a lot in making it easy to sew straight lines on the fabric.
I’ll be honest—facing the sewing machine for the first time was intimidating. The fear of ruining my carefully prepared maroon fabric was so real! I first practiced on some spare fabric; luckily, it all went pretty well sewing on the real apron afterwards. I folded and pinned the corners into rectangles and triangles, then sewed the whole apron in one continuous line.
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The challenging part was sewing the straps on using the box stitch; it was hard matching the lines and I had to pull out the thread a few times (here’s my first and last box stitch, I think there was some progress made:>)
The last part was sewing the pocket. I settled for a double-hemmed large 12-inch pocket from the same maroon fabric, it’s designed to hold a pack of tissues.
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This marathon session of sewing from 10am to 5pm was tiring, but the final piece was amazing. A big thank you to all the TAs and friends that offered suggestions, shared tables or simply chatted with me! Looking forward to continuing my sewing journey at home!;)
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Cleaned-up Workspace
Cost Estimate
