Hey everyone, welcome to my week of apron making! This was my first time ever using a sewing machine, and it was a lot more challenging than I imagined it to be. However, I did successfully make an apron that I can now use. Let’s take a run through the process:

First, I cut out the shape of the apron. Originally, I had chosen the size medium dimensions to go off of, which included a length of 34 inches and a half waist of 24 inches. When I cut it out, it was way too wide on me, so I made some markings on the fabric to indicate what needed to be cut off to make it fit correctly. I kept the length the same, while taking off a lot of the width at the top and at the waist. Here is a picture of the cut out structure of the apron:

After cutting the outline, it was time to get sewing. I wanted to fold the edges over and sew them to give the apron a more finished look, and I did this by folding the edges and pinning them. Then, I put the fabric into the sewing machine and got to work. This attempt on the left side of the apron was my first attempt of using the sewing machine outside of the in-class workshop, and it showed. The left side of the apron has a very discontinuous, jagged stitch. Looking back, I should have folded the more of edges over to give myself more room for error, and it would have been beneficial to go slower with the machine instead of going full throttle. Here’s a look at that jagged pattern:

Moving forward, I took the edge-sewing a lot slower and was more patient. This led to straighter stitches (yay!). Next, it was time to cut the neck and side straps and box stitch them to the apron. My first go at a box stitch was unsuccessful, and you can see this on the outside of my apron. I also cut the neck strap a bit too long, and when I tried it on, the apron didn’t sit where I wanted to. Therefore, I had to fold over the straps and re-do the box stitch on top of the one I already did, which was super frustrating. On the bright side, I got better at box stitching, and while you can’t really tell from the outside, the inside looks a lot better than it did originally. It also sits where I want it to! Having much practice with the box stitch made sewing on the side straps a lot easier, too.

While I’m pretty happy with the overall product, there are definitely a few things I could have improved on:

1. Patience. I went into sewing so hastily that I wound up with ragged edges and knots of thread in my apron. I wish I had watched a tutorial or something beforehand to prepare me for what I was about to do.
2. Folding the edges over and in — I forgot the “in” part, and so the apron looks a bit unfinished from the inside. It also looks a bit asymmetrical.
3. Not adding too much slack to my neck strap. Having to refold and resew the neck strap on was a long process.
4. I wish I had put the side-straps up a bit higher, they’re a bit too low on my body.

COST ANALYSIS:

1. Floral Paisley Fabric: $12.99/yd * 1 yd   = $12.99
2. Thread:          $2.69/2735 yd * 35 yd        = $0.03
3. Neck and side straps: $10.95/yd * 18 yd = $16.45
4. Industrial Sewing Machine Operator: $15/hr * 5 hr = $75
5. Prototyping Engineer Salary: $38/hr * 1 hr = $38
6. Facility Costs (Overhead): 1 kWh/13 cents * 5 hr * 100 W = $0.08
7. QC Salary on ZipRecruiter: $46/hr * 0.25 hr = $11.5
8. Engineering & Development Salary on Ziprecruiter: $48/hr * 0.10 hr = $4.8
9. Waste: 3 yds of thread = $0.003

TOTAL COST: $158.85