[Kyle’s Apron] The OEDK is a Kitchen, After All | ENGI 210: Prototyping and Fabrication

The assignment seemed simple enough. All I had to do was follow the instructions for beginners. But I didn’t. So it wasn’t.

PHASE 1: THE COST OF FREEDOM

In accordance with the steps provided, I selected the dimensions of my apron based on the chart provided [34” and 24” for the Full Apron and 1/2 waistband, respectively]. Due to the instructions saying “the first step in beginning to sew is to … have all of the fabric cut” and the fact the next step was on the next page, I was admittedly quite lost.

But I had to get my fabric anyway. And yet, upon further inspection, my starting fabric wasn’t the most rectangular; I needed some way to mark the needed cuts on it. Racking my brain, I realized I could harness the mythical powers of masking tape to form a surface that I could write on.

Image 1: Using Masking Tape to Provide a Markable Surface

In forming the general rectangle, I came across a couple of issues. Firstly, given that all sides were longer than 30 inches, I needed to make perfect right angles; a small deviation will be magnified along the side. Secondly, I had to make sure the tape didn’t distort the flat contour of the fabric, as that would inevitably lead to an apron with curved sides. In fixing these issues, I simply tried numerous times, swapping pen colors every couple of tries, until I was happy with the end result. Once I formed the general rectangle, I placed the cloth on my body to determine where I wanted the diagonal portion to begin. In addition, I initially followed the provided diagram, making the top side 3 inches less than the bottom. However, upon placing it on my body, I realized I wanted it to be smaller. As such, I reduced the top side by 1 inch on each side until I was satisfied with the final product.

Image 2: The Final Configuration of Masking Tape. Pen Lines (Not Visible) Are on the Lines of Tape

The time had come. A few cuts later, I peeled the masking tape off. Unfortunately, a non-negligible amount of the fabric was also peeled off.

Image 3: The Resulting Mess After Peeling Off the Tape

Faced with this new sight, I knew I had two options: manually fix the sides via cutting or make a hem. As I thought it would lead to a better result, I chose the latter option. Using objects to hold my cloth down, I measured a 1-inch hem and waited overnight for the creases to set in.

Image 4: Objects in my Room Holding Down the Cloth

Aligning the side of the apron with the first line of the sewing machine, the hems were created.

Image 5: Sewing the Hems

PHASE 2: The return to normalcy

Now returning back to the actual instructions, I cut my neck strap and two 36” strips for the waist straps. I planned on trimming the waist straps if they were abnormally long, but I ended up liking the length. Aligning the outward corner of the neck strap with the intersection of the hems, I made box stitches to attach the pieces together. Regarding the waist straps, I used my body to determine where I wanted one strap to be and used a yardstick to align the other strap on the other side.

Image 6: Aligning the Waist Straps

With these two final box stitches, my apron was done, save for a final trimming of excess thread.

Image 7: Me Wearing My Apron

Improvements

As this was my first time sewing, I often forgot to do the reverse stitch; when reentering an area to implement the reverse stitch, the resulting seam looks messier, for the lack of a better word.

Image 8: The Resulting Seam After Retroactively Applying the Reverse Stitch

Moreover, I didn’t have any real idea of how to do a box stitch, so they’re all slightly misshapen. Finally, due to the order in which I sewed my apron, the box stitches are visible from the front, which is an aesthetic I wished I considered earlier. If I sewed the straps on before sewing the hems, I would have eliminated this issue.