Well, the holidays have come and gone, and the New Year is upon us. Luckily, before time got the better of me, I was able to score an awesome black Friday deal and picked up a brand new Singer sewing machine! What a better way to try out my new precious then to take on a simple project – an apron!
Let’s face it, simple isn’t really my style so even though I meant to take on an easy project I ended up with quite the undertaking. Over the last two months, I was able to flex my seamstress and embroidery muscle, picked up some great tips, and even added to my craft room supplies (thank you, Amazon!).
Once I unpacked the sewing machine, I headed over to the local JoAnn’s and searched through their pattern books. One of my favorite things to do is plop down, drink a vanilla iced latte, and just flip through the pages of the pattern catalogs…someday, I think to myself, I’ll be able to make these…but for now, let’s try an apron. I landed on Simplicity 2272 and the girl with the yellow apron and bright orange flower caught my eye. Pattern D. Let’s do this.
I decided to go with a different fabric then was pictured. I picked up 2 1/2 yards of the flowers and three fat quarters – gold, dark brown, white for the applique accent. Sewing is a game of patience and process, so no matter what – take the time to serge all the raw edges and wash/dry all your fabric first. It is worth it.
Once I had a chance to review the pattern instructions in detail, it was time for another trip to JoAnn’s. There was a lot more going on with this pattern then I initially thought. I snipped a few sample swatches and headed back.
Okay…items needed – check. Fabric washed – check. Now to the fun part! Eh, not quite. More of the process and patience. Pressing.
Pressing the fabric in important, this step ensures the pattern lays precise. Some even recommend pressing the pattern paper. Admittedly, I skipped this step, but for a more serious project, I would have done it.
Now, for the cutting! For the flowers, I went ahead and cut four layers – the three different colors and the fusible interfacing. Since I wasn’t following the picture exact, I wanted to make sure to have options. The larger pieces were pretty simple, just follow the lines that were previously highlighted.
The pattern called for the flowers and pockets to be worked on first. I got to play around with my new sewing machine for this part. Experimenting with all the stiches, I landed on a very short zig-zag stitch to outline the appliques flowers.
So, I kid you not – this part took at least a month and a half. Again, I thought – oh, simple apron, but the addition of embroidery meant a few extra YouTube videos and some hunting around for my embroidery hoop. Add in the holidays, New Year, and now we are well into January.
On to the next steps, the ties and the apron body.
The next step was to encase. Yah, I had no idea what that was, so a few Google searches later, this apron was encased! I had heard of bias tape before, even dabbled in making my own, but I was all for store-bought on this one. I will say, I got a little too excited with the scissors and messed up the edge, but I think it turned out okay.
People, we may have ourselves an apron finally! The finishing touches were to add the buttonhole and button. I was super excited to see the perks of having a new machine for this step. The special buttonhole foot had you place the button into the foot, and the machine was able to determine the size of the hole on its own, I just had to press one button and wha-la! Buttonhole! I found a video online that recommended to add embroidery thread for added weight, and it seemed to work great. After that, the last step was to trim the edges. You could either zig-zag, serge, or use pinking shears to make sure the fabric doesn’t fray. At this point, I opted for the pinking shears.
Yes! At last, an apron. But what to do with the pattern? I found a few videos online that simply said to press and fold it back into the envelope. That paper must be magical because it worked like a charm and fit snuggly.
This was a great first project to try out the bells and whistles of my new machine. I’m so happy for my black Friday purchase!
Happy crafting!
Kori
