Our workshop space in Bude is perfect to allow us to make all of our outdoor gear products and custom orders, such as the bellyboard bags we made recently for the Dick Pearce crew.
We also have people drop-in who want to learn how to make something, which we’re more than happy to oblige with.
Back in the summer our marketing mate, David Somerville, mentioned about wanting to have a new apron he could use at home, so we arranged a time and helped him bring this to life.
Here’s David’s account of his experience in learning how to make something, using the same machines, materials and techniques that we use to make our lifetime gear range.
Inspired to get creative
Having spent a fair amount of time in Rooted Ocean’s workshop over the past 18 months, working with them on ideas for marketing, I’ve got to experience seeing Matt and Lee making lots of different things – from blankets, to backpacks and even a custom board bag for a 12′ prone paddleboard.
I’ve also watched them carry out repairs on ripped wetsuits, stuck zips on jackets and broken bag buckles. There’s not much they can’t do with a sewing machine!
I recently had a fairly ‘significant’ birthday and had received a set of beautiful kitchen knives from my family. Mentioning this to the boys, Matt said: “what you need a nice new apron to go with them”. Thinking he was going to make me one, I replied that this sounded like a great idea, but then he said: “No. You’re going to sew it all yourself!”.
Learning from the master
After checking he was serious, we agreed on a date for my ‘lesson’. I was fairly apprehensive about this, having experience in sewing that was pretty much limited to making a bookmark in primary school and attaching (badly) a few buttons to a jacket.
However I needn’t have worried at all, as it turned out that Matt was such an excellent teacher that he could ensure that even with no sewing skills at all, I could still learn how to cut and sew a whole apron, pretty much on my own.
Getting stuck in
We started out by discussing what I was looking for from an apron, looking at a few different examples that they used themselves in the workshop.
We settled on the design – a long apron with a large front pocket, a smaller chest pocket (with pencil holder) and diagonal adjustable straps.
Firstly, Matt got me to choose the material I wanted and pick the colours. Figuring that a dark colour would be good at hiding stains, I choose a classic black material, with some sand coloured material for the pockets. I knew I was also going to use the apron as protection for clothes when doing some wooden stick making, hence choosing something that was quite thick and heavyweight.
It was then time to start making. Matt helped me to get the outline shape of the apron using a template and some chalk to draw the lines. I then cut this out, plus the material for the pockets, all of which was put in place using little plastic clips.
Next came the scary bit – moving to the sewing machine! Matt gave me a quick lesson in how an industrial machine worked and I learned where to put (and not put) my fingers.
Starting slowly, I made my first few stiches, then with some guidance from Matt increased the speed to complete a full run of stiches down the side of the apron.
I gained confidence with each run of stiches, even managing to make some overlapping corner stich when adding the edging that got some nods of approval from the experts in the room.
The finished product
Once the main apron body was done, it was then on to stitching the two pockets, including making a small section to hold a pencil in, plus attaching the adjustable straps.
I finished it off by adding the Rooted Ocean circle tag and my apron was complete.
Having spent just a little over an hour, I was amazed at what I had been able to make myself. And that was all down to Matt’s brilliant guidance.
I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience and highly recommend it to anyone, even if you have no sewing experience whatsoever (like me). Not only did I get to take home a great item, I also learned a few skills that I can hopefully use again in the future.
If you have been inspired to sew something for yourself or you think someone you know would like the experience of making something as a gift, then please contact us. We are also considering running some group workshops to
