I’m halfway through a 6-week pottery class at Mud Luv Pottery Studio and learning at a rate that seems incredible. The most fascinating aspect of learning to throw pottery so far is how technical it is: There are concrete steps — centering the clay, opening it up, pulling the walls — and each step requires precision, focus, and a whole lot of practice. One of the studio owners says he’s only ever fired 10-15 percent of what he’s thrown. Does that deter me!? No.

The first week, one of my fellow classmates brought his own pottery apron instead of using the studio-supplied ones, so I asked him if he had made it himself. He had! So a couple weeks in, I realized I had enough scrap fabric from other projects to make my very own apron. I took measurements from the ones at the studio to make sure it would fit correctly, and then I went home and promptly threw together my own apron.

I attempted to make it reversible, which worked out well for the most part. I used leftover stretch twill from a trouser project and another stretch twill panel I got from A Thrifty Notion in a grab bag ages ago. It does have a slight imperfection on it, but after I’ve gotten some clay on the apron, you won’t even notice.

The finishing touch was appliqueing these quilting cotton owls I picked up at a fabric sale last year with some steam-a-seam and a machine satin stitch.