Sewing Machine Cover Set

Sewing Machine Cover Set...

I've had a ratty 'ol clear plastic cover for my sewing machine for years, and wanted a nicer one. This is what I came up with... It is a sewing machine cover which allows the handle of the machine to poke out for easier carrying, and I made a coordinating bag that ties onto the poked out handle of the machine. Inside the bag I store the foot pedal and my pin cushion. Man, I wish I thought of this years ago!

Supplies:
   Cotton Fabric of your choice*
   Thick Fabric of your choice, like Fleece*
   Bias Tape (one package)
   Sewing Machine! :)

*How much fabric do you need? Measure from the floor, over the top & back of your machine to the floor, then add several inches.

Directions:

Measure the dimensions of your sewing machine, being generous and noting them at the very widest points. Include height, width, and depth. Now add about 1 1/2 - 2 inches to each measurement. These will serve as your new height, width, and depth measurements.

Cut your machine cover pieces, out of both the cotton and your lining fabric, accordingly: Your front facing and back facing pieces will be height x width. Your two side pieces will be depth x height. Your top piece will be depth x width. Don't worry about the coordinating bag or bias tape for now.

To attach each of your cotton fabric pieces to your lining fabric pieces, you're basically going to quilt them together. Stack & pin them perfectly on top of eachother, then just sew around in the middle to connect them well. I did a fun, swirly pattern, but if you want to keep it simple, you can just do straight lines. Now you should have five rectangles- each one a cotton piece attached to the lining piece.

Cut a rectangular hole in your top piece that will line up with where your handle sits when it's up. Be a tad bit generous again, because you don't want the hole to fit tightly.

Now, if you want to be all fancy you can use the bias tape to line the rectangular hole, which is what I did on mine. It's a little tricky to do but it sure does look nice if you make the effort. If you're going for quick and simple, then make small, diagonal slits at each corner and then hem each side under and skip the bias tape. If you're going to line it with the bias tape, you'll cut the bias tape into four pieces, each one a bit longer then the side it's lining (you can trim it down more as you go, as needed). Then, cut two pieces you want to attach into 45 degree angles, as shown in the first picture below. The second picture shows what they look like when you unfold them. You'll lay the two pieces of bias tape on top of eachother, unfolded, with right sides together, as shown in the third picture below. You'll only sew where you see a dashed line in the fourth picture.

tape-1c tape-2-c tape-3-c tape-3b-c

After that, turn it around, right-side-out, and you'll see how it lays in the corner of your hole. You'll repeat this step to attach all four of the bias tapes with diagonal seams. This will give you a "box" of bias tape, that when completed, you can lay neatly inside your rectangular handle hole. Pin it in place, then sew it down with two seams, as shown here:

Once your handle hole is completed, then using my photos as a guide, you can see how the pieces fit together. It's not rocket science. Sew the pieces together, wrong-side-out.

Turn your cover right side out. Now line the edges with bias tape and VOILA! You have a sewing machine cover!

cover

Now, on to the coordinating bag. Just lay your foot petal (with chord wrapped neatly around it) out on top of your remaining fabric to use as a guide, and cut out a rectangular piece to use for your bag.

Do be generous. You'll probably want to stick other stuff in the bag too, like your pin cushion, etc. Cut the piece out of your cotton fabric, and lining fabric once again. Mine was 18 in x 10 in.

Cut two, long skinny pieces out of each fabric, which you'll use for the open handles. My pieces were 12 in x 1.5 in. Hem both ends under (lengthwise), then fold it in half (lengthwise) and sew it together- giving you a finished edge on the handles.

Quilt the cotton fabric to the lining fabric for your bag, like you did for the machine cover.

If you want to line the top of the bag w/ bias tape, then sew bias tape on to one of the long edges, which will be the top. If not, then just hem the edge under.

Then, turning wrong-sides-out, fold the bag in half lengthwise, and sew the ends together, giving you a "tube."

Re-align your tube (still wrong-side-out) so that your seam is in the center, instead of on the end. Now sew the bottom (unfinished) end of the tube together, making it a bag.

Last, attach your handles to opposite sides of the bag, leaving one end of each handle loose so you can tie it up later.

Turn it right-side-out. How about that! What a handy little bag!

bag-tied-c

Last, if you decided to do this project yourself, please send me a photo of it with your name and what state you're from! I've recently decided to start featuring my readers' finished results.

Don't forget to check out What's New on my site! And sign up for email updates HERE!!

Want to leave comments? Go HERE! :)