A Well Dressed Sewing Machine - Cover Tutorial

My poor sewing machine works hard and has to put up with my creative tantrums and cursing, so it's time to show some love by making a pretty little cover for it.

sewing machine cover

Dust and fluff can cause havoc with the internal workings of your sewing machine so always try and cover it, or keep it stored in a cupboard. This machine was supplied with a plastic cover when I bought it, but there was always an air of 'body bag' about it... *shudder*

Not content to do things the easy way, I decided I wanted a cover with access to the carry handle on the machine.
Here's what I did...





Choose a fairly sturdy fabric, I went for a heavyweight printed cotton I bought at The Remnant House



Measure your machine from the back, over the top and down the front. Also measure the width of your machine. This rectangle makes the front, top and back piece of the cover.




Now turn to the side area of your machine, measure the width at the bottom and top, and also the height to give you the shape shown below (technically known as an 'isosceles trapezium' ....the power of Google eh?!)




I find it easier to draw the shapes and add the measurements. Don't forget to add seam and hem allowances to your pattern pieces. I added 1cm seam allowances and a 4cm hem allowance. You need to cut 1x large piece and 2x side pieces from your fabric.

Measure and mark where you need the handle opening to be on the wrong side of the main piece.

Cut a facing piece for the handle opening. It needs to be the same size as the handle opening, plus an allowance of 5cm around all sides.


You can see in the photo above the facing piece, showing the markings for the handle opening plus the allowance. Neaten the raw edges, press 1cm towards the wrong side all the way round the facing piece, and sew into place.





Right sides together, pin the facing piece into place where the handle opening should be. Sew along  the handle opening markings.





Cut open the facing down the centre line, and diagonally into the corners, to within a couple of millimetres's of the stitches.






Trim the excess fabric away leaving a 1/2 cm allowance.





Turn the facing through to the wrong side and iron into place.






Topstitch around the faced opening on the right side, I did two lines of top stitching. This will hold the facing into place and stop it trying to escape back through the opening.

There, the hard part is done!

Staying with the main fabric piece measure where the edges of the top would be, and created a fake seam. This helps to create the box shape and stiffens the top edge.





Sew the side pieces to the main fabric piece, go slowly around the corners and adjust to avoid puckering. Neaten the raw edges.





Try the cover on the machine and pin the hem into place, turn over twice to enclose the raw edges and sew the hem into place.





And there you have it, a cover to protect your machine that allows you to use the carry handle.





(Please note: tutorial for personal use only, not for resale)

Comments

Great tutorial, and the cover looks lovely.
Craftybernie said…
Thanks for this. Have been battling to make a cover for my machine with opening for handle but kept mucking it up. Needless to say it's in the timeout basket! Will be starting again using your tutorial! Thank you sooooo very much :D
Anonymous said…
Loving this! Will you come and live in the cupboard under my stairs - I could keep you busy making stuff for years!
I pay in biscuits ?
Wag Doll said…
Thanks all! Mammasaurus, my own 'room', sewing all day and eating biscuits....heaven!
love this one! I will be working on a cover for my machine very soon.
Very well done!..the cover looks great, and thank you for sharing this inspiring tutorial!
Unknown said…
Nice...this is what i was looking for ,for my sewing machine cover...thank you so much for sharing...
Unknown said…
Exactly what I was looking for. I just bought some fabulous fabric for this project yesterday. I knew I had stored this pin and I'm about to get started. I'll post a photo when I'm done.
May Zarb said…
Hello! Thanks so much for the tutorial! I am having trouble following the section for the handle. Is there some way you could clarify this for me? I don't understand what piece of fabric I'm meant to be cutting through or whether I am meant to be hemming the extra piece of fabric before somehow stitching it to the main piece? What sides faces what side? Apologies for all the questions. Something just isn't quite making sense. Thanks again! :)
I love it! In this time I've been trying out lots of different kinds of sewing- piecing, paper piecing, straight line quilting and free motion quilting- I've done it all and now I'm ready to tell you about my experiences. top rated sewing machines
Unknown said…
My litte princess love it so much. Thanks for sharing this post! You can check our blog here!
Unknown said…
Great design. I like your cover bag so much. Its really unique
I love these ideas I am going to pull out the sewing machine - Thanks for linking up to Pin Worthy Wednesday, I have pinned your post to the Pin Worthy Wednesday Pinterest Board.http://sewingmachinejudge.com/sewing-machine-the-easiest-way-to-use-it/
angle said…
I was very interested in the article, it's quite inspiring I should admit.
Unknown said…
I'll try to make this kind of cover for my Sewing Machine to safe it from dust.
Tom Bradly said…
I really like this concept and I think I will do something similar to protect my wood router, too! I might need a bigger cloth, though.
Pisces said…
I bought some backed curtain fabric from a remnant table. It has a good stiffness so will sit well over the machine cover. I liked that this tutorial has a slit for the handle and how to make a backing for it. For less than $4 I will have a fabulous cover. Just need to adjust the side panels to have rounded corners at the top.
Gia Khánh said…
Great tutorial, and the cover looks lovely. one verandah
Unknown said…
I must say you have written such a wonder post regarding sewing machine cover. My little princess love it so much. Sewing Machine
Tonny said…
Why are all the photo’s removed ??
BeaverCraft said…
Great project. Now I know what to do next. Perfect addition to Steve's wood carving projects ideas

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