Sewing Machine Cover, Part 2
Last time we talked about how to measure the sewing machine for this project, and how to determine what size squares (and how many) you'd need. This time, let's talk about designs, cutting squares, and piecing! ☺
As I mentioned before, I really wanted to do a complicated, fancy design for this 2nd cover. But as a total beginner in quilting, it seemed best to keep it simple and use squares. That doesn't mean your design can't look complicated and fancy. Depending on how many rows and columns you need, you can still make some very nifty patterns with squares. Try making diagonals, diamond shapes, or grids with the squares. Or make it more random, and mix them up. I find it helpful to determine a design before I start cutting fabric, using some design programs (Photoshop and Illustrator), but sketches and colored pencils work just as well.
This is the design I ended up choosing to work on. It shows eight rows, but in reality, I'll only have 6 for the design. I starting working on the design before I finished the measuring/math part of the project, and once I did that a lot of the designs I'd experimented with didn't work well with just six rows.
It's important to note that this design doesn't show the back pocket. When I work on the design, I tend to lay it out as one piece, since I blend the pocket into the overall design. However, you need to allow one extra row for the pocket. For example, I'll need 24 squares (4 across * 6 up-and-down), plus 4, for a total of 28 squares, 14 of each main color. If you don't plan on putting a pocket, don't worry about that extra row.
You most likely won't need more than 1 yard total of the quilting cotton. But if you're using more than 2 colors, you might want to get at least 3/8 of a yard per color, to allow for shrinkage, uneven edges, and anything else that might happen (a random pull in the material or something like that). For this tutorial, I decided to use two main colors, and one accent color; I got a 1/2 yard of the two main fabrics, and 3/4 yard of the accent color, which will comprise the side panels and the decorative stripes. (You may want to get a little extra material in whichever color you would like to trim the bottom of the cover and the edge of the pocket; I got quite a bit extra in the accent color because my design uses a lot of tape made from that material.)
You'll want to get at least 1 1/4 yards of broadcloth (or cotton, if you'll be using that to line the cover), so that you'll have enough for the lining, and some left over to make into bias tape.
If you have a larger machine, you might want to get a little extra material to allow for that. I had just enough of the 1/2 yard pieces for my project. Likewise, if you have a smaller machine, you might be able to get away with less fabric. It really depends on the size of your machine. When in doubt, round up a little; it's better to have a bit too much fabric than to run short and not be able to find more.
Once you know how many squares of each color you'll need for your design, it's time to make a quick template to use for cutting. My cover will require 14 squares of 5.5" in each main color. For the sake of convenience, I made a paper template to pin to the material for cutting the squares. . . . . And then I made 11 more, because I wanted each square of floral material to have flowers near the center, and needed to lay then all out to make sure I had enough material to do that. Later I ended up using most of the left side for the last 2 squares.
Once you have all your squares cut out, start sewing them together, following the design you picked earlier and pressing the seams open.
If you have fabric with a directional print, such as arrows or flowers that you want to point a certain way, keep in mind that the direction will change at the top of the machine unless you purposely make half of the rows upside down. If that's the case, find the center of the piece as it will lay on the machine (mine has 6 rows, so the center seam will go right across the top). Then arrange the directional print squares so they point toward the middle.
Keep going; I found it easier to sew the squares into rows, and then sew the longer seams that connect the rows. For the pocket, you want to keep 2-3 rows separate, depending on your square size. For my cover, I'll be keeping two rows separate from the main piece. You should end up with something like this:
The number of rows/squares may vary, but you'll want to have two pieces like this in order to make the pocket. If you want to skip the pocket, just sew all the rows together and don't add that extra one (I've lined up the two pieces to show where they'll overlap).
On to part 3!
Back to part 1
Designing the Cover
As I mentioned before, I really wanted to do a complicated, fancy design for this 2nd cover. But as a total beginner in quilting, it seemed best to keep it simple and use squares. That doesn't mean your design can't look complicated and fancy. Depending on how many rows and columns you need, you can still make some very nifty patterns with squares. Try making diagonals, diamond shapes, or grids with the squares. Or make it more random, and mix them up. I find it helpful to determine a design before I start cutting fabric, using some design programs (Photoshop and Illustrator), but sketches and colored pencils work just as well.
This is the design I ended up choosing to work on. It shows eight rows, but in reality, I'll only have 6 for the design. I starting working on the design before I finished the measuring/math part of the project, and once I did that a lot of the designs I'd experimented with didn't work well with just six rows.
It's important to note that this design doesn't show the back pocket. When I work on the design, I tend to lay it out as one piece, since I blend the pocket into the overall design. However, you need to allow one extra row for the pocket. For example, I'll need 24 squares (4 across * 6 up-and-down), plus 4, for a total of 28 squares, 14 of each main color. If you don't plan on putting a pocket, don't worry about that extra row.
Fabric Amounts
You most likely won't need more than 1 yard total of the quilting cotton. But if you're using more than 2 colors, you might want to get at least 3/8 of a yard per color, to allow for shrinkage, uneven edges, and anything else that might happen (a random pull in the material or something like that). For this tutorial, I decided to use two main colors, and one accent color; I got a 1/2 yard of the two main fabrics, and 3/4 yard of the accent color, which will comprise the side panels and the decorative stripes. (You may want to get a little extra material in whichever color you would like to trim the bottom of the cover and the edge of the pocket; I got quite a bit extra in the accent color because my design uses a lot of tape made from that material.)
 |
| The fabrics chosen for this project |
You'll want to get at least 1 1/4 yards of broadcloth (or cotton, if you'll be using that to line the cover), so that you'll have enough for the lining, and some left over to make into bias tape.
If you have a larger machine, you might want to get a little extra material to allow for that. I had just enough of the 1/2 yard pieces for my project. Likewise, if you have a smaller machine, you might be able to get away with less fabric. It really depends on the size of your machine. When in doubt, round up a little; it's better to have a bit too much fabric than to run short and not be able to find more.
Cutting Squares and Piecing
Once you know how many squares of each color you'll need for your design, it's time to make a quick template to use for cutting. My cover will require 14 squares of 5.5" in each main color. For the sake of convenience, I made a paper template to pin to the material for cutting the squares. . . . . And then I made 11 more, because I wanted each square of floral material to have flowers near the center, and needed to lay then all out to make sure I had enough material to do that. Later I ended up using most of the left side for the last 2 squares.
Once you have all your squares cut out, start sewing them together, following the design you picked earlier and pressing the seams open.
If you have fabric with a directional print, such as arrows or flowers that you want to point a certain way, keep in mind that the direction will change at the top of the machine unless you purposely make half of the rows upside down. If that's the case, find the center of the piece as it will lay on the machine (mine has 6 rows, so the center seam will go right across the top). Then arrange the directional print squares so they point toward the middle.
Keep going; I found it easier to sew the squares into rows, and then sew the longer seams that connect the rows. For the pocket, you want to keep 2-3 rows separate, depending on your square size. For my cover, I'll be keeping two rows separate from the main piece. You should end up with something like this:
The number of rows/squares may vary, but you'll want to have two pieces like this in order to make the pocket. If you want to skip the pocket, just sew all the rows together and don't add that extra one (I've lined up the two pieces to show where they'll overlap).
Next time:
In part three of this tutorial, we'll look at quilting and assembling the pieces, and finishing off edges. We're almost done! See you next time! 😊On to part 3!
Back to part 1
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