Tutorial: Sewing Machine Cover, Part 1

Several months ago, as I was cleaning my older sewing machine, I couldn't help noticing how it picks up dust even when I haven't been using it and it's covered with a pillowcase. Of course, the pillowcase doesn't cover it entirely. So I decided to look up how to make a quilted cover for it. Google has a ton of great (and very creative) images of quilted sewing machine covers. And I did find some awesome tutorials as well. The one by Sew Delicious was my favorite, but for more inspiration, The DIY Dreamer and The Sewing Loft have some great options as well.
I started out following the tutorial by Sew Delicious, but in the initial planning stage I realized that my machine didn't fit those measurements. And then I decided I wanted to add a pocket; not on the end, but all the way along the back, to hold the extension table vertically so it takes up less space (I tend to use it for skirts and larger projects, so it spends a lot of time lounging around on any available flat surface I can fit it on).
After a lot of measuring, Photoshopping (to determine a pattern for the squares), pinning, cutting, etc., it came out like this.

Front and back of the sewing machine cover w/ extension table pocket

It fit great, and I loved how it held the table. Unfortunately, I didn't pay that much attention to the steps as I was working on it. It was more like a 'whatever works' project, because there was a lot of adjusting as it progressed. So I have decided to make a second one for my newer machine, and provide a tutorial for y'all. Let's get started!

Materials

• Quilting cotton: whatever colors/patterns you prefer to coordinate.
• Broadcloth for lining (you could also use cotton; I chose broadcloth because it was less expensive and I thought it might create less lint)
• Thread; machine quilting cotton thread works well for this
• Polyester batting (cotton would work just as well, but polyester seemed more cost-effective for this project)
• Ruler and measuring tape
• Optional: Bias tape maker (if not making bias tape, you'll need packaged double fold tape)

Measuring

The first thing we need to do is measure the machine. Measure the length, width, height, and over the top. The length is the easiest one to measure, so we can start there.



Measure from the very front of the base to the back. Make sure you take the hand wheel into account as well. Sometimes it helps to put a metal/plastic ruler, or some other stiff object, up against the wheel as shown by the green vertical line. This should also account for the plug or wire, but if your machine has a larger wire you might want to double check that. Once you have this measurement, round up. My measurement came out to 17 3/4", so I rounded up to 18", and added an extra inch for seam allowances. You may want to add a little more than that, depending on your initial measurement. I used a little less because a larger measurement caused some trouble in determining quilting square size (more on that later).

Next, measure the height to the tallest part of the machine (this may include a handle, depending on the machine). Add a 1/2" for the seam allowance. My measurement was 11 1/2", so with the seam allowance, the total height was 12".

For the width of the machine, make sure to measure across the widest point. My machine is a little oddly shaped, so this was rather tricky, but I decided to call the widest part near the base the width. The top is narrower, so even with the handle the base width should be enough to account for that. My measurement was 8", and I added 1" for seam allowances, for a total of 9".

Now for the largest measurement. In the first sewing machine cover, I treated this measurement as a rectangle, and got it by multiplying the height times two and adding in the width, but it turned out too large, and required a lot of modifications (and a seam ripper) to fix it. The easiest way I've found to get this measurement is to use a soft/flexible measuring tape. Put the end at the back of the machine on the table or desk and arc it across the top of the machine (keeping it rather loose, don't pull it too tight) until it touches the table at the front. My measurement was 28". Since we won't be attaching the ends of the top piece to anything, I didn't add a seam allowance.

Determining Square Size

Now for what I find to be the hardest part of the whole process: determining the size you need for your quilting squares. I thought of trying to do diamonds, or a fancier pattern, but the first machine cover was really my first experience with quilting, so I decided to keep it simple for the second attempt.

Decide how many squares you want to go across and an approximate size for each square. For example, I didn't want to work with squares smaller than 3 1/2", and I wanted 4-5 squares across. The length of my machine (18") can be divided by 4 into 4 1/2" segments. If you try to divide it by 5, you get 3 5/8", which is little more awkward to work with (at least it was for me) and is very close to 3 1/2". The over-the-top measurement was a little trickier; 28"  doesn't divide evenly into 4.5. However, 27" can be evenly divided by 4.5, into 6 segments. Therefore, 4 1/2" squares seem to be the ideal solution.

You might be wondering about that extra inch. After all, the original measurement was 28", not 27". This can be accounted for with the seam allowances. The final square size for my machine is 4 1/2", but that's without seam allowance (yours will most likely be a bit different). Add in your preferred seam allowance. I added 1" to each side, so that I have 1/2" seam allowances, or 5 1/2" squares. The extra 1/2" at each end of the finished piece where nothing else gets attached will make up that extra inch, bringing the total to 28". You can add whatever seam allowance you feel comfortable with.

Next Time:

Phew! Most of the math is done. We'll use the measurements and square sizes that you determined for the rest of the project. I hope most of it made sense; the math involved is the part of the project I always have a little trouble with. But don't worry, the rest of the cover is easier! Next time we'll talk about the amount of fabric needed, patterns, cutting squares, and other fun stuff. 😊

On to part 2!