Sewing Machine Cover--with an Extra Added Bonus Surprise!

I love my sewing machine. I call her Connie. She's a Singer 7470 Confidence machine (hence, Connie). Since I got her more than a year ago, I've just used the plain, boring cover that she came with. Serviceable, yes, but not exactly stylin.

Then, while surfing Pinterest last week, I came across this beauty:

From Bloom

First of all, I am a total sucker for anything with words on it. I also was drawn to the design of it, with the colorful, off-center strips. But it was a little too complicated for my taste. I'm all about quick and easy. So I used it as a jumping off point to make a new outfit for Connie.

Here is the result:

It really wasn't hard to make. I probably could have finished it in one day, but I had to track down some fusible fleece. So it took me two days.

Want to make one of your own? Here's how (and don't forget to scroll all the way down to the Extra Added Bonus Surprise!):

You'll need:

Note: Not Everything Is Shown

• small scraps of fabric for the strips
• larger pieces of fabric for the background fabric (I used muslin)
• fusible fleece
• ribbon
• heat transfer vinyl (optional--I used it for the word "stitch")
• the usual sewing necessities: scissors, ruler, measuring tape, thread, pins, machine, iron

1. Measure your machine to find out what size rectangle you will need to cover it completely. Mine was 16" wide and 27" from front to back. I added an inch for seam allowances and such, making it 17" x 28".

I didn't want my fabric to be too matchy-matchy. I just picked fabrics I really liked.

2. Gather your scraps and cut them into strips. You don't need to be a perfectionist about this! I mean, I suppose you can if you want, but I sure wasn't. And I cut the strips in all different heights. I just kept cutting until I figured I had enough to add up to at least 28". Don't worry about making them the same width--you'll trim them down later.

3. Iron your strips nice and flat.

I used my 1/4" foot to make a 1/4" seam allowance.

4. Start with two strips. Place them right sides together and stitch along one long side. Then just keep adding strips. (see picture above)

This is what the strips looked like all sewn together, from the front.

back view

5. Turn your fabric over and iron the seams flat.

6. Using a ruler and a rotary cutter, even out your strips. At this point, you can decide how wide you want your patchwork strip to be.

7. Cut a piece of muslin that will be on the left side of your strip. I decided I wanted it to be about 3", so I cut it 3.5 wide with the seam allowance. Line it up along one edge of your patchwork strip and sew it down. Again, I used 1/4" seam allowance.


8. (I forgot to take a picture of this step) Cut another piece of muslin for the right side of the cover. You'll have to do some math to make sure the total comes out to be the right width. I suck at math, but somehow I figured it out. For my cover, I needed it to add up to 18". Taking 1/4" seam allowances into account, I figured I needed it to be 10.5". (But you know what? It doesn't really have to be exact. This style of sewing machine cover is very forgiving.) Attach the second piece of muslin to the right side of your patchwork strip.

9. At this point, I took some time to embellish my cover. I used my Silhouette to cut the word "stitch" out of heat transfer vinyl and then ironed it onto the cover. (I didn't take pictures of this step either)

10. Cut a piece of fusible fleece the same size as your cover (mine was 18x28). Follow the directions to iron it on to the wrong side of your cover. (I suppose you could skip this step, but it does give the cover a little more shape and adds to the quilted look.)

Pay no attention to that pucker in the top-stitching. Oops! Oh well, imperfection adds to the charm of homemade stuff, right? I said, RIGHT???

11. Top-stitch along each side of the patchwork strip. Again, this adds to the quilted look. I like the look of contrasting thread, so that's what I used.

12. Cut ribbons to use for the side ties of your cover. I didn't really cut a specific length. I just erred on the side of making them too long. You can always trim them later if they're too long. Pin them to the right side of your cover, making sure they match up on each side. I tied them together in the center to make sure that the ends didn't get caught in the seams when I sewed it all together.

13. Cut a piece of muslin 18x28 for the backing. Pin it to the front of the cover, right sides facing, making sure the ribbons stay inside the cover. The fleece should be on the outside.

13. Stitch all the way around the outside, leaving a 2"-3"-opening for turning. Trim excess fabric around the outside, and snip your corners to make it easier when turning. Turn cover right side out.

14. Pin the opening closed. Top stitch around the entire piece, closing up the opening as you stitch.

Finished!


And now for the Extra Added Bonus Surprise!

It's reversible! 

Before I stitched the back and front together, I embellished the back side with some vinyl and a little applique birdie. I love this side just as much as I love the other side! Now whenever I sit down to sew, I feel like Connie is saying hello to me!


I hope this little tutorial makes sense. Feel free to ask questions!


Until next time,


Megan