Sewing Machine Cover Tutorial

 This colorful project has been brightening up my sewing space as of late. By utilizing the power of the charm pack, this project was not only quick to put together, but also has a nice mix of fun prints without a lot of left over fabric.

Finished size: 16.5" x 30" (fits a medium to small sewing machine)

Note: I recommend measuring your own machine before beginning, to determine if the following measurements should be adjusted in any way.

Fabric & Material Requirements:

    1 charm pack or 24 charms total
    1 FQ coordinating solid
    1 half yard coordinating fabric for the backing
    1 half yard coordinating fabric for the binding
    1 (18" x 32") piece of batting
    Thread for piecing and quilting (I used a neutral cream color for both)


Cutting Instructions:

    Trim 16 of the charms to 4.5" x 4.5"
    Cut backing piece to 18" x 32"
    Cut 4 (2.5" x 16.5") from the coordinating solid
    Cut 6 (3.5" x 1") from the coordinating solid
    Cut 4 (3.5" x 1.75") from the coordinating solid
    Cut 3 (2.5" x WOF) from the binding fabric
    Cut 1 (2" x WOF) from the binding fabric


Piecing/ Quilting Directions:

(1) To begin, grab 8 charms to make the front and back hourglass blocks. I used the small deer prints and polka dots from the Oh Deer! collection. Divide these charms into 4 stack, laying the fabric right sides together. Pin and draw a marked line from one diagonal to the other.

(2) Sew on either side of the marked line on all 4 fabric stacks

 (3) Then taking a rotary cutter, cut along the marked line and then across the other unmarked diagonal to create 4 triangle pieces. Do this for each fabric stack. Then press these triangles open and arrange them in pairs to create eight hourglass blocks.

Note: I like to press my seams open rather than to one side, but use whichever method you prefer.

(4)  Place a pin where the seams align on each half and sew along the diagonal.

(5) Press each block open and trim evenly to 3.5" x 3.5" square

(6) After trimming each block, arrange them into two groups of four blocks each in whichever configuration you like.

(7) Then sew the group of four blocks together into a strip, connecting the interior edges with the 3.5" x 1" solid pieces and the exterior edges with the 3.5" x 1.75" solid pieces. Do this for both block groupings.

(8) Then sew on either long edge of the block strips one 2.5" x 16.5" solid fabric piece. Set both hourglass block strips aside for now.

(9) Next, grab the 16 (4.5" x 4.5") trimmed charms to make the central panel of the sewing machine cover. Lay these out into a 4 x 4 grid in whichever configuration you like.

I used directional prints in my design, so I arranged the top of each print to be oriented towards the center of the block to ensure that these prints would read correctly once the cover was placed on the sewing machine (see the two bird prints for instance).

Then sew the charms together into rows. Finally, sew the rows together to form the finished square, pressing your seams as you go.

(10) Taking the hourglass block strips, sew one strip to either side of the central square, paying attention to the orientation of any directional prints.

 (11) Then taking the freshly pressed top, layer and baste it into a quilt sandwich with the batting and backing piece. Quilt as desired.

Note: I used my walking foot to quilt straight, horizontal lines while varying the density of the lines by each section to add a little visual interest. I began with 1/4" spaced lines on each end (quilting around the hourglass blocks), switched to 1" spaced lines in the first row of charms in from each end, and finally used 1/2" spaced lines to quilt the two central rows of charms.

(12) Once your piece is completely quilted, trim off any excess batting and backing.

(13) To prepare the side-ties for the sewing machine cover, take the 2" x WOF strip in the binding fabric. Press to create a long piece of double-fold binding tape. Cut this piece of binding tape into four equally sized pieces (around 10.5" each).

Taking each strip, open again slightly and press a 1/4" of fabric in on one end (see above photo) to prepare for sewing. Then refold along the pressed seams and press once again to set. Sew along the newly folded end and along the open edge of each piece to create four finished ties.

 (14) Taking the ties, line them up on the back of the quilted cover, about 7" in from each end* (see the photo below) or where it makes the most sense to place the ties for your sewing machine. Place the raw edge of each tie on the edge of the quilted piece.

Pin each tie in place and sew several back and forth lines of stitching, a scant 1/4 in from the edge of the quilted piece to tack securely in place (see photo above).

*I used my quilting lines as a guide to help make sure my ties were perfectly even with one another.

(15) To prepare for binding, pin the end of each tie to the center of the quilted piece to prevent getting them caught in the seam as the binding is sewn.

(16) Then prepare the 3 (2.5" x WOF) strips to create one piece of continuos binding tape. Sew the binding to the quilting piece, mitering your corners as you go. Fold the binding to the back and finish your sewing machine cover by hand or by machine stitching the binding to the back.*

 Now your sewing machine cover is ready to go!
Here are a few photos of what my cover looks like on the back:

And the front:

And finally, in action. : )