Sewing machine cover
Keep the dust at bay and your sewing machine in tip top condition with a homemade sewing machine cover.
Let us show you how you can easily upcycle an old blanket or quilt into a beautiful sewing machine cover. And don’t stop at sewing machines! Why not make ones for your overlockers, cover stitchers, ScanNCuts, quilting and embroidery machines too…
Materials needed
Blanket or quilt
Sewing thread
Extra fabric:
- For a facing around the opening: approximately 10 x 20cm
- For a binding (optional): a strip of approximately 7cm wide and a little longer than the bottom edge of the cover
Equipment needed
- Your sewing machine
- Measuring tape
- Fabric scissors
- Pins
How to
Step 1
For this tutorial we are using the Brother Innovis-A50 sewing machine, but you can customise these instructions to cover any sewing, quilting, embroidery, overlocker, coverstitch or ScanNCut machine that you have. You will need a sewing machine to sew it though!
Measure the height, width and depth of the machine you’re making the cover for. Take the measurements across the widest parts of the machine. Draw the top, side and front panel and add 1cm seam allowance around all edges.
Tip: We placed our pattern pieces for the front, back and sides on the edge of the quilt, so the binding that was used to finish the quilt becomes the bottom edge of the cover. If your quilt or blanket doesn’t have a binding around it, cut the pieces any way you prefer, and make a binding from extra fabric to finish the bottom edge after constructing the cover.
Step 2
Cut the pattern pieces from the blanket or quilt.
Step 3
Create an opening for your sewing machine’s handle, so you can carry it. Measure the size of the opening you need for the handle and draw a rectangle in the correct place on the pattern piece for the top of the sewing machine cover. Mark this position on the fabric piece you have cut for the top of the cover. Do not cut it.
Step 4
On the wrong side of a piece of extra fabric, draw a rectangle the same size as the handle gap you just drew on the top piece of fabric. Add 3cm all around and cut out. Finish the edges with a zig zag stitch or overlocking.
Step 5
Centre the piece of extra fabric, right side facing down, over the opening you have marked on the fabric piece for the top of the sewing machine cover and pin in place. The drawn lines on the extra piece of fabric and the lines on the top cover piece need to match exactly.
Step 6
Sew the two pieces of fabric together on the lines marked. Cut a line in the centre through all layers, stopping 1cm from the stitching, and cut into the corners. Now fold the piece of extra fabric to the inside and iron flat. To finish your opening, topstitch around on the edge of the opening and on the edge of the fabric facing.
Step 7
Sew the edges of the front and side parts of the sewing machine cover together. Make sure the bottom edges line up nicely, especially if you are using the ready bound edges. Leave the top 1cm of the seams open. Finish the seams with zig zag stitch or overlocking.
Step 8
Pin the top edges of the cover to the edges of the top piece, using the part of the seam you left open at the top to shape it around the corners. Sew all around and finish the seam edges. 
