DIY Sewing/Serger Machine Cover

For too long, my sewing machine, my serger, and my coverstitch have been sitting there, uncovered, exposed to the elements. I have been doing my due diligence and trying to keep them clean, but what I failed to realize is that dust is like a million tiny fiends that find their way deep inside the machines. The situation reached a dramatic point when I noticed that even the thread spools had a layer of dust on them. Where else and for how long had dirt been collecting without me realizing it?

It became painfully obvious that covers were needed immediately. Luckily, I had a pair of Ikea curtains that I had purchased a couple of years ago but never got to use. The curtains looked amazing at the store, but when I got home, I realized that they did not do a great job of blocking light. I knew I could do something with this fabric, so I saved it. It was time to recycle the curtains into covers for all of my machines.

Pattern

I was going to create my patterns from scratch, but why would I put myself through some Math if I can use the power of the Internet? I quickly found out that Closet Core (previously known as Closet Case) has free patterns for both sewing and serging machine covers. In exchange for your email, you get the patterns delivered to your inbox. The patterns are easy to adapt to the measurements of your sewing and serging machines, so yeah, a little Math, but we can handle it.

Fabric

The Ikea curtains are made of this nice, 100% cotton canvas. The fabric is really sturdy, so it is perfect as a protective cover. They have the most adorable black kitty face print—it looks a lot like Pota, the tuxedo cat my partner and I adopted a few months ago. I used one 57×96 panel to make all covers; I will be using the other one to make throw pillows.

Construction

Taping and Cutting the Pattern

The least fun part of this project was printing the patterns and taping them. I hate taping patterns. And I would have hated it much more had it not been for my partner reminding me that I needed tape when we went grocery shopping. He is amazing like that.

Once the patterns were taped, I modified them using the measurements for my sewing machine, serger, and coverstitch. I added too much and ended up having to chop off a couple of inches from the length of the covers. They turned out quite roomy, but I don’t think the machines mind.

Adding Piping

I was not going to bother adding piping, but the covers looked a bit plain without it. I had two 2.5-yard lengths of black piping, and I thought that was enough. Well, it wasn’t. Making two covers with piping and one without was totally out of the question—my brain would not be able to handle it. The MacGyver in me grabbed some bias tape and twine, and I made my own piping. It is a little narrower than the store-bought one but close enough to keep everything uniform—and the brain happy.

No piping? No problem! Grab some single fold bias binding and some twine. Iron the binding flat then in half and sandwich the twine against the fold. With a zipper foot, stitch as close to the twine as you can. You just made your own piping!

I had never used piping before, so I followed the Closet Core tutorial from the sewing cover tutorial. I did not have a piping foot when sewing the covers, but I found that attaching the piping with a zipper foot worked quite well. I lined up the piping with the raw edge since I did not have a set seam allowance to follow. This left me with a very narrow edge to serge. I had just enough fabric to run through the serger.

Sewing the Covers

The curtains worked perfectly for this project. The canvas made for perfect covers—exactly what I wanted as a protective layer for my machines. It holds its shape quite well, and it is just so darn adorable with all those kitty faces staring at me. I added double pockets to the sewing machine cover because everything is better with pockets.

This is a really easy project—just pay attention if you are using a directional print. I made a huge boo-boo and ended up with upside-down kitty faces. The cover was finished when I realized my mistake. I had to undo the whole thing. Because I had serged the seams together, I had to undo every single serged stitch. I was not happy, but the idea of upside-down cats was even more distressing. After an hour of unpicking, I was ready to resew the cover.

The Pota-Inspired Covers

I love it when a project is both adorable and practical. The covers are super cute, and my machines will no longer have to deal with being dusty all the time. I am obsessed with piping and have already bought a piping foot. Pota is quite proud of being the inspiration for this project. She can often be found under the table where all of my machines are. She is my kitty muse.