Featured Fabric: FreeSpirit Soda Pop by Sue Penn

Pattern Design by: Sally Gauntlett

Sewn by: Sally Gauntlett

Technique: Home sewing, patchwork, quilting

Skill Level: Advanced Beginner

Finished Size: 15” (38.10cm) wide x 26” (66.04cm) high (Fits a standard size sewing machine)

Our sewing machines are so precious it makes sense to protect them from dust and dirt when they’re not working hard on our current projects. In today’s tutorial I’m going to show you how to sew a cute, patchwork and quilted sewing machine cover complete with pockets for all your favourite tools. This cover also doubles as a mat so that while you’re working, you can have everything you need to hand and protect your table, too!

Let’s get started!

FABRIC SUPPLIES

3/4 yard (.69m) each of (6) different fabrics for Patchwork Squares. I used:

• Daisy dream pink - PINK
• Fizzy blue - BLUE
• Glow orange - PWSP004.ORANGE
• Grunge multi - PWSP101.MULTI
• LG Bliss blue - PWSP098.BLUE
• Twist multi - PWSP092.MULTI (from Skylights by Sue Penn)

Note: I used 0.58 yard, cutting 6 3.5” patchwork squares this leaves a little left over after cutting.

1/2 yard (.46m) Front Pocket fabric. I used:

• Bubbly multi - MULTI

Note: I used approximately 0.33 yard with some left over after cutting.

1 yard (.91m) Binding and Ties fabric. I used:

• Groovy green – GREEN

Note: I used approximately 0.75 yard with some left over after cutting.

1 yard (.91m) Backing fabric. I used:

• Ripple multi - MULTI

Note: I used approximately 1 yard in length and had some left over after cutting.

Additionally, you will need:

3/4 yard (.69m) Outside Panels fabric. I chose a contrast neutral fabric, but you can use more of the printed if you prefer. Note: I used approximately 0.75 yard in length with some left over after cutting.

1 yard (.91m) Fusible Fleece or thin quilt Wadding/Batting. Note: I used approximately 0.75 yard in length with some left over after cutting.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED

• Cutting mat (optional)
• Rotary cutter (scissors can be used here instead)
• Ruler
• Pins
• Safety pins
• Scissors
• Thread
• Sewing machine
• A sewing machine quilting foot (optional)
• Iron

CUTTING MEASUREMENTS

You will need to cut the fabric to the following measurements:

1 x Backing fabric 16 x 27”

1 x Wadding/batting 16 x 27”

1 x Contrast top panel 3 x 11”

2 x Contrast side panels 3 x 26”

36 x Patchwork pieces 3.5” square (I chose 6 designs and cut six squares from each design)

Front Pocket:

2 x Side panels 3 x 12”

1 x Main panel 11 x 12”

Binding & Ties:

2 x Binding for long edges 2 x 27”

2 x Binding for short edges 2 x 17”

4 x Binding for side ties 2 x 22”

LET’S START WITH THE PATCHWORK

To start with we will create a patchwork panel of four squares by nine squares.

Step One: On a flat surface (table or floor) lay out your patchwork squares in a design that is pleasing to you. Start with a row of four squares and keep adding rows of four until you have a rectangle of four by nine squares.

Once you’re happy with your design. Place your squares into piles with your first square on top (left to right) so that you can easily remember which order to sew your design in.

TIP: I find it helpful to stick a small piece of washi tape of the top of my piles to hold them together if I’m not going to be sewing right away. You can also mark the first square with a pin or another piece of washi tape so that you know which square to start with when you come to sew.

NOW WE CAN SEW…

Please note that a seam allowance of ½” is used throughout

Step Two: Sew each of your rows of four squares together to form a row. Press the seams open. You should have nine rows of four squares.

Step Three: Take two of your rows of four squares and pin them right sides together lining up and matching the seamlines of the squares. Sew the two rows together and press the seams open.

Continue in this way until all nine rows of four have been sewn and pressed and you have a patchwork panel.

TIP: Be sure to keep your rows in order here to ensure your design turns out as you planned in step one!

Step Four: Take your contrast top panel (the shorter piece) and pin it, right sides together across the top of your patchwork panel.  Sew in place and press the seam open.

Step Five: Take your contrast side pieces (the longer pieces) and pin them, right sides together, along the sides of your patchwork panel. Sew in place and press the seams open.

Note: Small discrepancies in seam allowances can sometimes mean that panels do not line up exactly when matched. Unless your pieces are very uneven, don’t worry about this too much for now as we will trim everything neatly a bit later on.

You have now completed your patchwork panel!

TIME TO QUILT

Step Six: Next, we need to form a quilt ‘sandwich’ with our patchwork panel, wadding piece and backing fabric. On a flat surface, place your backing fabric wrong side up, place your wadding on top of the outer fabric and your patchwork panel on top again with the right side facing up.

The layer of wadding or fleece should be sandwiched in-between your inner and outer fabrics with the right sides of the fabrics facing outwards.

NOTE: The backing and wadding fabrics are cut slightly larger than the patchwork panel will be. This is to allow for some movement in the layering process. We will trim any excess later on.

Secure the ‘sandwich’ together with some quilting or safety pins. Make sure that the patchwork panel is completely covered underneath by the wadding and backing fabrics.

TIP: I like to form my quilting sandwich on the ironing board and give it a little iron over once it’s placed. The heat will temporarily fuse the fibres together making it less likely to slip around before pinning.

Step Seven: Using a quilting or walking foot if you have one, sew a straight line of stitching along each patchwork panel approximately ½” away from the seamline. Continue vertically and horizontally until each patchwork panel has its own quilting line.

NOTE: The beauty of quilting is in its creativity – if you would prefer a different quilting design or even to hand quilt, feel free to do whatever you please here!

Step Eight: Remove your safety/quilting pins and give everything a good press. You can now trim any irregular edges with a cutting mat, rotary cutter and ruler or a ruler and scissors.

LETS MAKE THE POCKET

Step Nine: Take your main pocket piece and pin a contrast panel piece, right sides together along the slightly longer edges. Sew in place and press the seams open.

Fold the pocket piece in half, wrong sides together and press the fold.

Step Ten: Sew a topstitch along the edges of both contrast panels at ½”. This will act as a faux quilting line and should mimic the quilting line of the patchwork panel (if you are following a straight quilting design).

Step Eleven: Place the folded and pressed pocket on top of your quilted panel, lining up the contrast panel pieces so that they match up and lining up the raw edges along the bottom.

NOTE:  Again, small discrepancies in seam allowances when sewing can make things slightly out of line. If this happens, depending on how accurate you want to be, you can amend the seam allowances of the contrast pocket panels to give more or less width if needed.

Step Twelve: Pin your pocket in place and quilt through all layers (pocket and patchwork panel) to create three pockets. I followed the lines every two patchwork pieces to give me three large pockets, but you could add more or less pockets if you prefer.

Trim any uneven edges as needed.

TIME TO BIND

Take your binding strips to the ironing board. Fold and press the strips in half along the long length. Press each long, raw edge in again to meet the centre fold. Press in half to create a strip of folded binding (as shown below)

NOTE: We don’t yet need the side ties, but we may as well press these at the same time as we’re pressing the binding for the cover in preparation.

Step Thirteen: Leaving a length of approximately 1” at each end, open out and pin a strip of the longer binding pieces, right sides together, to the side edges of the patchwork cover matching raw edges. Stitch in place along the pressed line.

Step Fourteen: Carefully trim the seam down by half. Fold your binding over to the back of the case and pin in place making sure to cover the stitch line you’ve just sewn with the folded edge of the binding on the wrong side.

Stitch ‘in the ditch’ along the bias binding ensuring you catch the edge of the binding underneath as you go. Trim any excess binding at the edges when you’re done.

Note: Stitching ‘in the ditch’ simply means stitching in the crease of the seam you’ve just sewn rather than on top of the binding. This will make the stitch line less visible. 

Step Fifteen: Take your remaining strips of binding and pin to the top and bottom edges in the same way as before but this time fold the edges of the binding (wrong sides together) to create a neat, enclosed edge. Pin and stitch the binding in place as before sewing over the folded edges as you go.

Repeat this for the top and bottom of the patchwork cover. Your pocket piece will be sandwiched between the binding and the patchwork cover at the bottom edge.

Fold your binding over to the back of the cover and pin in place making sure to cover the stitch line you’ve just sewn.

Stitch ‘in the ditch’ from the right side, as before, all along the bias binding ensuring you catch the edge of the binding underneath as you go.

TIP: You can hand sew the open edges together at the corners for a really neat finish.

AND FINALLY THE TIES…

Step Sixteen: The four side ties are created with strips of binding.

Take your remaining four strips of binding, open out one of the short ends on each piece and fold in ½” wrong sides together to enclose the raw edge.  Press the full length of the binding again so that it is neatly folded if you need to. The strips should measure approximately ½” wide when pressed.

Topstitch each tie along the unfolded edge at approximately 1/8”. Sew over the short folded edge to enclose the raw edge.

Step Seventeen: Fold the raw edge of one of the binding strips in towards the tie at approximately 3/8”. Pin to the back (wrong side) of your sewing machine cover 6.5” up from the bottom edge.

Topstitch in place close to the edge of the side binding with the folded raw edge facing inwards so that it won’t be visible once sewn and the tie facing out and away from the cover.

Repeat for the other three ties pinning and sewing 6.5” away from the top and bottom edges.

FINISHING TOUCHES

Give everything a final press, pop your cover over your sewing machine and tie the side ties into a neat bow. You can now fill the pockets with all your favourite and most used sewing tools!

Stand back and admire how pretty your sewing machine looks in its new jacket.

I really hope you enjoyed sewing up your sewing machine cover and mat. These make great gifts for other sewing people in your life and the patchwork formula works so nicely for lots of other covers and mats too!

If you give this tutorial a go, please do share a photo on Instagram and tag me @secret_life_of_a_seamstress so that I can see it.  Don’t forget to tag @siysewityourself, too!

Happy sewing!

Sally x

Fabric Details:

To view the complete FreeSpirit Soda Pop by Sue Penn, click here.

Learn more about Sally here.

Instagram: @secret_life_of_a_seamstress
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/SecretLifeOfASeamstress
Blog:  https://www.secretlifeofaseamstress.co.uk/