Hello!
How are you all today? Anybody do any fun sewing this weekend? It was Father’s Day for us yesterday, so no fun sewing for me, but plenty of fun had celebrating the Hubs being the father of my children!
Anyhoo, I was cleaning up my sew space the other day, and realized I needed to show my sewing machine some extra love and care. I’m going to take her to get a wellness “check-up” soon, and I also sewed up a nice cover to keep her safe, warm, and dust free.
After searching up some cute DIY patterns, I decided to make this one from sewcanshe.com.
The tutorial was very clear and simple to follow, and putting it together was easy and quick. I had about a yard of this really cute sewing print from Spoonflower saved up just for the occasion. I used orange gingham and coordinating stripes for contrast.
Now, while I mentioned sewing was easy, I wasn’t kidding. What I should disclose is that concentrating on sewing while watching tv at the same time is NOT quite so easy. At least for me, I found. I thought it would be a good idea to have the tv on in the background while I was sewing. Usually, I have iTunes blasting in my ears, so for whatever reason I thought the tv would be better this time around is beyond my thinking at this point.
Guys, I made so many mistakes on this sewing machine cover! I’m going to blame the tv (and Anna Wintour’s perfectly coiffed bob) and not my inability to multitask, because I’m usually really good at multitasking…
Ok fine, it was my fault and not the tv, or Anna Wintour’s hair, but whatever.
The first mistake was made during cutting. I became so engrossed in watching this documentary on Hulu called “The First Monday in May” which is about the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s 2015 exhibition, China: Through the Looking Glass. Because I love watching anything that has to do with clothing and fashion, my attention was very obviously distracted (Oh my goodness, the DRESSES and GOWNS tho!!). Well, I ended up cutting my width and length the opposite way. Because my pattern is only one-way direction, I needed to cut it so that when it drapes over my machine to cover it, the print will be right-side up. The way I ended cutting it turns the print SIDEWAYS. When I realized this, my first instinct was to throw my scissors across the room and stomp all over my fabric piece. But I’m 39, not 7, so I guess I didn’t.
Another mistake I made with the fabric direction was not paying attention to how the two side panels of the cover were going to lay and ended up sewing both of them UPSIDE DOWN. Face. Palm. So now, not only is the front and back print of my sewing cover going to be sideways, but the left and right panels are going to be upside down. At this point, I was thinking “Maybe I should turn off the documentary?“, but I mean, how, when the Met staff just rolled out a dress made of PORCELAIN?!
Of course, I continued watching and sewing at the same time, and Anna Wintour’s impeccable hairdo caused me to make one final mistake. When the directions stated to sew the lining and topstitch only the two sides of the cover, I not only did that, but did the same to the main front and back piece too. Well, I wasn’t supposed to do that to the main piece. So I spent a good chunk of time ripping out every top stitch first, then undoing the main hem stitches as well. It took over an hour to do. Son of a……
When I put my finished cover over my sewing machine, I admittedly did not like the way it looked. It bulged in some places and wouldn’t lay nice and flat because the material of the cover is soft. I did, however, like the way it looked over my original plastic machine cover–the one that came with my machine when I bought it:
I’m still hissy-fitting over the sideways/upside down print snafu. Arrrrgh!!! My perfectionist tendencies are going insane right now, but I’m just going to have to live with it. Besides, it’s not too bad, right? Right??????????
I like collecting pins and I thought this cover would make a great home for all my sewing-related ones. The turquoise sewing machine pin is from the Gray Muse and the other ones are all from Justine Gilbuena’s Etsy shop. Aren’t they adorable?
When the cover is fully opened, you can use it as a mat to place your machine on. the pockets are handy for placing all your tools in so they don’t get lost in the sewing fray–perfect for me, since I always lose my tools in the middle of sewing and often have to stop and scramble to find them.
Well, despite all my silly mistakes, I like that my machine now has a pretty cover to put on it when it’s not in use. It certainly is interesting looking, anyway, haha! Oh well. Can’t win ’em all, right? What are your most memorable “Sewing Snafus?”
Love to love ya,
Sew What, Gilly? 