Cover Up

I love having sewing machines on display although I really don't have room for any type of display shelves. I make do with having a few on top of the cabinets that are for sale or on the breakfront that is near the front door. The Singer 99 hand crank seems to be permanently on display and it does get a lot of compliments but she's getting dusty sitting out all exposed. At the River Rats TOGA last September I noticed one woman's solution: a cover that was backed with fusible fleece to give it body so it would nearly stand up by itself. Here's the best part: her fabric was printed with the words "Singer" in their own font. Oh, I had to have some of that fabric! It's not cheap but I figured I would make one to see if I could sell others and last weekend was my opportunity.

Black background with gold Singer motif, very elegant.

 I measured my machine for length and width, cutting out the fusible fleece first as my base pattern. Then the Singer fabric was laid out, fusible fleece on top, cutting out with 3/4" seam allowance:

Base pattern of 19" by 26.5", adding seam allowance to Singer fabric

I made up a pattern piece for the side panel and repeated the process, cutting out two of each:

Size before adjustment of 1" off the bottom edge

My fusible fleece was not too happy about fusing onto the back of the fabric so I went ahead and sewed through the fleece and outer fabric along lines that basically underlined the words "Singer" to keep it all together. With my fabric sandwiches, I fitted the end cap piece and basted in place:

End cap fabric was too large, creating bulges

It looked terrible! There was way too much end cap fabric so I snipped out most of the basting threads and pinned it in place from the outside while sitting on top of the machine. This was more like using a dress form but this time I got it right. I checked the final version against my pattern and found out I needed to make that end cap about an inch shorter. Now I could serge the seams for a more finished look:

Seams were sewn and then serged as a seam finish. Note quilting lines.

I cut out lining that was fabric from a shower curtain where I had used the outer fabric but not the gold colored lining. Ta da:

Lining serged together, ready for sewing onto the outer shell

Measured to cut and formed around the finished quilted shell, I also serged these seams. With right sides together, the bottom seam was sewn with about eight inches left open for turning. Once turned so the right sides were now showing, it was pressed and top stitched around the bottom for a finished look and to enclose where it had been open for turning around:

And she lifts her skirt to show off the lining!

Here it is, on top of the Singer 66 Red Eye treadle cabinet where she currently resides:

I'll need to find a different placemat to set the Singer 99 handcrank on now that it has such a beautiful cover, but it does need something to sit on so it doesn't make marks on the wood top from movement. I wouldn't want to put felt on the bottom of the wooden base as it would then be slippery, a no-no when sewing. I like the placemat solution so that will be my next project. Maybe I could make one that is more interesting than just a black rectangle of fabric...suggestions? Would this be my entrance to free motion quilting? It just might be but for now I'm very happy with my Singer fabric cover for my Singer 99 hand crank:

Oh so sweet, my Singer 99 hand crank