Where the Magic Happens

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I bought my serger 11 years ago and I have been covering it up with the same cheap plastic cover that came with it - but no more.  My old serger is sporting a new cover now.

Closet Case Patterns Serger Cover
I wanted to sew something quick and easy after my skirt frustrations and after seeing this pattern and instructions I knew this would fit the bill.  It ended up not being so quick but that was my choosing.

How I Did It

I got the free pattern and instructions from Closet Case Patterns.  It was 2 pattern pieces for the serger - it can't get much easier than that.  The instructions are great and it stitches up pretty quickly (except for mine).
Front and Back

Sides
I have really been trying to use up my fabric stash.  I have more fabric than I have storage.  One of the fabrics recommended was a cotton/denim/canvas.  I went to my stash and found this boring, stiff, ugly canvas fabric.  After looking at it I wanted to go to the fabric store, but I resisted (this time).  Since I love color I decided to bring my fabric to life.

Boring Ugly Stiff Canvas

If I had the "right" fabric I believe me, the slow sewer,  could have whip this out in about an hour.  It took me many many many hours to bring my fabric to life and everything for this project came from my stash - ya.

I knew an easy way to bring this ugly fabric to life was to put some embroidery on it.  I decided to use Bunnycup's Mehndi Hearts Collection and some wording.  I was so excited about getting this done I forgot to use stabilizer on one of the designs on the back of the cover.  I did not have a big enough piece of canvas to re-cut and do it over.  Typing this I just realized I could have stitched it on another small piece and used it as applique - oh well.

Used on Both Side Panels


I Forgot to Add Stabilizer

Back of Cover
Front of Cover

The cut edges of the canvas was unraveling at an alarming rate as I started to work with it so I had to stop and serge the edges.  




Next I added store bought binding to the side pieces.





I also knew I wanted depth, dimension, and a bit of softness to help my ugly stiff fabric so I decided to add quilting batting and a quilting type cotton to it.


It was still going to be to "boring" so I decided to decorate the fabric using Sulky's 30 Wt Cotton thread and a triple straight stitch,  I drew vertical lines approximately 1 inch apart and used them as my stitching guide.





Magic wouldn't be magical unless it had some bling.  I used my embroidery software to cut out a crystal template to go around the word "magic".  Afterwards I used a heat press to attach it to my cover.

Design Cut Out in Template Material

Crystals Added


Now it was time to put the pieces together - super simple.


After both sides were attached I hemmed it.  Again I used my 30 Wt thread and a triple straight stitch.


The old cover (included with the serger).

Original Cover that Came with the Machine

Original Cover Falling Apart
The new cover.

Front

Right Side

Back Side

Right Side

Conclusion

I am in love with my new serger cover.  It took way to many hours to decorate my fabric (remember I am a slow sewer).  I had been up at least 26 hours and at one point during the "decoration" phase I asked myself was it worth it - after all it was just a cover.

After seeing it put all together it was definitely worth it.  I am glad I endured even though I was sleep deprive (my own choosing).

What's Next

I am still planning to get Rosy Pena's Sofia Flares done this week.

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