Fat Quarter Project; Sewing Machine Mat
This tutorial will help you to create a stylish and practical sewing machine mat, which will not only help to reduce/absorb some of the noise from your machine, but also provide handy storage pockets for you to use while you’re sewing.
You will need:
- 3 fabric fat quarters – iron to get any creases/folds out.
- Wadding (Or you could use fleece fabric or sweatshirting – just something to give it a bit of padding)
- Bias binding
- Sewing machine with a universal needle
- Thread
- Rotary cutter & cutting mat or fabric scissors
- Quilting ruler
- Chalk/Fabric marker
- Pins/clips
- Label (optional)
Remember to back stitch at the start and end each time you sew – this is essential to secure your stitches.
I will be using a ½” seam allowance throughout, unless specified otherwise.
- Choose which will be your mat top fabric, bottom fabric and pocket fabric. Take your top piece and ‘true up’ the edges – I do this using a quilting ruler and the selvedge of the fabric. Once ‘true’, you will also need to trim the selvedge off.
Now use this rectangle as a template to trim your bottom fabric and also cut a piece of wadding to this size.
- Decide on the quilting design that you would like on your mat and draw your quilting lines on. I am actually skipping this step, as I am going to use the diagonal pattern on the fabric as my quilting lines.
- Sandwich your wadding in between your top and bottom fabric pieces – ensuring the fabrics are right sides facing out. Use a few pins to secure the layers, then machine baste all around the outside edges.
- Quilt your design lines – you may wish to use a contrasting thread here so it stands out – sewist’s choice!
- Take your pocket fabric and press it in half, lengthways, wrong sides together. Trim the edges so it matches the width of your quilted rectangle.
- Sew a line of top stitching close to the folded edge. I am also adding a cute woven label at this point – again, this is optional.
- Lay your pocket piece on the mat, ensuring it is lined up with the bottom edge. Pin/Clip in place, then sew around the two sides and the bottom edge – DO NOT sew along the top folded edge, or your pockets won’t be functional!
- Decide how many pockets you want and what width you would like them to be – this depends on what you plan on using them for. Draw a line on for each pocket seam, then stitch carefully over the lines.
- Take your bias tape and pin/clip it all the way round, enclosing the raw edges. There will be excess fabric at each corner – just tuck these bits underneath themselves to create a little diagonal seam (hopefully the picture shows this better!)
When you’ve got back to the start, trim off the tape and fold the raw edge under so it looks nice and neat.
- Edgestitch the bias tape down – take it nice and slowly, ensuring you are catching the tape on both sides. I am using a zig-zag stitch for this as it helps with catching both sides of the bias, and it looks pretty cute too!
You’re finished! The perfect addition to every sewing room!
If you get stuck on any aspects of the tutorial, please feel free to send me a message and I’ll help.
Share your finished makes on instagram, using the hashtag #SewHayleyJaneFQ and tag me @sewn_on_the_tyne
See you next month,
Tamlyn xx