Bernina 880+ Sewing Machine Cover
I decided quarantine was the perfect time to make a cover for the Bernina that sits on top of the custom built table. I haven’t seen a custom built table or cover for the 880+ online yet so this was another experiment. The table is almost finished but it’s going to go beautifully with the cover when finished. (Yes, the table has a hidden section that accommodates the embroidery unit but that’s a story for another post.)
The cover only had a few criteria to meet: it had to clear the sewing caddy on top, the thread stand when in the lowered position (and turned inward) and not catch on any pins or needles in the 2 pin cushions. It would also have to be stiff enough to stand without leaning as it’s going to be huge. It was a great quarantine project as it took about 5-6 days to do.
I used 1/8th” thick felt but it wasn’t stiff enough so I popped a piece of plastic corrugated cardboard into the top, front and back which were sandwiched in between a light fabric. This was because the feature fabric is a coarse upholstery fabric with a white background and the grey felt would show through if it wasn’t lined. The feature fabric was sewn on at the same time. To sew as closely to the plastic as possible, I used the zipper foot on the machine. The machine easily handled up to 3 layers of felt and three layers of fabric. As the felt piece wasn’t long enough I had to add on a piece of felt that was doubled over, hence the three layers of felt on one side. Then I made the handles.
Before deciding to use the plastic cardboard, the idea was to finish the sides with piping and sew them on the sewing machine. After the plastic was sewn in, I wouldn’t be able to manipulate the cover under the machine so I neatened up the edges and hand sewed the vertical seams…which killed my fingers and took a couple of days. I didn’t make the plastic removable as the cover would have had to have slits on the outer sides and I didn’t want that.
The cover measures 24.5″ wide, 13.75″ tall and 11.5″ deep.
Easily clears the sewing caddy and little pin cushion on top of the thread stand when retracted.
Handles were machine sewn before the sides were sewn.
I didn’t put any notion pockets on the cover as I have a place for everything in the sewing room and the machine is never taken out of the table.
As the cover can’t be folded up for easy storage, it’ll be stored under the Q20 table when not in use. If there was no corbel in the top, it could easily be flattened. If you’re wondering why there’s a little cushion in the first photo, my table has extra room on the front for my elbows and I need it for comfort if sewing for a long time. There is another for the other one if the sewing project doesn’t get in the way. That elbow rest takes the strain off my neck and shoulders which is a big win.
The next project will be making a cover the Q20.
Wishing you a happy and safe quarantine,
Fiona
Fiona Schiffl 
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