I needed a sewing machine mat in a hurry since I’m taking a workshop on Sunday and I’m tired of losing stuff all the time!  I found a good tutorial a few weeks ago but just didn’t have the time to quilt my own piece of fabric.  Then I remembered that a certain big fabric store sells pre-quilted fabric and the lightbulb went off.   I made this in a few hours (it took longer because of the photos and stuff) but I love it!

It also makes a great organizer for my Featherweight sewing machine!

Here is what you’ll need:

1. A yard of pre-quilted fabric (this will cover the mat area and your pocket area).   Use a coupon.  If you want to quilt your own go for it!
2. Binding for the pocket and the mat (this will vary depending on the size of your machine)

I had binding leftover from other projects so I just grabbed what sort of matched and went with it.

Measure your machine length. Mine measured at 18″ or so and I added an inch just in case so it was wide enough to comfortably fit.

Now sit at your machine where you normally sew. Tape your tape measure to the back of your machine and measure down to the top of your legs from where you are sitting.  This way the pockets don’t get in the way when they fall from the table. Mark where the bottoms of the pockets should be with tape or something.

This is an example of the pre-quilted fabric you can find at the big fabric stores.

Fold your fabric selvage to selvage with the fold at the bottom. Trim one end so you can make an even cut.

Now use your cutting mat or a ruler to measure how long your fabric should be and cut the other side evenly.

Flip your fabric and trim the selvages off at the top. Unfold your fabric now.

Cut the width. For my machine I made it easy on myself and did 19″ square all around so I didn’t mess up a measurement.

You should have your mat base cut out now.

Figure out how tall your pockets can be without irritating and getting in the way. Mine could be about 4″ high and I added another half an inch for the binding. I cut my pockets out at 4.5″ high.  Don’t make them too deep or you won’t be able to dig out your tiny tools!

Don’t know how to bind by machine? Here is a great video tutorial! You don’t need to miter anything since this is just the pocket portion. Trim the edges clean when you are finished.

Now pin your pocket to the mat and figure out how big you want the individual pockets to be by laying out your notions that you want to store in there.

I added an optional loop using some leftover binding that I sewed into a hook so I can hang my scissors from my mat and not drop them.

Mark your pocket lines with a chalk pencil using a ruler so your lines are straight.

Sew those lines! Be sure to backstitch at the bottom and the top of your pockets for extra strength.

Quick and easy!

Portable and useful!

I hope you liked the mat tutorial! They make great quick gifts for your sewing friends too.