Toaster Cover DIY

Look what I made! A lovely toaster cover for my mom! Don't worry. It's not droopy or lopsided. It's standing up on its own with no support because I don’t have a toaster with the same dimensions as my mom’s. It’s definitely the right size. I checked and double checked and triple checked. Here is how I did it. 

You will need:

interior fabric

exterior fabric

batting

double-fold bias tape in coordinating color

1. Measure small sides of toaster. My mom’s were 8” tall x 6” wide. 

2. Optional: Cut out paper version of small side to use for reference later. So mine was an 8” x 6” piece of paper.

3. Measure big sides of toaster. My mom’s were 8” tall (obviously, yes?) by 12” long.
Determine length of two big sides plus top. This will be covered by one long strip of fabric. For me, this was 12” long by (8” tall + 8” tall + 6” wide). In other words, 12” by 32”.

4. Add seam allowances to each of these numbers, plus wiggle room. You don’t want to make a cover that’s exactly the same size as your appliance, or it won’t slide on and off easily. Usually, when you’re accounting for just seam allowance, you will add 1/4” to each seam, which in most cases, works out to 1/2” to each dimension. I added a full inch to every dimension. This gave me dimensions of 9” by 7” (for the two small sides) and 13” by 33” (for the long strip). These are the dimensions that the quilted fabric needs to be at the time of assembly.

5. Extra allowance for quilting: Full disclosure: I am an extremely inexperienced quilter, so I added another half inch to each dimension, just in case I warped my fabric when quilting. I ended up not really needing it, but my plan was to start with slightly bigger pieces of fabric than I needed, then to cut them down to the sizes in step #4 when I was ready for assembly. So add whatever you need.

6. Cut out fabric in your dimensions from step 4 or 5. I used the same fabric inside and out, but it’s not necessary. If you want the pattern of your fabric to run a certain way, don't forget to account for that when cutting out your pieces.

For same fabric inside and out:

4 pieces of fabric the dimensions of your small sides

2 pieces of batting the dimensions of your small sides

2 pieces of fabric the dimensions of your long strip

1 piece of batting the dimensions of your long strip

For two different fabrics:

2 pieces of exterior fabric the dimensions of your small sides

2 pieces of interior fabric the dimensions of your small sides

2 pieces of batting the dimensions of your small sides

1 piece of exterior fabric the dimensions of your long strip

1 piece of interior fabric the dimensions of your long strip

1 piece of batting the dimensions of your long strip

7. Quilt small sides: 

I pinned my pieces together, two pieces of fabric facing out from one piece of batting. I drew a line with a disappearing pen directly in the center of each piece, then drew another line to either side of the center line. I sewed over each line.

8. Quilt large strip: I pinned this side. Then, because the size made it a bit unmanageable, I loosely stitched across the very bottom of each of the 13" sides to hold the fabric in place while quilting down the 33" length. I drew a line lengthwise down the center of the strip, then sewed over it.
9. Round the corners: My mom’s toaster has rounded corners, so I wanted to incorporate that. I took my paper mock-up of the toaster’s side and placed it on one of the quilter sides. I rounded the corner with a marker, careful to leave 1/2” of wiggle room around the paper for seam allowance and to allow the cover to remain loose around the toaster. I cut the corner, then folded the side in half and traced the curve to make the piece symmetrical. I did this with both small sides.

10. Pin small side to strip. Make sure right sides are facing. Start by joining the bottom corner of the strip to the bottom corner of of one of the small sides and work your way around.There will be some overhang, as your long strip should be a little bit longer than you need. You can leave that for now.

11. Sew very slowly. It’s hard to maneuver this beast around, but you can do it. Pull out your stitches and start again if it comes out bumpy or you made any mistakes. I had to do this once, sadly. Turn it right side out to inspect it for mistakes before you attach the other side.

12. Pin other small side. Turn cover inside out again. Again, make sure right sides are facing. Start at the same side of the long strip as you did last time, not at overhanging part. When you finish pinning, the portion of the long strip that hangs over should make a perfect rectangle. We’ll cut if off later.

13. Sew very slowly again. It’s still hard maneuvering this thing. Turn it inside out to check for mistakes. Re-do if you have to.

14. Cut off the extra piece of long strip. It should be a straight shot across to trim this.

15. Measure height to make sure it's not excessive. This is easier if you have the toaster handy. If your cover is too tall, you can still trim it along the raw edge on the bottom.

15. Pin double-fold bias tape around the bottom. Leave 1-2 inches overlapping bias tape.

16. Sew around the bottom toaster cover, using your free arm. Stop a couple inches before the end. Fold the raw end of your bias tape under and re-pin it around the bias tape where you started. Don’t forget to backstitch at the end!

17. Be proud owner of toaster cover! Congrats!