Making a Fabric Cover for the Cricut Maker Machine

If you have a Cricut Maker cutting craft machine, you'll see that there is a free pattern for cutting and sewing a fabric cover for your machine.  It is a really nice cover, and it is even lined.  It is the very first cut and sew project I have done on my Cricut Maker machine.  However, some things to keep in mind during the creation process are:

1.  Be sure to print and READ the instructions that come with the project. And, you will need the Fabric grip mat that is 24" long. 

2.  The project requires a Cricut fabric pen (for the machine to make pattern markings, which include PATTERN PIECE NUMBERS.  I did not have the marker pen and just used a Cricut fine tip marker instead because my fabric is patterned and the marking wouldn't really show up anyway.  BUT, this patterned fabric also meant that I could not see the pattern piece numbers that the machine wrote on the pieces as they were being cut.  So I made copious notes on the instruction sheet as to the Pattern Number of each piece on which mat (i.e., Piece #4 is cut on Mat 2, etc.), and I put a Sticky Note onto the cut pieces to identify them.  The consensus is that making these covers gets easier, but I think this is the only one I'm going to make anyway. 

3.  Be sure and cut out ALL of the fabric pieces required before starting.  For example, in the instructions it states, '2.  Mat 1 - Place a 12" x 21" piece of lining fabric on your mat.', and other various fabric cuts for the different mats.  (If you only have one mat, that's okay, I only used one mat myself; it's inconvenient to remove the cut piece, scrape off any thread residue, and place the next fabric onto the mat, but it's do-able.)  It's hard to relax when you see that flashing arrow light on the machine telling you to insert the next mat, it makes you feel like you've got to rush getting that next mat in!  (Especially for me, because my internet sometimes drops off, which messes up the Design Space, and having to restart the process which is very confusing...)

Note about the dimensions stated in the cutting instructions:  Add at least 3/4" to 1" more when possible.  The machine is so precise that it will cut right along the very edge of the fabric (for example, if it says a 12" x 21" piece of fabric, it is going to practically cut right along that 12"!)  So if you have added just a bit more there's less chance for the fabric to lift along that very narrow margin along the cut. 

All in all, I am so glad I made the cover; it fit well and will protect the machine nicely, and I learned a lot from the project.  I hope they come up with a cut and sew project for kitchen appliances too; my Keurig machine needs one!