when I get on a mission to tidy up my apartment, i usually end up becoming promptly frustrated by my woeful lack of storage space. so i’m always looking for ways to lose that feeling of clutter, even when i don’t really have any real space to stash my stuff—and thus, this kitchen cozy was born.

in my dream kitchen i will have miles and miles of blissfully clutter-free counter tops, but until that day comes, small appliance cozies can really help to reduce visual chaos in a small kitchen—they also do a handy job of keeping appliances clean when proper cabinet space is merely a thing of our dreams. this basic piece is simple to sew, and it’s super easy to personalize with any kind of embellishment you like. i’ve made a toaster cozy here, but you can use this pattern to cover just about any small object.

inspired by the stainless steel elements in many kitchens, i styled mine with metallic ribbons and piping. the result is quite kitchen couture—but you can easily switch up the look by using a different style of embellishment. go retro-cute with pom-pom trim, or choose a bold printed fabric and skip the embellishments altogether. ready to get cozy? let’s go! –brett bara

CLICK HERE for the full how-to after the jump!

What You’ll Need:

-approximately 1/2 yard fabric per cozy

-assorted ribbons, trims, piping

-sharp scissors

-straight pins

-sewing machine

-iron

Instructions:

1. Measure your appliance

Measure your appliance, noting the length, width, and height. (Be sure to include any hardware bits, like the lever to push down the toast, in the total measurements.)

For the side pieces, cut two pieces of fabric that are the length of your appliance plus 1 1/2″ inches (for seam allowance and ease), and the height of your appliance plus 2″ (for seam allowance, ease and hem).

For the sides and top of the cozy, cut one strip of fabric that’s as wide as your appliance plus 1 1/2″, and as long as the length of the appliance plus 2x the height, plus 2 1/2″.

2. Plan your embellishments

To decide how you’d like to embellish your piece, play with the placement of various ribbons and trims until you hit on something that feels right. (When in doubt, go abstract!)

3. Trim the corners

To make rounded corners on the cozy, use a lid or other round object to trace a curve on the upper corners of the side pieces, and cut out the curve.

4. Sew the embellishments

Next, just stitch your embellishments to the right side of the fabric using a basic zig zag stitch.

Just keep layering the ribbons over each other…

…until you’ve added as many as you like!

Trim the edges of the ribbons so they’re even with the edges of your fabric. Repeat this process to embellish both side pieces — if you’re having trouble deciding what type of design to make, you can do something different on each side.

5. Add the piping

Piping can be a tad bit tricky, so if you’re a beginner, you can leave off the piping and just skip to the next step.

But if you choose to pipe, simply stitch the piping (using a zipper foot) to the right side of your fabric, sewing 1/2″ from the raw edge. (For more details on piping, check out my piping post here.)

Sew the piping so that it follows the same curve you cut on the corners of the fabric.

And here’s how it will look when it’s fully attached.

6. Join the fabric pieces

To construct the cozy, pin the center strip to the side piece with right sides facing. Because the fabric will need to bend around a curve, pin it very securely to keep the fabric pieces from shifting.

Still using the zipper foot, sew the pieces together, sewing directly over the stitch line you made when attaching the piping.

7. Trim the seam allowance

Clip the seam allowance at the corners, which will discourage the fabric from bunching when it’s turned right-side out.

8. Finally, turn the piece right side out, then simply hem the bottom edge by turning the raw edge under 1/2
twice and stitching to secure.

Pop your cozy in place and enjoy a slightly less cluttered kitchen!

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