Dreamstride Creations: Shipping a Sewing Machine

This is how I pack sewing machines to ship!

There are a few different ways, and many different opinions, on the correct way to ship a sewing machine so it gets to its destination in one piece.

I use a method of trash bag 'balloons', blankets, and foam insulation sheets. I have never, to this point, had a machine head arrived damaged to its destination, knock on wood!

Anyway! Here are a few things you'll need. A box! Measure your machine to make sure you get the right size. You want a good bit of space for padding around the top, bottom, and sides.

Please excuse the messy living room!

Next, you'll need some of this stuff! I use about one and a half packages per machine.

You'll also need something to cut it with.

Careful: Sharp!

And I like using a blanket to help pad and protect the machine itself.

Salvation Army special.

Not pictured are two normal trash bags, and a big, black contractor trash bag.

First off, you're going to want to start cutting the base. Using the box as a guide, cut however much you'll need across. Slide it in to make sure it fits, trim off any excess, and then use that piece as a template for your next pieces.

Continue measuring and cutting until you get the cuts you need to jigsaw it into the bottom of the box proper. It took three pieces for me to get it completely covered.

For this machine and box size, I was able to fit two layers on the bottom of the box. Go ahead and use these pieces to cut two more full layers! These will be used on the top after we're done filling the machine in.

Now, figure out how you're going to situate your machine inside the box. I made a bit of a mistake with my box size and had to put the machine diagonally, but it worked out decently still in the end.

Take your blanket and fold it long ways, and then wrap it around the machine so it will protect the front, sides, and top parts. Be careful you don't wrap it too tightly! You don't want to risk harming the machine.

Now you're going to do a step that I forgot to do until later.

During shipment, the machine can be exposed to many things. Rain, chemicals, cleaning agents, God knows what. The best way to protect the paint and decals on the machine is to wrap it in a thick plastic bag and make sure it's taped down well. Also, the excess bag that's left can be wrapped over the top of the machine, giving it a bit more protection.

After you've done this, once again use your box to measure and see how to cut your sheets down to fit inside around the machine!

Two sides done! I was lucky enough to have a Styrofoam block from a bookshelf I had bought earlier in the week.

Two more sides done! It's a tight fit, about as snug as I was able to get it. The corners of the bed are digging into the first top and bottom sheet pieces, but it's not digging in enough that I'm worried it will break through, and the sheets are not pressing up against anything delicate.

Now, look for gaps. I have one in the lower right hand corner, and with all the cutting I've been doing I have some scrap pieces. Some of them need to be trimmed down, but, as you see in some of the pictures below, I was able to secure the machine better after filling it in.

Now it's time to fill in the gaps in the sides. When I first started doing this, I did it the old fashioned way. Putting the trash bag to my mouth and blowing it up, then shoving it down into the gaps and slowly letting air out until I could get it in there. Now? An exercise ball that I bought and never use(oops) came with this handy pump thing! So the bag is pumped up.

Then you'll want to twist it shut.

I tape it three times. Once around the tight twist, a second time to tape the twist down to the bag, and a third time in the middle of the 'flower', all in my attempt to not let any of the air out.

If you shake your box at this point, you should see very, very little, if any, wiggle in your machine. If you see any wiggling in there, figure out where you need to add more foam sheet pieces to stabilize it better. The less the machine moves, the less likely it is to get damaged during transport! And trust me, no matter who you ship these through, they ARE going to get banged around. A lot.

After filling and taping up my trash bag balloons, I decided there was still too much room at the top of the machine. If some bozo decided not to follow the 'this side up' on the box, it could still easily shift and damage itself. So, I added two layers of foam, right in the middle there.

And, after some careful cutting, was able to make a top for this section!

I was only able to add one of the pre-made box layers from earlier here, but I am still confident that this machine has enough padding around it to make it through its shipping adventure.