I learned how to use my wife’s sewing machine yesterday! Yeah, I’m feeling pretty pleased with myself. I now know what an 18-gauge sewing needle is, and I wouldn’t recommend anything smaller for sewing through zippers and multiple layers of Sunbrella fabric. I thought that needle was going to break a few times!
In any case, I now possess a form-fitting cover for my Magma Marine Kettle 2 combination stove and gas grill.
You can buy a perfectly adequate grill cover from Magma. So why bother making your own? Well, here are some advantages:
- Mine matches my upholstery and boat canvas exactly, being made of the same Sunbrella fabric. Magma’s covers are available only in a limited selection of Sunbrella colors.
- Mine fits my “original” (smaller) size a bit closer than the one-size-fits-both-Kettle-grill-sizes cover from Magma.
- Mine uses a zipper closure, rather than the drawstring Magma uses. I think this produces a somewhat cleaner, more streamlined presentation. Not a big deal, but fewer chances to tangle with other gear or catch rainwater are better, no?
Anyway, I’m pleased with it, and my wife was even a little bit impressed with me. 
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Those childhood years of watching your mother sew have not been in vain. I’m impressed with your work. Does that mean I’m off the hook for the light-weight sleeping bag creation?
Nice work, there. Did you use a regular sewing machine, or a SailRite? I ask because I am thinking of getting a SailRite, despite the expense, due to its particular suitability to sewing sails and heavy stuff like Sunbrella hems and whatnot.
I have the same Magma unit on the rail…it’s pretty good. Tell me, did you make a “bag” for the Coleman bottle, or do you remove that after every cooking period? And if so, where do you keep them? I leave mine on all summer because I’m on fresh Lake Ontario, but I can’t see them lasting unrusted at sea more than a week or so.