Protect Your Grill With a Cheap & Easy DIY Grill Cover

Spring is finally upon us and that means I get to usher in my second season of grilling. This year I bought a new grill, going from a tiny portable one to a 3-burner. #movingonup Grilling is still fairly new to me, so I'm learning as I go. One of the things I'm making sure to do right is protecting my new toy. After seeing the prices for grill covers, I vowed to make my own. In doing so, I saved at least $10! But the best part? Not having the standard, black cover that everyone else has. Continue reading to learn how you can make a personalized cover for your grill. I promise it's easy! Continue reading for my tutorial.

If you can sew a straight line, you can easily make this cover. I saved money by buying the tablecloths from Big Lots. They were on sale for just under $3 apiece, with a decent selection of colorful patterns.

Supplies:

• 2 vinyl tablecloths wider than your grill (mine were 52″ x 90″)
• Heavy-duty sewing needle (i.e., needle used for sewing denim)
• Matching thread
• Rope or paracord

1. Place the tablecloths on top of each other, right sides facing each other. Pin together on 3 sides, leaving the bottom (one of the longer sides) open.

2. Test the cover by placing it over your grill, matching the long ends to the grill’s width. Determine if you need to take off some width, but make sure you have room for a few extra inches on each side. (This is especially helpful if you have non-moveable trays like mine).

3. Next, determine if you need to remove some height. If so, remove extra from the (unpinned) bottom. Remember: you will need extra on the bottom for your drawstring casing. I took several inches off the bottom and still used an inch to create the casing.

4. Remove the cover & flatten, removing any width/height if desired. Sew your pinned edges. I used a 1/2″ seam allowance. Since this isn’t something that will be washed, I didn’t do proper seams to prevent fraying.

5. Create the drawstring casing. Again, I didn’t do a seam finish because it won’t matter. (I told ya this was easy!)

6. Thread your casing with the rope, which should be the total width of your cover. It helps to use a safety pin attached to the end of the rope to push it through the casing.

7. Once threaded, I added a couple wood beads to the ends of the rope to prevent it from getting lost in the casing. And to make it a little fancy.

You’re done! Flip your cover right-side in and test it out on the grill!

The cover is not meant to have a proper, tailored fit so it will be baggier in some spots than others. That’s part of the beauty of this project, though— a perfect fit isn’t necessary.

Instead, you can spend your time & energy on better things like creating outdoor pillow covers to match your new grill cover. I love how this cover adds color and pattern to my outdoor space, all while being super-cheap.

Are you glad it’s finally Spring? Have you started grilling yet? What do you use to protect your grill?

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