Saturday, April 24, 2010

DIY Wednesday: Reversible Car Seat/Seat Belt Strap Covers

Hi Everyone!

I have another project to pass along to you! It's a "baby" project; however, I think I might make one for myself to use on my own seat belt. So, it can be used for those who do not have children. The project is a cover for the straps on a car seat. They can be pretty sharp. (I know I tend to lean forward in the seat which means I always have a seat belt mark on my neck after a road trip.)

I made my straps reversible. One side is a soft plush pink fabric and the other side is a nice cotton. I figure one side is the "winter" side and one side is the "summer" side. (In other words, I couldn't make up my mind on fabric. :) Later on, I figured that cotton might be cooler next to the skin on a hot August afternoon.) Click here for a printable PDF tutorial.



Supplies:

Fabric
(I used two different types of fabric so the straps are reversible. I used a soft pink fleece fabric and a fun dot cotton fabric. You won’t need much. I used scraps)

Batting
(You won’t need much…just two 6x6 squares)

Binding

Hook & Loop Tape aka Velcro

Sewing Machine

Rotary Cutter, Cutting Board and Clear Ruler

Fabric Marker or Pencil

Directions:

Step One: Cut Your Fabric



Using your rotary cutter, cutting board and ruler, you are going to cut the following:
2- 6 x 6 squares of fabric “a” (my soft pink fabric)
2- 6 x 6 squares of fabric “b” (my dot fabric)
2- 6 x 6 squares of batting

Step Two: Pin Fabric & Draw Seams



Make a fabric sandwich with your fabric “a” on the bottom with design facing down, batting in the middle and fabric “b” on the top with the design facing outward. Secure with pins…you may have to reposition these pins in order to draw the seams on the fabric.

Use a fabric marker or pencil to draw 3 seams evenly spaced.

Step Three: Sewing Machine Time



Using the lines that you marked, sew seams down the fabric. These seams will keep your fabric “sandwich” together.

Step Four: Bind it Up to Finish Up



To finish up your car seat strap covers, you will want to add binding around the outside of the square. It was the first time I had tried using binding (so the results aren’t as pretty as a pro’s). I just pinned my binding around the outside and was very careful when I was sewing to catch the binding and three layers of fabric.

Now you will want to add your Velcro. Velcro is pretty easy to add. I just played around with where it would be most effective to add Velcro. (I even grabbed my car seat and played around with the car seat strap covers to make sure the Velcro went in the correct place). If your Velcro has a sticky back, your sewing machine needle is going to get all gunky. I keep a rubbing alcohol pad nearby to wipe down the needle as I go.

Sew around the Velcro several times to make sure the Velcro is securely attached. I also like to do an “X” pattern across the middle of the Velcro to add security.

Step Five: Ta Da!

You have finished car seat strap covers…hopefully you and your baby enjoy them!








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1 comment

Anonymous said...

Very cute, I need to measure my own seat belts to get the size spot on, but you've shown me how! Thank you :-)

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