Take Cover

The weather here in Louisiana has been so crazy lately. Rainy one day, warm the next, then windy and freezing cold the next. Mother nature just can't make up her mind this year. Even the crawfish think it's crazy and have decided to hide.

Even though the weather is bad, I still have to go and run errands. These days, that means taking the little chick-a-dees with me. Their carseats have a partial cover on them, but it doesn't protect them from the wind and huge rain drops...oh and can't forget the bright sun glaring in their eyes.

Do you know how expensive the weather covers are for carseats? Crazy huh? I just have a hard time paying almost $40 for a cover. And don't forget that it's x2 for me. So I decided to make my own covers for them and it turned out a lot cuter than what I expected.
I was really happy with them. Now I can take the girls out all the time and not worry about the forces of nature attacking their little faces.  (Oh...I hear my little Savannah wiggling about...my favorite part of the day)
I spent not even half of what I would have spent on just one pre-made cover by buying my own fabric and sewing my own cover. Here's how I did it:

I picked out my fabrics...coordinating of course. I've always been a huge fan of paisley and thought this would look so cute for the covers. It's a flanel material that just happened to be on sale for 2.99/yard.

I measured the girls car seats and found the 21"x19" worked the best. Oh...I ended up buying 2 yards of the fabric because I figured I could make other stuff with leftovers.  Hello pillows!!!

Anyhoo...

When I'm sewing, I think it's easier to iron down the edges that you're going to hem under. It's so much easier when you're actually sewing...you don't have to worry about messing with the fabric and holding it down. It's ironed flat.

After I ironed all 4 peices (I'm making two covers so that's four pieces), I sewed the edges under for a finished hem.

Next, I took some ribbon that I had in my bow box and measured out 10.5" pieces. This was what seemed to work the best when I wrapped it around the carseat handle. I also accounted for the finishing edge.

I took a little bit of this...

and did this with it...

This velcro had a sticky back. So, I stuck it to the ribbon and then sewed a short stitch for extra security. After I was finished, I cut the ribbon in half so I ended up with 2 pieces.

I put the 2 pieces together (ugly sides touching) and pinned them in between the two pieces of coordinating fabric.

Then I sewed the two pieces of fabric together along the top, sewing right over the ribbon to lock it in. This is how it turned out.

Pretty cute huh? I think so. If you try to make this and you need more help, let me know. I might have skipped some steps...not sure. I did this without any patterns so it's not specific. It's more fun that way.

Hope yall have a blessed day.

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