Today I'm going to show you how I created a designer inspired car seat cover. I am all about saving money, and if I can use my sewing machine to do so, BONUS!
I am sure you have seen these super cute car seat covers floating around Pinterest and Instagram. I wanted one so bad, but I am not about to spend $30++ Dollars, on something I was sure I could make myself. I started by searching local fabric stores for a stretchy polyester blend fabric, that accommodate stretching around a car seat. I lucked out and found a super cute pattern that very closely matched the original print from the designer inspired cover, which is a Black & White stripe that is almost the exact same. (I'm not sharing any pics or links to those, because I'm not sure of the copyright or patent laws on doing so) The striped fabric I found was on sale at a fabric store going out of business for $2/yard. Score! This project cost me just that, $2. Which, if you visit one of those designer sites, will show you I saved $34.00!!!!! I like that, and so does the Mr.
Here we go.....
Step one, cut your fabric to a 1 yd piece, then fold in half, wrong sides out, and pin at the edges.
I wanted my pattern to be horizontal, like the original, and as you will soon learn, I am extremely OCD. So, I made sure when pinning the fabric, all the stripes matched up perfectly. I think it is an important step to achieving the designer look.
Next, sew a seam the entire length of the fabric at the edges. I then placed my cover over my baby's seat.
This is where it got a little challenging, and really the only part that was at all difficult. This process was much like making a slip cover for a chair or couch. Place it on wrong side out, and pin where you want it to fit. I realized after putting it on that I needed it to be a bit more snug. This will depend on the original width of the fabric you choose. To achieve a more snug fit, I sewed a two inch seam on each side of the fabric, then placed it on the seat again, and started pinning. This required only two pins for me. I place one pin at the spot on the handle, where I wanted to start my slope up to the opening at the top. I then removed my cover again and measured at the top of the fabric, an 11" opening, this was approx. 10" from ea. salvage.
After marking the opening, I used my ruler to draw a diagonal line down each side to my pinned location from earlier.
After this, I simply sewed a seam down my diagonal lines, until I crossed into my seams on the side of my cover.
I then cut the excess off each side and replaced my cover on the seat.
The rest is super easy!!!! We're almost done!
For me, after placing the cover on, I realized my opening at the top wasn't quite big enough, so I folded it over wrong side out twice, and placed a seam around the opening. This finished the opening at the top and made it slightly bigger.
I then quickly peeked at the fabric at the bottom of the carrier. It was too long, and needed trimming. I decided I needed to lose about 7 stripes. (super scientific measuring there!) To accomplish this and finish the bottom edge, I cut off six stripes, then folded the bottom up twice like you would roll up a sock, or pant leg, and sewed on the wrong side. That's it! unbelievably simple, and I think the finished product looks just like the original.
Let me know if this tutorial was helpful in the comments below. Thank you so much for stopping by, and please come back often to see what else we are up to. I am hoping to keep up with a two post a week schedule!!! Take care & God Bless.
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