DIY stretchy car seat cover

Taking a break from pregnancy/house update/vacation posts to write about a DIY project I recently made.  I fell in love with those striped, stretchy knit car seat covers that seem to be everywhere on blogs and social media right now.  I have a heavier weight car seat cover that I used with Arlo, but for this summer baby I wanted something lighter and more breathable that still allowed me to provide shade and protection when we need to.  I had planned on just buying one of these covers, but realized I could easily make my own for a fraction of the price - and I already had the materials on hand!  I had recently bought several yards of stretch knit material to sew baby hats and headbands, and realized I had the exact amount I needed to whip up a seat cover - and in a striped black and white pattern just like the one I was planing to buy.  I think in times like these it was just meant to be...

I based the size of this cover to fit a Chicco Keyfit 30, but I think it would likely stretch to accommodate most brands of infant car seats.  One of the best things about this project is that it's multi-purposed - it can also be used as a high chair cover, nursing coverup, or shopping cart cover.  It folds up to a compact, lightweight, portable size so you can always have it on hand in the diaper bag.

Ok, on to the tutorial!

DIY stretchy car seat cover

Materials needed:

• lightweight stretch knit fabric - fabric that has a lot of stretch to it works best
• coordinating thread
• scissors

1.)  Start by prewashing your fabric.   Although I don't think stretch knit will shrink too much, it's a good practice to always prewash everything before you sew.

2.)  Cut your fabric to 29" tall by 63" wide, making sure that the width is the stretchy part!  note: if your car seat is larger than a Chicco Keyfit, you may need to cut your fabric a bit wider.

3.)  Fold fabric in half width-wise (see photo below) and lay flat so fold is on left, and fabric is wrong side out.

4.)  Stitch up right side of fabric using a zig-zag or stretch stitch if your machine has one.  (Ignore the pins in the photo below for now, I am about to explain those...)  Your fabric should now be in the shape of a tube with the top and bottom being the open part.

5.)   Keeping fabric wrong side out, lay your fabric flat again.  Measure and pin the corners as I did in the photo below, 8" over from each side and 14" down from the top.  Put a pin in each of those locations and then run pins between them, making a triangle shape.  I used a marking pen and straight edge to draw a line first, then inserted my pins along the line.

6.)  Repeat for other side.

7.)  Sew along the pin lines, again using a zig-zag or stretch stitch.  Now is a good time to mention the walking foot.  I recently purchased one for all the knit fabric projects that I am in the process of making, and let me tell you - it is a game changer!  A walking foot helps to feed the fabric evenly on top and bottom, avoiding the annoying bunching that can otherwise happen when working with knits.  I highly recommend one if you plan to work with this type of fabric often, they run only about $20 at JoAnns.

8.)  Using a rotary cutter (or scissors), cut off triangle of fabric that you just sewed.  Repeat for other side.  note: don't cut off the stitched line that you just sewed!

This is what it should look like at this point:

Hey, guess what?!  You are done!  That's how incredibly easy these are.  Turn it right-side out and pop on your car seat!  The small hole is at the top and the larger hole is on the bottom.  There is no need to hem the top or bottom because this type of fabric will not fray.

See how stretchy it is?  So easy to peek at baby!

I was just a tiny bit sad that I had used up every inch of this fabric that I bought without making a baby hat, which was this materials original intended use.  Well, I had used up almost every inch...  I realized the two cut off triangles could be sewn into a piece large enough for a newborn size hat!

Now, I can say that I used up every inch....

This cover (and hat!) cost only $10 for the fabric, about a third of the price of a ready-made one you might buy online.  It only takes about 10-15 minutes to sew up and would make a great gift as well.  If you make this tutorial please let me know, I would love to see pictures and know how it worked out for you!  Here is a picture I found on Pinterest showing how else you can use a stretchy cover like the one I made:

happy sewing!  :)

Little Turkey Hat

While I did write the pattern for this hat myself, I didn't come up with the original idea.  A week or so ago, Erik e-mailed me a photo of this hat, sold at Target, and said he thought it looked easy enough for me to make just by looking at it.  He was correct, and when I saw the photo of it I knew Arlo would have to have one.  I figured while I was at it, I might as well write down the pattern so others could make it as well!  I am offering it as a free pattern, if you make it I would love to see a photo!   Please post one in the comments, on Ravelry where it is also available, or e-mail it to be at thebirdsandtheBs@gmail.com!  Happy Hooking!

Little Turkey Hat 

By Kendra B.

materials: 

• worsted weight yarn in dark brown, light brown, red, orange, dark blue, and cream 
• h (5mm) crochet hook & yarn needle 

abbreviations:

• ch = chain 
• sc = single crochet 
• dc = double crochet 
• sc dec = single chain decrease

a few notes to start... 
when making the hat, always start your round in the same stitch as your chain 2. this will help hide the seam.
this hat is sized to fit an average 12 month old head. it stretches a bit so it may fit as young as 6 months and as old as 18 months.
start the hat with a magic loop. if you don't know how to do a magic loop, you can go here for a nice tutorial: magic loop tutorial.

hat: 

round 1: {dark brown yarn} start with magic loop. ch 2. 9 dc into loop. join to 1st dc. (9)
round 2: ch 2. 2 dc in each dc. repeat until end. join to 1st dc. (18)
round 3: ch 2. 1 dc in the next dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (27)
round 4: ch 2. 1 dc in the next 2 dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (36)
round 5: ch 2. 1 dc in the next 3 dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (45)
round 6: ch 2. 1 dc in the next 4 dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (54)
round 7: ch 2. 1 dc in the next 12 dc then 2 dc in following dc. repeat until end and join. (58)
round 7-14: ch 2. 1 dc in each dc. repeat until end, join, and fasten off. (58)
tip: when you fasten off - leave a long tail for sewing on the feathers!

 feathers (make 10): 

{make feathers in red, orange, blue, cream, and light brown}
chain 6. dc in3rd stitch from hook. 1 dc in next 2 dc. 7dc in last dc.
working along the underside of the chain, 1 dc in next 3 dc.
ch 1 and turn. 1 sc in next 4 dc. 2sc in each of the following 5 dc. 1 sc in next 4 dc.
fasten off and weave in ends.
 

 beak: 

round 1: {orange yarn} ch 5. starting in 2nd ch from hook, sc in each sc. (4)
round 2: ch 1 and turn. sc in each sc. (4)
round 3: ch 1 and turn. 2 sc dec. (2)
round 4: ch 1 and turn. sc in each sc. (2)
round 5: ch 1 and turn. 1 sc dec. fasten off leaving long tail to attach to hat. (1)

eyes (make 2): 

{light brown yarn} start with magic loop. ch 1. 7 dc into loop. join to 1st dc and fasten off, leaving tail to attach to hat.

to finish: 

using a long piece of brown yarn, sew the feathers in place around the top of the hat.
sew the eyes and nose in place.
place on top of your sweet baby's head and gobble at him/her until they start giggling.

"Little Turkey Hat" Pattern by Kendra B., ©2014 

www.littlebirdb.blogspot.com