Tutorial: 5 Step Baby Car Seat Strap Covers

Car seat strap covers are so quick and easy to make! Plus you can make these a custom design by choosing your own fabric. It takes less than an hour to make, so get started! If you use two different fabrics, you've got yourself reversible strap covers. I have used this size of strap covers with my daughter's infant car seat and now with her convertible car seat. 

Steps

1. Cut out two 6"x6" squares of each fabric and two pieces of batting the same size. 

2. Put your fabrics right sides together with the batting on top or bottom (it doesn't matter). Sew these together with a 1/4" seam. Leave a 2" opening to turn inside out. 

3. Cut your corners & turn the square inside out.

4. Pin your opening and sew around the outside of the square still with a 1/4" seam. I started sewing at the beginning of the opening and then went over it again at the end as a form of double stitching/reinforcement. 

5. Cut 2 strips of velcro approximately 5" long. Sew those on one side to each side of the square by sewing around the perimeter of the strips. Here are my two strap covers showing a velcro strip on each side. Excuse the fact that my velcro strips aren't the same color, I ran out of the white velcro with my first strap cover! Who will really see it, right?? As a side tip, I put transparent thread on the top stitch so it wouldn't show on the velcro. White thread would work as well. 

You're all done! Enjoy your cute strap covers!

Quick-Tip: Batting

I have been purchasing the cheapest batting at JoAnn's - you know, the one they have rolled up and it is normally $12.99, but with your 40% off coupon it is a steal of a deal? I'm sorry I don't have details, apparently I need to pay more attention to the batting I am buying! Anyway, this particular batting was part cotton and polyester as well as about a half inch thick. It worked well enough for me until one day I decided to buy a thinner batting for a baby blanket. (Quick-tip within a quick-tip: thinner batting is nicer for baby blankets because it is easier for the mom to wrap the baby up in the blanket. Something I determined after having my first child.) 

So I bought something like this:

This batting is more like 1/4" thick and made of cotton. When I went to do the stippling on the quilt it was 10 times easier, my fabric (top and bottom) didn't bunch and create folds, and it was easier to trim up the edges for binding. When it came time to bind the quilt, I couldn't believe how much easier that was to do! I had no problems at all! Plus my binding didn't have any folds in it and my corners turned out perfect. 

I've been seriously quilting for 3 years now and I have always had some type of issue when it came to binding. I couldn't believe the difference a change it batting made. So now I will be changing my batting purchasing habits! 

A Few of My Favorite Things

Here's what I always suggest the beginner sewer buy:

1. pin cushion
2. cutting mat
3. rotary cutter
4. pins
5. batting
6. quilting safety pins (they are bent to make it easier for pinning the quilt together)
7. fabric scissors
8. marking pen
9. cutting ruler














            





























Now of course you don't have to buy these items directly from Amazon, but if you want to, here they are! They are also all available at Jo-Ann's or even Wal Mart if you like.