DIY Car Seat Canopy

I made a thing!

Pretty pumped that I accomplished this project in 1 sitting. That's a big deal for me, since my son (6 months old) obviously takes precedence over crafting - even when it's for him - and I never finish projects in 1 sitting anymore... if I finish them at all.

I needed a car seat canopy to shield Killian from the winter wind and snow of Michigan. Here are the Pinterest pins I used as inspiration/reference:

Turned up corners: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/85075880435585354/
Elastic at the top: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/129830401729913142/
Fat quarters for the straps: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/152559506099930912/

I had planned to add elastic but once I put the canopy on the car seat, I found I didn't need it. I had also considered using fat quarters or extra fabric to make the straps, but ended up going with (really cute) ribbon instead.

For this project, I used whatever I had on hand; this included:

• 2 pieces of coordinating clearance flannel, about 1 yard each (36"x 41" with the raw edges)
• 1 roll of clearance ribbon with Linus from the Peanuts gang on it :)
• hot glue gun for some finishing touches
• basic dual-duty thread

All in all, I'm figuring this cost me about $13 to make, and these canopies can run much higher, so I'd say with the added bonus of the feeling of accomplishment, it's a great deal!

Here are my 2 pieces of coordinating fabric and my handwritten notes... Since I don't have a dining table or work table, and my desk has a bunch of work stuff on it, I had to improvise a work space on our spare couch.

Just a few options I jotted down from the pins I liked.

My process was... 

1. Pin fabrics back to back and sew around the perimeter, leaving a 6" opening on one side.
2. Pull the fabric through the opening to turn right side out, and sew up the opening.
3. To make ribbon ties: Cut two 50" lengths of ribbon, and with each one, fold it in half with the pattern facing out, run a stitch down the length of the ribbon and turn in the ends and sew those in.
4. Lay canopy over the car seat with the handle up to find where the ribbon ties should go; I marked the spots with pencil because I'd be sewing the ribbon over the marks and covering them up.
5. Sew the center of each ribbon strand down over the marks on the canopy; I sewed a 2" rectangle and went over it 2-3 times for durability.
6. Fold each corner up - I measured 6" from tip to the fold straight down, and 9" from the tip to the fold in each corner of the triangle to make sure all of them were the same size - pin, and run a 2" stitch line back & forth a couple times to secure it, about 1-1 1/2" from the point of the triangle.
7. At the top of each corner triangle, hot glue a strip of ribbon to cover stitches. Cut corners of ribbon to be flush with triangle edges, and seal edges carefully & smoothly with hot glue. (There is probably a better way to do this, but I was at the end of my ribbon and didn't have a enough to turn the ribbon under and sew it, so I gently glued it. it's doesn't look too shabby.)

Ribbon close-up

All done!

All done!

Turned up corner with ribbon accent

Top view so you can see where the ribbons hit on the handle

Flipped back to see baby

Flipped back to see baby

As always, it's not perfect, but it's from my hands and from my heart. Cheers to making cool stuff with my hands, and keeping my baby bear warm!

Emily

All Work and No Play...

Okie dokie, it's been a while so I know I have some catching up to do. Honestly, it's pretty hard to blog when I'm trying to balance working full time (and sometimes feeling like I'm never off the clock), being a mommy and keeping my house in some semblance of order... My husband helps, but it still can be so difficult to sit down and write for a bit! I'm tempted to start bringing my laptop in the bathroom with me... ;)

I have tomorrow off for MLK Jr. day so hopefully I'll be able to grab a few minutes and catch up on some posts then. This weekend I've had a lot going on, on top of the normal stuff - by choice, a Harry Potter marathon with my girlfriends yesterday (more on this later), and my son being a bit under the weather after his 6 month checkup + shots and a runny nose. I feel so bad for my little pumpkin when he doesn't feel well!

Mostly right now, I just wish I had some time to blog a bit here, crochet something there, pound out a few pieces of jewelry one night, etc... My hands aren't restless but sending emails, washing dishes and folding tiny laundry aren't the most creative or stimulating activities. I am always trying to keep the work-life balance, and lately I feel like I can't keep a life balance outside of work - all work and no play makes Emmy a dull girl.

I think part of why I don't blog much is because  feel like my posts have to be long with lots of photos and stuff to be interesting.... I'm trying to get away from that mentality and write I need and want to, regardless of the subject matter (within reason of course) and how much I want to say. I know I don't have many followers, so I don't think many people would mind some short posts, and besides, my blog is supposed to be for me, right?

So, I'm going to try and blog a bit more frequently and with less judgement on my writing. It's one of my favorite creative outlets, so I owe it to myself to keep it up. :)

Happy Sunday!