Sweet 'n' Sassy Girls

How to Make a Reversible Car Seat Cover/Tent/Canopy

Posted on 19. Feb, 2010 by Trish in Tutorial

I’ve been seeing these cute infant car seat covers, also known as a car seat tent, car seat canopy, or a car seat hanging blanket everywhere I look here.  Basically it’s a blanket that hangs over the car seat, but attaches to the handle, so you can still use the handle.  They help keep out light, wind, cold, and nosy people wanting to get a little too close to your baby.

Since these sell for around $35-$40 in boutiques, I decided to figure out how to make my own.  I am of the mindset if you can make it cheaper, don’t bother to buy it.  I recently made one for a friend that cost me about $10.  Much more reasonable if you ask me!

There are lots of different styles of these, some with square corners, some with rounded corners, some using ribbon to tie onto the handle, some using velcro, others using buttons.  It’s all just personal taste.  I decided to make mine with rounded corners and using velcro, as well as making mine reversible.  So here is a tutorial of how I make mine.

Materials needed:

• 2 yards of coordinating fabric: 1 yard each (cotton is good for all season, flannel/ fleece/ minky is good for winter)
• 6-8 inches of velcro
• Thread
• Any accessories you want to add (buttons, bows, flowers, trim, etc)

First you want to cut a 2 1/2  inch strip off of each fabric from the longest side and set it aside.  This will be used to make the straps later on.

Then lay the two fabrics one on top of each other wrong sides together and fold in half long wise.  This guarantees that when you cut it it is the same on both sides, on both materials.  If you want to cut one piece of fabric first, and then use that one as a guide to cut the other, that is fine too.  Now this part is probably the hardest part of the whole thing.  Basically you are cutting a rectangle that is about 40 inches x 34 inches with rounded corners.  This is what it should look like when it is all unfolded:

Yes, I did make the bottom go in more than the top, but this camera angle makes it a little more severe than it is in actuality.

I just freehanded it, but if you want perfectly curved corners, you can pull out some mixing bowls and find the size you want and trace it onto the fabric.

Then you want to unfold the two pieces of fabric and lay them down right sides together.  If you want to add a trim like ribbon or ric rac on the bottom, you would place the trim in between the two layers of fabric.  Then pin everything together all the way around.

Take this over to the sewing machine and sew this together.  I like to use 1/4 inch seam allowance, but you can do more or less if you want.  Make sure to leave an opening so you can turn the fabric right side out.

Trim the corners, and turn it right side out.  Press with an iron to help it lay flat.

Topstitch all the way around, making sure to catch the opening you left before to turn the fabric.

Next you want to cut the straps.  I cut 4 of each material that were about 2 1/2 inches x 8 1/2 inches using the strips of fabric I cut off earlier.  Take one rectangle of one fabric, and one of the other, and place wrong sides together.  Sew around on 3 sides, leaving one short side open to turn the fabric.  Turn the strips right side out, and iron flat, as well as turning the open short side in.  Topstitch all the way around, closing the opening.  Do this to the remaining 3 straps.

Now you’ll want to sew on the velcro.  Place the rough side on the inside of the strap and sew on.  Place the soft side on the opposite end of the strap, on the opposite side of the strap.  This sounds really confusing, but it’s not, I promise.

Next you’ll want to figure out where to place the straps.  Every car seat is different, so if you are making it for yourself, you might want to try to figure out the best place for the straps by draping the blanket over the seat and marking where the straps work the best.  I was making mine as a gift, and had no idea what kind of car seat they had, so I used my car seat and tried to make them generic enough to fit any car seat.  I ended up placing them 17 inches from the back, and then measuring about 12-12 1/2 inches from each side.  They ended up being a little more than 8 1/2 inches apart.

I figured out the placements of the two straps, pinned them on with the hard velcro facing up pointing towards the front of the blanket, and then turned the blanket over and felt where the straps were on the other side and matched the placement of the other two straps and pinned those on, making sure to pin through all layers.

Sew straps on.  I did a rectangle with an x through the middle to provide plenty of support.  Make sure to not twist the strap on the bottom as you sew.  If you don’t want it to be reversible, you only need to sew 2 straps onto the top of the blanket.

That’s it!  If you want to place a bow or buttons on the straps go for it.  I used snaps to place the bows, so they could be removed and placed on the other side.  I just had to place the snaps before I sewed the velcro on.

One side

Reverse side

Have fun!

Please note that these instructions are for private use only! You may not use these instructions to make covers to sell.  Also, please link back to me if you create your own and show pictures of it online. Give me credit for all my hard work! All images and instructions on this site are the copyrighted property of Sweet ‘n’ Sassy Girls. It is illegal to save, copy, alter, or redistribute any images or instructions without my express written permission. All rights reserved.

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