Carseat Cover Tutorial

So as you guys probably know I was expecting baby #2 very soon so I decided I needed to hurry up and get my carseat cover finished. I know there are a ton of tutorials for these out there, but I needed to make one anyway so I figured I'd document the process.

You need:

1 and 1/4 yard of fabric
1 and 1/4 yard coordinating fabric for opposite side
Sew able Velcro (I got mine from Walmart)
Thread
Scissors
Disappearing marker (optional but always helpful)

First you'll want to lay your fabric over your carseat and determine how much extra fabric you want over the top and bottom of the carrier. I ended up cutting off about a 1/4 of a yard off the bottom to use for handles so my actual cover was about a yard.

Determine where you want to place your handles on the top fabric and place pins.

Now lay your fabric down with the right sides together so the pattern is facing each other.

Next you'll want to cut any excess and even out your top and bottom. They aren't usually super precise at the fabric store so one side will usually be bigger than the other.

I find that the easiest way to even them up is to pin across one of the top ends and then pin along the side end too to hold it in place. Then use your straight edge or ruler to mark and cut so the top and bottom fabric are the same size.

Now pin around the other 2 sides as well so all 4 sides are pinned together and iron it down. This will help it lay flat and be even as we get ready to sew around the edges.

Now sew around all 4 edges, making sure you leave a hole around 3 inches or so to turn it right side out again. If you find that the weight of your fabric is pulling down on what you're sewing, grab an ironing board and use it to help hold the weight of the fabric as you sew around.

Now turn it right side out through your hole so your wrong sides are now together. Iron again and stitch around the edges again. This will close up the hole you left and help the sides to lay flatter. You basically have a 2 sided blanket right now.

Now we're going to make straps. Measure around the handles of your carrier to find out how long your straps need to be. I figured mine needed to be about 6.5 inches long and I made them about 4 inches wide. The width is totally your preference.

Cut out 4 pieces in the size you have determined (2 of the top side fabric, 2 of the bottom side fabric) and pin them together with right sides facing.

I found it was easiest to mark about a 1.5 inch gap on each strap so I knew where to leave my hole to turn it right side out again.

 Sew around the outside of the strap making sure you leave your 1.5 inch gap. Repeat with the other strap.

Now turn them both right side out through the gap you left.

 And iron them down.

 Now topstitch around the outside of the straps. Again this will help close the gap you left and make them lay flatter.

 Now take your velcro and lay the soft side up on your bottom fabric side and pin. Then lay the rough velcro side on your top side and pin. Sew around the edges of the velcro.

*Remember that they will be on opposite sides because your strap will wrap around the carrier handle.

Now grab your blanket portion and find where your pins are. Pin the middle section of your strap down. Repeat with the other strap, making sure it's even with the first. 

 Now sew a square in the middle of each strap. I sewed an X inside the square to strengthen it.

 You're done! Wrap those straps around the handles and you're ready to keep coughers and strange breathers at Walmart away from your new baby!

It even looks cute turned up!

And in case you guys were wondering...

 We had another girl! It was a wonderful delivery and we were elated to find out we have another beautiful baby girl!

Her name is Rosalia Georgia and she was 9 lbs. 5 oz! Crazy huh?!?

So hopefully ya'll aren't sick of ruffles and ruffly projects because it looks like there's a lot more in my future! Thanks for stopping by! Hope you are having a wonderful October!
XOXO

Ruffle Jersey Shirt

I was on J. Crew's website looking through kid's clothes and I saw some cute ruffly girl's shirts and mashed a few together to come up with this one for Evie. I made it out of a women's tee I found at Target for $2 so it's a really thin jersey, which is good for how hot it's been!

I just traced a tank she had that fit her already. Then I cut it out and cut out a three 1.5 inch strips of jersey too.

 I ruffled the strips and sewed them around the neckline and around the arm holes.

Because it was a really cheap tee I made it out of, the ruffles aren't very stiff. It's a little messy now (this is after the first wash) but I actually like it that way!

I'm sorry I've been so terrible about posting this summer! The truth is, I kinda lost my sewing bug. If you remember,  I've been growing a human this summer. See?

Yeah i'm pretty much gigantic! I've got a little less than 3 weeks until my induction date so I hope you will all understand if i'm not posting a ton for the next little bit while I finish this pregnancy and get used to life with 2 kids!

Thanks for sticking with me! Hope you all are having a wonderful week! XOXO

The Cheater's Baby Blanket

My sister had to have a c section rather suddenly so I didn't end up having much time to put together a gift to take to the hospital. She had mentioned she needed more receiving blankets so I came up with the cheater's baby blanket in a pinch. If you can sew a straight line, you can do this project!

You will need:
1 yard of main fabric
1 yard of coordinating fabric
matching thread
scissors
straight edge or ruler
rotary cutter (optional)
a lid or something round to trace (optional)
disappearing marker (optional)

 First of all, you need to wash your fabrics. Different fabrics shrink differently so it's a good idea to wash and dry them first before you sew them together.

 Next grab each yard and iron it flat.

 Once they are ironed, lay down your first layer right side up.

 Now lay your second layer on top of the first right side down so that the right sides are facing. You will notice now that each layer will more than likely be cut and and shrunk a little differently so there will be some overlap.

Grab your first corner and pin the corner together. 

Now pin around the blanket. It doesn't have to be super pinned. If you look closely at the picture you can see that I put around 4-5 pins on each side. 

 See how big of a difference there is in my edges? Now we're going to fix that!

 Now line your straight edge or ruler up along the side and trim the excess so that each side is even.

 Now there shouldn't be any excess.

 This step is entirely optional. I wanted rounded corners to dress the blankets up a bit so I grabbed my embroidery hoop and traced around each corner to get a rounded edge with my disappearing marker. You can get this marker at Walmart for a dollar or two and it's soooooo useful!

 Here's a closeup of my rounded corner.

Now I found it helpful to mark off my start and stop point (about 3 inches apart) so I didn't close it off entirely like the awesome seamstress I can sometimes be! Yes, I have totally done it before and have to unpick a hole to turn something right side out again! 

 Now sew around the blanket making sure to stop where your line is and not where you started from.

 Now trim the excess off being careful not to cut your stitches!

 Reach your hand into the blanket through that nice gap we left and pull the far corners out. After a little poking and pulling you should have your blanket right side out!

 Iron it down flat.

As you iron you will come across the gap we left to turn the blanket right side out. Make sure those edges fold under nicely and iron them. I stuck a few pins in them to hold them in place while we topstitch around. 

 Now topstitch around the whole blanket. This will close that gap we left and give the blanket a finished look! If you are having trouble with all that fabric pulling on your sewing machine, pull your ironing board up next to it to hold the weight of the extra fabric like I did.


And you're done!

 Now go make them in a bunch of colors because it only takes an hour or so to make!

Seriously easy right?!? I'm sure none of you guys needed this tutorial, but I thought I'd throw it out there just in case!

Thanks so much for stopping by and for all your lovely comments! Hope you are having a great week! XOXO