Carseat Canopy-Upcycling Project

I love the idea of these little car seat canopies for keeping baby out of the wind and away from germs and people. I decided to make one to match our carseat out of fabric I already had on hand-which included a medium sized pair of brown pants and a men's button-up shirt-since I am LOVING upcycling lately.
I had a great time with using the design features of the shirt (buttons, pocket, cuffs) and it's a fun way to use Daddy's shirt for baby!


Here's how to make {This Little Project.} I didn't put every detail in, so if you have questions let me know :)

Start by cutting the front and the back of the shirt from the sleeves of this men's XL shirt:

And from the neck:

Then cut the back of the shirt the same way. This photo shows that after it's cut from the sleeves and neck you cut it in half and sew one half to each side of the front to make the front panel larger.

Now I have the front panel of the canopy from the shirt-now to add the border from the pants to create the right size (36"x 42"). Reusing fabric is a great way to keep the cost of materials down for your projects :)

But first...look how perfect the cuffs from the sleeves are for loops to attach it to the car seat! I love being able to use the design features of the "old" in the new Project!
Just cut them from the sleeve, add some rick rack and move the button over so they are just the perfect size. Easy!

This is what the canopy looks like with the brown border on it.

The brown fabric came from this pair of pants-yes you can use fabric AGAIN! (bad photo-taken at night after my kids were in bed, since of course that's the best time for getting some projects done :)

I used the front and back of each leg to create the 4 sides of the border.

When I was done cutting this is all that was left-it feels good to use things well :)

After sewing the border to the shirt it looks like this (not ironed of course :)

Next use a yard of a coordinating fabric to back it, sewing right sides together. Then top stitch around the outside of the brown border.

I love how the buttons from the shirt go across the middle. It's a fun design feature-especially for a boy baby. It's hard to add fun without it looking girly sometimes, but this worked well. I sewed between the buttons so they would lie flat. Then sewed the cuffs centered in so it would hang like this:

You can see the front pocket from the shirt in the bottom of the photo below. I sewed some velcro to it so it closes. Now it's an extra "hiding place" for a binkie or nursing pad :)

This was a fun and useful {Little Project} that was fun to design as I went along. Now if the baby would just come so we can use it :) 3 days and counting......

3 comments:

Carn Family said...

I love the idea of these as well and really want one for this new little guy. I love that you had the energy to actually make one. I will be lucky if I work up enough energy to get online and click "purchase item". I can't wait to hear about when your new little one arrives.

a Knitting Junkie! said...

Time sure does drag when you're waiting for baby, huh?

LOVE this idea! I can't wait to sew one of these up.

Thank you so much for sharing!
God Bless,
Anita

The R Crew said...

What a fabulous idea. So resourceful. Good luck with the up-coming baby!

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