I have a few more projects to share. This spring I made 2 car canopies. One was for my niece Jessica and the other was for my dil Kim and baby Everley. I chose to use fabric I had in my stash rather than purchasing something new since my stash is pretty big and I have lots of fun fabrics. First, I had to make sure that the handles for the car seats were straight across. Some of the new car seats have handles that have a perpendicular section of the handle in order to have the baby face into the person carrying the car seat. This would mean that you have adjust the tabs for the handle by 6 inches or so. Both girls had chosen car seats with straight handles so I was good to go.
I spent some time searching for tutorials online and so many were nice and had pictures…but I was trying to sew without the benefit of a physical seat to look at and measure. The majority of the tutorials I found did not include measurements. I did find one that used a ruffle and I liked the idea because both girls have baby girls and the ruffle is a bit feminine. I also chose to line both canopies because once I decided to use a ruffle -I wanted raw edge of the ruffle covered between the two layers. This is the tutorial I used the most. Also, I just found a pattern for a car canopy by Elizabeth Wyatt which has a bustle in the back for ventilation (a good idea!) and a zipper in the front so that you can open the canopy…not sure that is essential but some may find it very handy. Here are my pictures:
The original tutorial I started with instructed you to use 1 yard of fabric, which resulted in a short canopy. These two work fine as long as the hood of the car seat is raised. I found tutorials after I cut the fabric that listed 1 and 1/3 yards of fabric. If I make more of these, I will use the 1 1/3.
I also included a couple of travel blankets which coordinate with the fabric of the canopy. The reverse side is made with a minkie type fabric. I simply serged the edges together. Very fast and simple. My daughter has a couple of these I made for her and said that they come in handy when it is getting close to nap time and the girls are stuck in the car. Here are a few additional pictures of the process. The ruffle seemed to be the most time-consuming part of these projects. I used my washer weights to mark the seams of the ruffle in order to help distribute the ruffle evenly. Some of these pictures are Jessica’s canopy for baby Illeana.
Here are a few additional tutorials I have found since making mine. One has a window built into the front which is handier than a zipper. This one uses buttons to decorate the handles and has a good pictures and measurements.
Thanks for visiting,
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