hoopdeedoo: Tutorial: Seat Stuff Stasher, Part 1

Monday, April 26, 2010

Tutorial: Seat Stuff Stasher, Part 1

I got a new car around New Year's, and we've already put 6200 miles on it, most of those with the kids in the backseat. We keep a permanent stash of books, doodle pads, and small toys in the car to keep everyone entertained. This has pretty much all sat in a big pile between the car seats, and stuff would go flying every time I hit the brakes. Not to mention that when I would occasionally clean up the pile, I'd find a stash of moldy raisins or pretzel crumbs lurking beneath, soiling my precious brand-new upholstery!! The other day I finally decided enough is enough, and I had a couple of hours to kill, so VOILA - a Seat Stuff Stasher, customized to my car.

The bottom is elastic, so it hugs the seat instead of swinging into my preschooler's legs. The headrest strap is Velcro'd, so when she yanks on it too hard it will just fall rather than rip. And there's a place to hang a Walmart bag inside for ooky trash, as well as lots of storage for books.

You can do it too, it's not hard, I'll walk you through it!

For Part 1, let's just get all set up. Whip out your handy measuring tape and head out to the car.

GET THE FOLLOWING MEASUREMENTS:

The finished width and height you would like your Stasher to be. We will call these numbers "W" and "H". Mine is 12"w x 20"l.

The distance all the way around your seat, where the bottom strap will go. Let's call this "C" for Circumference. It may work best to use a piece of string, feeding it around snugly in the bend of the seat, all the way around to where you started. Cut the string to the exact length, then measure the string.

SUPPLIES:

About 1/4 yard each of 2-3 different fabrics (home decor or heavy weight preferred, for extra toughness)

About 12" of 5/8" wide Velcro

1 -2 yards of 3/8" elastic (to fit around base of seat)

Thread, scissors, pins, iron, your brain, etc. A rotary cutter and self-healing mat are really helpful but not necessary.

Now it's time to cut your fabric!! My kids picked out the fabrics themselves, so they would feel like it was THEIR bag. This is a great opportunity to use up your scraps. Pull out the measurements you took earlier. Then cut:

Two backing pieces, W + 1" by L + 2". (For example, my W= 12" and L=20", so I cut two pieces 13" x 22".)

Your big pocket fabric, W + 1" square. (Mine was 13" square.)

Your front pocket fabric, W + 1" by W - 5". (This is just a ballpark. You can make this front pocket smaller or larger as desired. Mine was 13" x 8".)

Your elastic strap cover fabric, 2 " wide and as long as your fabric will allow selvedge to selvedge. If the length is less than the circumference of the seat measurement you took earlier, just cut another piece and sew them together, no biggie.

Your headrest strap fabric, 4" x length of fabric selvedge to selvedge. You'll be cutting this to fit later.

Your trash bag holder straps, two 2" x 12" pieces.

Your elastic, to C - W. That's circumference minus the width of your finished Stasher. Mine was 36". This is loose enough to get over the seat and lumbar support without ripping, but snug enough to not bug the driver.

Hooray! You will be ready to sew next time you sit down to work on this. I'll be back with Part 2 very soon. Thanks for playing and see you next time!!