Car Seat Covers!

This is an instructable on how to create your VERY own, special, unqiue, just-for-you, made-by-you, never-gonna-see-in-walmart, adult car seat covers. Just so you know, this is the first seat cover I've ever made, so I'm teaching both of us!

Here's what you need:

A cheapo/uggo seat cover that you'd never wanna use in a million billion trillion years.
A sewing machine
Thread
Fabric**
Around 1.5 yards of 1/2 inch wide elastic
Something to copy your pattern onto (newspaper, carboard, posterboard)
Pins
Scissors
Music (to have a mid car seat making dance party or just enjoyment.)
Patience

**For fabric, these are my suggestions:

For this use the fabric of your choice, but I will admit that for the seat part of your cover (where you sit and where you lean back) Cotton, twills and normal woven fabrics will work better. For the back and the underseat of your cover, you should use a knit or fitting it to your seat might be difficult.

You will need approximately 1.75 yards for the seat part. 1.75 yards for the back and underside of the seat, and 1.75 yards of the quilt batting for the comfort of your seat. (These are high estimates, you can probably get away with 1.5 yards, but you will have to squeeze it in tight.)

you can view it here http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6328532

Step 1 Find the ugliest/cheapest universal carseat cover.

The first step is to find the ugliest and/or cheapest (it is probably actually probably both THE ugliest & THE cheapest) universal car seat cover you can. I got mine on ebay for about 5 dollars. Why destroy something that is pretty?

So, you don't really need a seat cover to de-construct, you can look at my pattern pieces and copy them to some extent, but to make sure it fits great, you really should get a seat cover you can destroy first. I've been told you can get these at salvos (salvation army's) or other thrift stores.

**please note** You can also measure your own seat to make the covers specific to your own car. I still suggest making what I'd call a "princess" seam (because it helps the seat fit nicely. It also give a better, more finished appearance.

Comments

[samuelmckay]

Check it:- http://www.protectiondeals.com/.. this is a good website for seat covers and car covers.

[Shep4u]

Exactly what I've been looking for elsewhere,(I should have come here first,doh) Recycled combat pants into Classic Range Rover seat covers ....here we go..!

[Malia]

HEY THANKS SO MUCH THIS WAS A BIG HELP.I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WOULD PUHLEEEEASE PLEASE POST THE MEASURMENTS OF THE PATTERN PIECES THAT WOULD HELP SO MUCH! THANKS.

[mahidc]

Sweet!!! I love it. I just made a set of covers out of barkcloth scraps for my van this week and wish I had found your tutorial earlier. Love the way yours covers the whole darn seat.

[heygreene]

Check out www.seatcoverman.com.... they've got some good deals on seat covers and you can put prints on them. I put a picture of a horse on my F150 cotton seat covers, two-toned them and they look and fit good. They also have saddle blanket material (the old-school rough and tough material) which is getting hard to find these days.

[danger_mouse]

Ummmm, while neither cover is much to my taste (sorry, me and flower patterns don't mix!), this is a fantastic tut - exactly what I've been looking for, thank you!

[kellyhogaboom]

I dig it. My car has no "me" to it at all and this would help. Very informative tutorial.

[jessiep]

If you'd like to have your project Included in the Sew Useful Contest, be sure to add a link to your seat covers' Etsy page.

[canida]

Neat! I'll keep my eyes peeled for some leopard print for my car. ;)