Seat Belt Cover Tutorial

I don't like the feeling of seat belts on my bare skin in the summer nor do I like the edge of the seat belt chafing my winter sweaters, sooo... seat belt covers are in order!

I thought one up, it worked, so now I'm "mass producing" :) Thought I'd share, they're quick, useful and pretty! I don't mind cutting into favourite fabrics as they are the sole focus of each piece.

Need:

7.5" x 8.5" of outside fabric, inside fabric and batting each
Velcro strip, ~6"
thread, scissors etc
Chop stick or other implement to push out corners and seams

I picked one of my favourite fabrics for the outside (which you see the most of), simple black cotton sheeting for the inside and bamboo/cotton batting - any batting will do. I pieced together leftovers with a zigzag stitch.


Sew the scratchy velcro strip 1/2" from the 8.5" long edge of your outside fabric (center it between the top and bottom, right side up, see pics below), and sew the soft velcro strip to the 8.5" long side of the inside fabric (also 1/2" in from the edge).

I backstitched at the corners for added toughness.


Layer as follows: batting underneath inside fabric (face/velcro strip up), underneath outside fabric, face/velcro strip down, velcro stip on opposite side from the one on the inside fabric, see pic below. Note that I have my outside fabric next to the batting here - it doesn't really matter either way, though I switched mine around, just personal preference.


Because I used bamboo/cotton batting, I didn't bother pinning my layers together - the batting stuck to the fabric - you can pin if you want to, and should if you're using polyester batting.

Sew a 1/4" around the whole perimeter, starting in the middle on the 7.5" long side (between the velcro strips) and leaving a 2"-2.5" gap for turning. Backstitch at the start and end to secure your seam for the turning process.


You end up with a nice sandwich, notice the gap near the top corner.


Trim off excess batting, especially at the corners. I also clipped my corners to make the turned out corners less bulky.


Turn the sandwich inside out between the two fabric layers - I find it easiest to start with the nearest corner, then alternate pushing and pulling the bulk through gently.



I push the corners out with my fingers first, then use a chop stick to make them as pointy as possible. I also slide the chop stick tip along the edge-seam from the inside, to push the seam out as far as possible for the framing.


Oops, I guess I forgot to take pics of the framing process... starting just past the opening/gap (so that you can still get the chop stick inside and push out seams), sew about 1 mm from the edge to secure the edges and "frame" the sandwich. Go all the way around until you get to your seam, turn the loose edges in about 1/4" or however wide your sandwiching seam ended up being. Use a seam ripper or pin to help you push the fabrics in just right. Continue frame-sewing over it, that'll close up your whole without any handstitching necessary!

Tadaa - a beautiful and useful gift for yourself or others!