I am still completely in love with the Nissan Leaf I got a few months ago, and I do my best to keep it nice and clean. That means I hate to get in it if my clothes are dirty, wet, or stinky, because I don’t want to mess up that spotless upholstery! I decided to make some removable car seat covers for times when I need to protect the seats. This was a super easy and fast sewing project.
To make these seat covers, you only need to take one measurement, and that’s around the fattest part of the headrest. You’ll need this measurement to make sure you make a hole that will fit over the headrest later.
For the materials, you need a beach towel and a vinyl tablecloth. The towel is great for soaking up any water or sweat, and it will be comfy to sit on. The vinyl tablecloth will be used as a liner on the back, to keep the moisture from seeping through to the seats. Don’t bother to get a really nice tablecloth for this, either. The thin, cheap ones will actually be more comfortable to sit on, easier to sew, and easier to fold up when not in use.
The first thing to do is make the hole for the headrest. Put the towel face down on the table and measure 10 inches from the end and make a mark. Then measure the width of the towel, divide in half, and mark the center, forming an X where the two marks meet.
Divide your headrest measurement in half (mine was 26 inches, so half of that is 13 inches) and draw a line that long, centered on the X.
Cut along the line, creating an opening.
Lay the tablecloth out on the floor and put your towel on top. Make it all nice and smooth, then cut the tablecloth so it’s about 1″ bigger than the towel on all sides.
Put the towel and tablecloth wrong sides together, and fold the edge of the tablecloth in a half inch or so.
Line the edge up with the towel and pin in place. Do this on all four sides of the towel, then use the sewing machine to sew the edges together.
When you’ve sewn all around, you’ll have a single piece with towel on one side and vinyl on the other.
You’ve still got to close up that hole, though. Use some pins to hold the towel in place around the area you cut, then use the sewing machine to sew two rows of stitches around the hole.
Finally, use your scissors to cut the tablecloth along the slit, trimming away any excess. If you want to get fancy here, you could encase the edge with some ribbon or bias tape, but I decided to keep it simple.
To put the cover on the seat, just slip it over the headrest and down onto the seat back.
A quick straightening and smoothing of the rest of the towel and you’re all set!
The cover comes off just as quickly as it goes on, and you can fold it up and stick in the trunk for when you need it. The vinyl backing also makes this a great waterproof blanket for a picnic, play date at the park, or a stint on the sidelines at the soccer field. And the whole thing is machine washable! (Probably best to line dry, though, so the vinyl doesn’t melt.)
I liked this seat cover so much that I just had to make another one for the other seat. Now I’m all set for summer!
13 comments so far:
Just want to point out that if a new car has side airbags in the seat, any seat covering will interfere with the airbag deployment. Unfortunately, we found out the hard way.
OMG! I *hate* the seat covers that the auto stores provide….they usually have some stupid design on them. You’ve just given me inspiration to custom make something that will work for my car! And I think I could get by with using upholstery fabric and maybe the terry towels, just for traction underneath. Thanks for the idea!
So happy to have inspired you, PatGLex!
I found this on Craft Gossip and think it’s amazing. Unfortunantly I don’t have a shiny new car. I do have a recently potty trained little one and a road trip coming up, and I think I could modify this to make one for her carseat just in case… I’ve had plenty of occasions where I’ve had to remove and disassemble a car seat to wash them. Thank you!!
Andrea, I love the idea of adapting this for a car seat, perhaps with a kitchen towel or hand towel? Besides helping with potty training accidents, I bet it would save headaches from spilled juice or ketchup during that road trip!
That is an amazing idea! You are certainly creative!
i love this idea! thank you for posting it…i just found some really adorable beach towels and am going to make my car some…i think i might add some elastic or ribbon to tie underneath my seat and in the back so it doesnt slide…LOVE THIS!
Christina, I love the idea of the elastic under the seat. Let us know how it comes out!
Very creative, just bought a new truck, this will be great! However, I will probably try this without the tablecloth, because I bought the exact tablecloth for my patio tables, when I washed them the backing came off, and I did not dry them.
This is exactly what I was looking for. (Just picked up the perfect towels for 1/2 price). If you place the peices face to face and sew the hole first, clipping the corners, it will have a more finished look. You just need to turn everything right side out after you sew the headrest hole and continue on from there, sewing the outside edges last instead of first. Another option would be to cover the raw sewn edges at the headrest hole with seam binding.
I have been wanting to do this for some time. I am going to try without the vinyl backing. Although not a “water proof” more comfortable and and good to protect from sweat after a workout.
Gonna try this, this week!
Neat idea!! I agree with Dawn, though, about washing the tablecloth..I have also washed them and the backing has always come off…If I may make a suggestion…instead of vinyl tablecloth use a shower curtain (fabric-type)..not the plastic liner (although that may work too). Thanks for this creative idea!!
Great idea to use a shower curtain, Sue! I’m sure that would hold up a lot better.