Tutorial: Seat Belt Pad

My sad, old seat belt pad was looking worse for wear and I really don't think it was doing anything anymore, so it was time for a replacement.

The construction is simple: a rectangle with a pair of velcro stitched down the sides. Easy peasy, right? Here's what I did:

You'll need:

Two pieces of fabric, cut to 7.5" X 8.5" - (If you want a longer pad, increase the 8.5" length)

Padding cut to the same size (I used leftover fleece and poly batting)

8" of Velcro

1. Cut your fabric to size. 

**You can also use scraps and piece them together to size.**

2. Cut your padding to size. I had some leftover fleece and poly batting that I used, but you could use virtually any kind of batting and make it as thick or thin as you want.

3. Make sure everything's nice and ironed.

4. Stack up your fabric as follows: 

~Fabric- right side out

~Padding

~Fabric- right side out.

5. Serge it together around all four sides. 

**If you don't have a serger or overlocker, you can use a wide zigzag stitch on your regular machine. Just cut your original pieces to 7"X8" because the serger trims down the edges.**

You should now have a cushy, rectangular pad 

that's roughly 7"X8".

Make sure your velcro measures the length of your 

LONGEST SIDES, around 8". Trim if necessary.

6. Sew the velcro to your pad. 

Make sure you are sewing it to the long sides. 

Trust me... I don't know from experience or anything...

When you get to the end of the velcro, 

stop with your needle down and turn the corner.

7. Sew one side of the velcro to the top, and the other side to the bottom. This way it will wrap around your seat belt. 

Make sure you are not sewing the velcro to the same side .. this photo shows one line of velcro, facing up on the left, 

and you can see the stitches of the other line on the right side,  velcro facing down.

Yay! You're done! Wasn't that easy?! Now make another one or three for your passengers. I made a his + hers for our car. 

For the Record:

I used fun Anna Maria Horner Loulouthi fabrics for my seat belt pads.

My serger is a Brother 1034D, which I got for Christmas and already love so much. 

Let me know if you make your own seat belt pads! They also make great gifts for just about anyone on your list.