How Not to Soak an Infant (on a budget)

Oregon weather sucks.  As many of you have heard, there are only two seasons in Oregon: rain and construction.  Unfortunately this year, the rain has WAY out lasted its season... which means, as a new mom, I now have to think about how to keep the little one dry.

I started shopping around for car seat canopies and, like all other baby-item purchases, balked at the price tag ($30-$50 for a blanket with straps??  Really??) so, I got all "I can so make one of those myself" and set out for the fabric store.

One thing that you should know about me (if you don't already) is that I have some pretty good problem solving skills... but I'm not so keen on following other's directions.  I tend to try to come up with my own way/idea and see how it pans out.  Which is exactly what I did with the canopy.  I knew what I needed to make (a blanket with straps) and knew how big it had to be (enough to cover a car seat).

Did I measure the car seat?  No.... which caused all sorts of problems.

I figured that a yard of two pieces of fabric would be big enough (one for the front side and another for the under-side).  So, that's what I bought.  When I brought it home and actually laid the fabric out over the car seat, I realized that it was probably going to be just a little too short when the seam was actually done.   Problem.

Solution?  Sew another piece of fabric as a border around the outside, adding a couple more inches.  And I just happened to have an old curtain lying around that matched!

Problem?  I am NOT a skilled sewer/quilter and my simple solution of "just sewing a border" was a bit more complicated than I anticipated.

But, in the end, I have a final product.  It's functional... but just don't inspect it too closely.  ;)

Total cost: $13
(Could have made it cheaper had I bought fabric that was on sale/clearance, but I wanted something pretty. lol)

P.S.  I used ribbon for the straps rather than velcro... figured that this would be easier.