Stay at Home Mama's Quick and Dirty Guide to SSC Covers (2 of 2)

Hopefully, you read part 1 and have your SSC slipcover pattern in hand. These instructions are meant to help you get a slipcover when $ or time won't let you order one of the beautiful custom covers that are available on Etsy or other sites. Those ladies (and maybe some gentlemen) do beautiful work and have figured out the nuances of each cover size.

Thanks to the awesome mama at Stash Shot Seamstress (https://www.facebook.com/stashshotseamstress), there are a few updates to my little tutorial. They are in red.

This is the Quick and Dirty version.

The impetus for this was an upcoming trip to see a Pirate exhibit. I tend to go overboard with things, and as such, I NEEDED my carrier to involve Pirates. I have Jolly Roger drool pads for my carrier, but quite frankly, they don't look good with my two Kinderpacks. I'd like a solid black Kinderpack, but $ and availability have conspired to prevent that. The next best thing would be to order a custom black cover, but again $ and time conspired against me.  So, I looked in the basement, found some fabric and away we go.

This project took me about half a day and was basically free (My basement kind of looks like it belongs on Hoarders due to all the fabric).

Materials

1/2 yard of Fabric A

1/2 yard of Fabric B

Thread to match each

Sewing machine

Scissors

Pins

General sewing knowledge
1/4 Yard Interfacing (medium wt fusible)

1. Using your pattern that you drafted in part one, cut out your panels. For a Kinderpack, I used 2 side panels of each fabric, 2 headrests of each fabric and 1 center panel of each fabric. To further complicate this, I used a mix of fabrics for each side. Cut out four headrests from interfacing and fuse to the headrest pieces.

Chevron for the center, black for the sides.

2. Stitch the side panels to the center panel. Make sure you have the tops lined up so the center panel isn't upside down (let's not talk about that) and topstitch the seams. I turned my seam allowances to the side panels. Also, you could clean finish your seams. I JUST cleaned the hoard basement, and my serger was waaaaaay up on a shelf, so I decided to zig zag my raw edges instead.

It dawned on me that the black was too hard to see against, so I'm using the inside grey for the rest of the pictures.
Yes, I'm ironing on my stove. Small house = no ironing board.

Uh, yeah. I sewed my center panel upside down. I don't care. It still works.
Quick and Dirty, remember?

3. Do this to the other set of fabric, too.

4. Turn the seam allowances down on the dog eared corners of the side panels. This is going to be where the shoulder straps come out. Press them and stitch a narrow hem.

You should do this 4 times. 2 on the lining, 2 on the outside.

5. Turn up the seam allowance on the straight edge of one headrest piece. Press and top stitch in a narrow hem. Do this to one of the other set as well (i.e. I have one grey and one black done like this).

6. Stitch the unhemmed and hemmed headrest pieces right sides together at the curved edges. You should have 2 sets, don't stitch all four together. Turn. Topstitch.

I put buttonholes on mine so that the snaps on the KP hood would fit through and work. This proved unsuccessful and I ended up just hacking holes in it with my embroidery scissors.
Quick and Dirty.

7. Stitch sides of body panels together. Leave open where side buckles go through. Press open seam. Topstitch on each side.

8. Stitch headrest on appropriate side. Finish edge, press seam towards body and topstitch.

My fancy, shmancy machine has a neat serger like stitch that I always forget about.
Like all the threads from where I tore it apart 15 times?

9. Stitch the two halves together for about 1 1/2 inches between the headrest and the openings where the shoulder straps go. Don't get the headrest stuck in it.

10. Hem the bottom. I really thought I had a picture of this. Whoops.

11. Cut all the threads. I tend to skip out on this. I need to be better.

12. Dress your carrier

Perfect?
No.
 Good enough for what it's for? YES.
Is the center panel upside down?

I thought we weren't going to talk about that.

I'd add some action pics, but I have this thing about my kids' faces on the internet. 

Plus I'd feel inclined to wash and brush my hair, which just isn't in the cards today.

So, the upside down panel was KILLING me. I had to fix it. So, here is the updated cover, with interfaced headrest and my beautiful Mr. Hollywood and his bed head.

Good luck!!