DIY car cozy – and tips for the piping

I recently needed a gift for a little guy’s birthday party, and with just one day to spare this little project was perfect. I let my 6 year old ‘test’ it out, and he loved it so much I was tempted to run to the store before the party and pick up another gift. But, my friend whose little boy was turning 4 also sews and I knew she would appreciate a handmade gift. That just means I need to make another one soon for my boy.

Here is my cozy all folded up with cars inside. The original tutorial was at a blog called handmade by Jill. Unfortunately, that blog is no longer maintained.

I hope you’ll enjoy my pictures and inspiration if you sew a car cozy using a different pattern or tutorial.

I didn’t have any strapping like she used, but I did have a bit of this darling Japanese car fabric left that I could make into a strap.

But then I failed to measure properly and I ended up with a strap that was too long. Instead of taking the car cozy all apart, I just added another piece of velcro to the left of the first one. That way if he ever stuffs it really full of cars, the strap will still work using the outer piece. 🙂

This is the piping I just happened to have in my stash. ‘Maxi Piping,’ lol. It’s pretty easy to put on if you use your zipper foot. Just baste it on to the right side of your project with the pretty edge on the inside.

When you get close to the end, give yourself a few extra inches and cut off the rest. Then pull the string out a little bit and cut some off. Overlap the beginning and the end of the piping and cut off just enough string so when the piping overlaps, one of the casings is empty.

In this picture the top layer of piping (casing) is actually empty when it overlaps.

When you sew the two sides of the car cozy together, place the side with the piping on top so you can sew right over your basting stitches. Keep your zipper foot on for this part too. Makes it easy.

See how nicely that works? Ignore my ugly band-aid, please. Clipping incident.

Whatever you do, don’t leave off the piping. It really adds to the awesomeness.

Here’s my Connor lining two cars up for a race…

And demonstrating how to put the cars away.

So cute!

Happy sewing!