Allison: Car Seat Cooler Tutorial

Hello again!  I love reading about all the fun stuff that Lisa does with her cute family!  It makes me really excited for my little family to do similar things in the future.  That being said, with a twenty-month-old, we don't really go on many outings.  If Costco counts as an outing, then we go on A LOT!

Isla and I spend our days doing pretty basic things: cleaning, shopping, watching Toy Story 3.  That's about it.  But anytime we do venture out of the house, I face the same dilemma:  Arizona heat and a hot car seat.  Luckily, Isla doesn't really seem to mind the heat as much as her pregnant momma does.  Lately I've really wanted to fix the hot car seat problem, but have been pretty lazy about making her one of the really cutesy car seat coolers I've seen on Pinterest.  So I decided to embrace the laziness and make the most basic one I could that would still get the job done.  It took me a total of about 10 minutes and will give her all the relief of an overly-embellished version.

Before I describe the process, I should probably explain a car seat cooler, if you haven't already figured out its purpose.  When you leave the house, you grab the cooler and take it with you.  Once your little one is out of the car seat, you place the cooler in the car seat, tucking the straps with those hot little metal buckles underneath the cooler, and go about your planned activity.  Once you return to the car, you remove the car seat cooler and place your child in the nicely cooled seat.  Genius!  Okay, here's what you'll need to make your own:

The towel I bought was $3 at Walmart.  Can't beat that!  I would have preferred to use smaller packs, but these will still work.  I pictured the colorful little coolers because I thought they were so stinking cute.  Isla was a big fan of them too.  :)  These could also be used in a smaller version.  Here are the four easy steps to make your cooler:

#1- Fold your towel hot-dog style (or the long way), and then cut in half.  Technically this one towel can make two coolers.  Maybe one for mom's seat too.  :)  Next sew the top closed after inserting a ribbon or some kind of strap that will be used to hang the cooler from the headrest.

#2- Sew the opposite end closed.

#3- Measure the length of the towel, and divide by three (or however many packs you plan to use.  Smaller packs may need more "pockets".).  I used a disappearing ink pen for marking.

#4- Sew straight lines the width of the towel to create your pockets and insert your packs.  If you'd like to sew a little strip of Velcro to keep the pockets closed, you may want to do that before you sew the lines across.  I figured it would be hanging and the packs would stay put, so I didn't add any.  And... I'm lazy.

That's it!  Isn't that easy?  I realize it's not the prettiest thing I've ever made, but it'll do.  I've read on different sites that the packs can stay cool for up to 6 hours.  I have also seen others use the gel packs.  I don't want to deal with possible leakage, so I think I'll stick to the plastic packs instead of the gel.

I realize that most of you probably aren't experiencing the kind of heat we are here, but hopefully this tutorial may still be useful in some way.  I know that my little Isla will enjoy the fruits of my lazy labor.  :)  I hope you're all enjoying your outdoor outings and these Summer months!  Have a great week!!

(Don't want to make your own?  I'm now selling them in my Etsy shop.)


****UPDATE- 5/30/14****

It's been almost two years since I wrote this tutorial.  It has had almost 3000 views, and I have heard some feedback from those that have used it.  I have made only slight changes to the coolers I make now (like hiding the seams), and have enjoyed adding a personalized element.  Here's the new cooler I made for my now almost four-year-old:

I've also enjoyed playing around with color combinations with custom orders in my Etsy shop.

Thanks for letting me share!!  :)


Allison