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Car Seat Hanging Organiser | Sewing Pattern With Video

Quick Links: What you'll need Project steps

Debbie Shore's organizer comes with straps that you can secure to the back of a car seat.

Long journeys are much more pleasant for children (and adults) when the passengers have drinks, snacks and entertainment to hand, and this back-of-seat organizer keeps everything in easy reach for those restless back-seat passengers. But this handy organizer isn’t just for car journeys; it could just as easily be a back-of-chair organizer in the home! It won’t fit all styles of chair, but if you have bars on the back of the chair, the top strap can wrap around them. Or how about hanging it on the back of a door?

The organizer has both mesh and plastic pockets so you can see the contents at a glance, plus two zip pockets, one on the front, and the other hidden on the back where you can store more valuable items. The plastic pocket is caught in the centre at the top to create two sections while the mesh pocket has two dividers that extend partway down, enabling you to separate items while still providing wriggle room for anything with an awkward shape. When not in use, the organizer simply folds in half and can be carried by the handles.

I’ve used clear plastic (clear PVC vinyl) for the top pocket, which is easy to clean and keeps the contents handily on view, but you can use ordinary fabric if you prefer. If you’re having trouble finding plastic fabric, take a look at shower curtains – you may find some pretty printed plastic too!

Note: Use a ¼in (5mm) seam allowance throughout unless otherwise stated.

TIP: If you are constantly buying zips, consider buying a few metres of continuous zip in the colour you use most often – it is usually cheaper to buy continuous zip by the yard (metre) rather than a lot of individual zips. For both the zip pockets of this organizer, I’ve cut down longer zips in order to remove the open sections at the ends, but with continuous zip you don’t need to do this, so just cut a 13in (33cm) length for the front pocket and a 10in (25.5cm) length for the back one, remembering to include the zip tabs.

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You will need:

Equipment

• Sewing machine
• Fabric shears
• Safety pin for threading the ½in (1.25cm) wide elastic
• 4in (10cm) diameter circle template, such as a cup saucer
• Fabric glue pen, suitable for plastic fabric
• Fabric clips to secure the plastic pocket temporarily
• Optional: tacking/basting spray

Materials

• 30 x 42in (76 x 107cm) of fabric – I used a pretty blue cotton fabric
• 18 x 7in (46 x 18cm) of clear plastic/PVC vinyl fabric
• 10 x 24in (25.5 x 61cm) of mesh fabric
• 15 x 20in (38 x 51cm) of single-sided fusible foam stabilizer
• 110in (2.8m) length of 1in (2.5cm) wide bias binding
• 16in (41cm) length of ½in (1.25cm) wide elastic
• 28in (71cm) length of 1in (2.5cm) wide elastic
• 35in (90cm) length of 1in (2.5cm) wide webbing
• 1in (2.5cm) wide slider
• Button to go on the plastic pocket – this can be any size you like
• 16in (41cm) length zip (or see Tip in step 2)
• 12in (30cm) length zip (or see Tip in step 2)

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