finishing up the fix-it felix tool belt + boots + jeans

If you're following along with the Fix-It Felix costume tutorials, you can find the golden hammer tutorial here, the cap here, the shirt/name patch tutorials here, and the glove tutorial here. Here on in, I'm going to cover the boots, pants, and the tool belt.

We lucked out and found a pair of pre-schooler-sized work boots in my kiddo's size at a thrift store for a couple of bucks. Maybe it's because we live in the Northwest; there were three similar pairs in different sizes on the shelf the day we found these. I highly recommend checking thrift stores for these before you buy something new, especially if the work boots are going to be semi-retired after Halloween.

The laces were shredded, so I replaced them. A new pair cost around $2 from Target. I know tons of other stores carry them for a similar price. Also, to help you pick the right shoelace length, count how many pair of holes your boot have. There'll be a guide on the rack or the back of the package to tell you the correct length. Handy, right?

The jeans are just as easy. If you don't already own a pair, these are super-easy to thrift. Go for straight legs in a dark finish to most closely resemble the movie. Then, just roll the cuffs for a perfect match.

The Tool belt

On to the tool belt!

I'll save you the trouble of my silly repetition and link you here to the Two Little Hooligans toddler tool belt tutorial. I used her measurements but made some changes to build my kiddo's tool belt. To start, I used a piece of painter's tarp to make mine.

I made my hammer first, then I measured around it and added four inches to determine the size of the hammer loop. This seemed to me to be the very best way to make sure the hammer would later fit inside the hammer loop.

I simplified the pockets by leaving off the second tool loop and attaching the pockets directly to the belt instead of using the sliders Christina recommends on her blog.

I decided it would be a good idea to dye the tool belt before attaching a buckle so that the dryer wouldn't do what the dryer does when heavy metal buckles go in. 

I used the same combo of Dylon's Sunflower and Terra Cotta dyes that I used on the first pair of cotton gloves in yesterday's glove tutorial. If I had this to do over:I'd have dyed the fabric first, and sewn the tool belt second. I really liked the structure of the belt better before it went through the wash.

The Hooligans tutorial uses a plastic buckle, I wanted to use a metal buckle. I saved some money and got a sweet looking buckle by buying an old leather belt at St. Vinnie's.

If you decide to use a recycled belt buckle, check the back of the belt; some use snaps so you won't even have to cut into the leather.

After checking my kiddo's waist measurement, I stitched the buckle onto the belt, punched a hole, and done!

And that's it, all done! Thanks for hanging in there for all of the many posts. Good luck and happy Halloween!

quick and easy seatbelt covers

The car seat we recently bought the kiddo (to replace the one in my car that tops out at a 40 lb. weight limit) included a couple of really handy little seatbelt covers. These are a definite bonus as his least favorite thing about riding in his car seats has been that the belts tend to cut into his neck when properly tightened.

He's been loving the new luxury seat. On the other hand, he's not been loving riding in my husband's car, whose seat does not have the accompanying seat belt covers. And on weekends and long road trips, that car is typically the one we travel in. It's been a little bit of an issue.

So okay; I decided I can either keep dressing the kiddo in hooded sweatshirts all summer (and pull the extra fabric up against his neck to protect it from the seatbelt) or I could just make a couple of seatbelt covers like the ones in the kiddo's other seat. Which is what I did.

Manufacturers typically recommend not adding accessories to car seats, but I felt this was an okay move for our family. After all, they also recommend against wearing excess clothing in a car seat, and the hooded sweatshirts were far more likely to interfere with car safety than two layers of thin cloth at one point on a seat belt. Also, because our other car seat had them as part of the stock package, I figured it was probably safer than other alternatives. You'll have to decide for yourself!

So, have I justified myself enough yet? :)

Here's what they'll end up looking like.

You can use any fabric for this project. I used pre-washed scraps of a cute gnome print by Michael Miller Fabrics, and some red felt. You'll also need thread and 3/4-inch sew-on hook-and-loop fastener (like velcro).

I also used the seatbelt covers from our other car seat as a pattern, but I took measurements for you: cut two pieces of patterned fabric and two pieces of felt measuring approximately 5.5 x 6.5 inches.

Round the corners, and stitch together one piece of felt and one piece of patterned fabric with right sides together. Leave about a quarter-inch seam allowance, and leave a couple of inches of one side open to turn inside out.

After turning inside out, press and top-stitch (stitch around the perimeter close to the edge) till it looks like this:

Cut four inches of hook-and-loop to fit along the long, straight sides.

Stitch the strips in place(right on the edge!), with the hook piece on one edge of the seat belt cover, and the loop piece on the other as pictured.

Trim loose threads and sharp corners of hook-and-loop. Fold in half. Complete!

Repeat for the second seat belt cover. Install in your car seat!

These take about twenty minutes, but you'll more than make up for any time spent the first time you ride in the car and no one feels like he's getting strangled in the back seat.

If you decide to make a set, I'd love to see how they turn out! Link in the comments below. Happy travels to you!



(p.s. you can make these pictures larger by clicking on them, but you probably already knew that!)


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