My First Blog! Weekly Craft Tutorials

I have been sharing my craft ideas and creations with friends and family by hosting craft days at my house, but many times those I am working with want to have a written tutorial, so I am posting a craft tutorial each week, so everyone can get to it. Everyone will also be able to go back and see any crafts they may have missed. 

This weeks craft is a fleece steering wheel cover. I have made several as gifts and everyone seems to enjoy them and find them useful on cold mornings. I have worked with two of my grandchildren, one is 9 yrs. old and the other 12 yrs. old and they were able to cut and sew one together easily.

As you can see we are Dallas Cowboy fans around here.
I found the idea and some instructions for a steering wheel cover on the America Sews Husqvarna website. I found the instructions hard to follow and it seemed incorrect in a couple of areas, so I came up with my own. (Not that I am down on the site. I don't know if any other instructions are incorrect or not and I was glad to find this idea.)

Steering Wheel Cover

(Should fit an average size steering wheel, about 47”circumference)

Materials

One 6 1/2 ” X 47” piece of fleece

Two 26” lengths of ¼” elastic

Thread that matches fleece on your sewing machine
One needle threaded with about a 24” length of thread, doubled. (This thread could be white or any color, it will not be seen.)

Several small safety pins

 A bodkin (optional) (Could be used to insert elastic)

Directions

Fold the 6 ½” X 47” fleece in half, short ends together, right sides together. Stitch a ¼” seam. Finger press seam open. You should now have a circle of fleece.

61/2” X 47” strip of fleece

Sew short edges together.

Finger press seam open. You now have a circle of fleece.

Fold one edge over ¾” wrong sides together all the way around.  Pin every couple of inches.

Sew ¼” from cut edge all the way around till you are 1” from the beginning. Remember to back stitch at beginning and end as you go. This secures your stitches.

You have now formed a casing with a 1” opening to insert elastic.  Create the same size casing on the other edge, again with a 1” opening.

Leave one inch opening in casing.

Sew casing on both edges.

Now, you will insert one piece of elastic into a casing, pulling it all the way around and stitch ends of elastic together.

One way to do this, is to pin one end of the elastic to the top edge of the casing where the 1” opening is. (This keeps it secure while you pull the elastic through the casing.) Then connect another safety pin, to the other end of that piece of elastic. Now, insert the safety pin into the opening of the casing and start working it through the casing.

Bunch the material up onto the safety pin and then holding the front end of the pin (you can feel it through the material), carefully pull the bunched up material at the back of the pin off the pin, which should move the elastic into the casing. Now continue to bunch the material up on to the pin again, then hold the front of the pin and again move the material off the back part of the pin. Continue this all the way through the casing. When you have the pin at the opening again pull, it out about 1 ½ inches. Remove the safety pin, holding tightly to the elastic. Then unpin the safety pin that is pinned to the casing, keeping the pin connected to the elastic piece. Pull that end out about 1 ½”, remove the safety pin and place the two ends of elastic together with one end over the other. Now using the threaded needle, hand stitch the ends together securely, making as many stitches as necessary to secure. You don’t want the elastic to come apart and ruin the use of the cover. Cut the thread and allow the elastic to slip into the casing.  Then insert elastic into the other casing, following the same directions.

Finish by stitching the opening on each side closed. You can do this by hand or by machine.

Now, go put it on a steering wheel!

Please let me know if you need any further clarification on the instructions by emailing me at buzybcreations@gmail.com