Stroke of Genius!

I must say, every now and then a good idea comes along that makes me really happy.  This is one of those ideas.  Nothing life changing or anything...just a good idea.

We were at a restaurant, waiting to be seated, when my son and DIL arrived with our infant grandson in tow.  He was in his car seat and was wearing no coat, nor was he covered with a blanket.  Poor baby must have been cold!

Recently released guidelines recommend NOT dressing a child in a coat before strapping him into a car seat.  Studies have shown that in an accident, a child wearing a coat is more likely to be ejected from the car seat because the straps are loosened to accommodate the coat.  They suggest placing the coat OVER the baby or using a blanket.  

Neither seemed like a satisfactory solution though.

Once we got home, I went straight to the sewing room to design and create something that an infant can wear OVER the safety straps, something that would still be comfortable and warm, yet still allow him to use his arms.  Voilà!

I used some polar fleece from my stash.  The scrap I had wasn't long enough, so I joined two pieces together, inserting a strip of cotton ribbing so it would look more like a design element than a mistake!  I gave it ragland sleeves with cotton ribbing at the cuffs and neck.

The back is simply open.  I decided that if an accident should occur, it would be best NOT to have this attached around the neck, posing a possible strangulation hazard!

The edges were serged then turned and topstitched. 

He was quite happy with this on.  He could move his hands at will....or, at least, as well as he usually can, considering that he is just learning to reach and grab!

All in all, this was a successful prototype!  Next time, I will select fabric that is actually large enough (to avoid the extra seam across the belly!). I might even see how flannel works up, perhaps lining it.  And wouldn't it be cute to make one with a monogram? The baby's mother and I both agree, this is a very good thing!