Are you thinking of making a poncho to use in the car seat?

I just got another email from a mom who tried:

I tried to make my own, but I really can't sew so I tried a no sew option, using fleece. It worked, it was fast & easy, but it's not the greatest. It's only one layer and has no hood or zipper. It's working fine for now, as the weather hasn't gotten too cold here yet, but I'm going to need something better for winter! Keeping my baby safe and warm is the most important thing!

I promptly sent this mom a coupon code to save $10 off the price of a Car Seat Poncho.  Since it's two warm layers of 400-weight cozy fleece, it's like having TWO blankets snuggled over your little one.  Very warm, very safe, very convenient -- and very cute.

So if you made a poncho and wished it were warmer, cuter or more convenient, post to this thread and receive a $10 coupon code!

WARNING: No drawstrings at the neck!!!

I often get emails from customers, telling me about home-sewers who market "car seat safe" ponchos.  I was alarmed, though, by recent posts on popular parenting boards featuring ponchos with drawstrings around the hood and neck.  That is a tremendous, tremendous safety NO-NO.  Drawstrings are extremely dangerous on children's clothing because they can get caught and snag very easily, resulting in strangulation, dragging, and/or serious injury.

In 1996 the Consumer Product Safety Commission issued a warning to all parents to remove drawstrings of all types from children's clothing 2T-12, and prohibited the sale of children's clothing with drawstrings around the head, neck, and waist (just to be extra cautious, I suppose).



I absolutely shudder to think about the child I saw in one thread whose poncho had a drawstring AROUND HIS NECK.  Could you imagine this child being carried to and from the car, in and out of the car seat, walking around, riding in a shopping cart, drawstrings flapping and dangling the whole time...!  How ironic that he's wearing something his mother made to keep him safe, but is now at risk to a whole new set of dangers when he wears it.





I am proud to say that the Car Seat Poncho has been scrutinized up and down and every which way by CPST's and safety professionals all across the country, and given the thumbs up.  When the product was exhibited at LifeSavers in 2008, techs gathered around my booth and exchanged "what-if's" and "what about's" regarding the design, the parts, the materials, etc., over the course of three whole days.  It got a very thorough inspection and, I'm proud to say, emerged with glowing reviews!



If you made your own poncho (with or without a drawstring), and wish you had a Car Seat Poncho, post to this thread.  Tell your story, and receive a $10 coupon for the purchase of a bona fide Car Seat Poncho!

TRUE-LIFE TALE: Turning A Bad Poncho Into A Good Poncho

Angela posted to one of our threads on Car-Seat.Org, about trying to make a Car Seat Poncho for her son:

I attempted to make my own car seat poncho and it was a huge disaster. I bought a bunch of fleece fabric and went to town. I thought I could make a lined poncho but there was so much fabric that my sewing machine needle wouldn't even go through it all. It took me hours to complete and it looked a mess. I didn't even attempt a zipper! I wasn't sure how to finish the neckline so it looks pretty bad..and the hood is falling off. Then when I put it on my son, it just hung really weird. I'd like to get a REAL Car Seat Poncho because I know it will be made much better!

We sent Angela a $10 coupon to make up for the cost of the wasted fabric (although we couldn't compensate her for the wasted time!).  This way she can purchase the Car Seat Poncho for her son and put the whole home-sewing experience behind her.

Believe me, I've been in Angela's shoes!  It's easy enough to make a basic poncho: cut a hole in a blanket or piece of fleece.  I tried that, but when it came time to fasten the harness, I had to move the front of the poncho out of the way -- up to his neck, across his shoulder, or over his head.  Around that age, he wasn't crazy about being strapped in anyway, so that annoyed him even more.  A basic poncho was still not solving the problem of warmth, safety AND convenience for both mommy and baby.

I hacked and stitched my way through half a dozen prototypes before I hit upon the patent-pending design that's easy for moms to use without hassling the baby.  And the Car Seat Poncho is made by professional seamstresses, whose work is supervised and inspected by the same people who make clothes for Pea in the Pod and Motherhood Maternity.  Moms send emails all the time raving about the beautiful workmanship, saying, "It is worth every penny and so much nicer than anything I could have made myself!"