For Mommies of Little People

Shopping Cart Seatbelt -- TUTORIAL

This one is from Obsessively Stitching blog.  

Got a kid who refuses to stay sitting down in shopping carts? My sister's little boy lasts about 15 seconds before he's standing -- even WITH the cart's built-in seatbelt on! And then there are the stores whose carts are notorious for missing seatbelts....

Well, I've got the solution, and all you need is one (or two, depending on the size of the child) dollar store canvas D-ring belt!

**PLEASE NOTE: Even with a seatbelt on, you should never, EVER leave your child unattended in a shopping cart. Always stay within arm's reach!!**

STEP ONE: Cut off a section of the belt on the non-buckle end. (To fit my 9-month-old daughter, I cut a 16" section of belt. You may need to adjust this measurement to fit your child.)


STEP TWO: On the FINISHED end of the piece you cut off (not the piece with the buckle), fold a loop wide enough to easily loop the rest of the belt through. Sew. I sewed mine twice for added security.


STEP THREE: Finish the two cut ends of your belt. I happened to have a small scrap of vinyl left over from a previous project, so that's what I used, but you could bind it with any kind of fabric.

This is what you should now have.

STEP FOUR: Attach the loop piece to the longer piece as shown. To fit my daughter, I attached the loop piece 10" in from the end of the buckle, as shown. I overlapped the two belt pieces completely and sewed three lines across for security.

You're done! This photo shows how you will buckle the seatbelt. Simply lay the loop piece from the back of the seat to the front, loop each of the two sides around a few bars of the shopping cart in the back rest of the seat, wrap them around your child's waist, through the loop, and buckle. That crotch piece should keep your child seated! D-ring belts do have a tendency to slip a little so, again, do not leave your child unattended.

**NOTE: Since I do not have a shopping cart in my home, I used a chair ONLY for the purpose of showing how to buckle the seatbelt. I would never leave my baby unattended on a chair like this!**