I picked up this well-loved "beaut" on the side of the road on the way home from church one Sunday. (free!) My husband hosed it off to rid it of years of dust and leaves. (Hello Jake, you photo-bombing Golden Retriever!)
I wanted to work on it RIGHT AWAY but the Rugged, Mountain Man knows me so well. He said, "You can't work on that stroller til the wood is stacked." Don't get mad at my man because...
A. I love a challenging, creative project.
B. Refurbishing a stroller is far more interesting and fun than stacking wood, (which is the girls' and my responsibility because gathering, cutting, hauling, and splitting our year's supply of wood is a ton of work for one man).
Ahem.
A pretty stroller will not keep you warm in winter. AND, it is much smarter to stack in spring and sew in summer. (Don't believe me? Try stacking in 90 degree weather. It ain't pretty.)
So, here I am, about 2 months later, finally tackling the stroller, since we finished the wood-stacking a week or so ago.
To glam up your stroller, start disassembling. Keep all your screws, straps and such in one place. Namely, a place that a certain BabyBlossom cannot reach. For obvious reasons. The comfy seat part was attached with screws, which I removed. I spray-painted the frame with that cool Krylon spray paint specially formulated for plastics. SO NEAT. (Remember to ventilate well and watch out for over-spray.)
Now, this project isn't really for the sewing faint of heart, but you can do it! Just carefully take your seat apart and use it to make a pattern. I ripped open seams wherever possible. In other spots, I simply had to cut it apart. (The point of no return!) Always remember these things:
1. Cut around your "pattern" leaving about 1/2 inch for your seam allowance.
2. Leave about an inch for more finished edges. (I turned under and turned it under again and then top stitched.)
3. Mark where your safety straps go as early as possible.
4. Go slow. If you hurry, you're more likely to make a mistake.
Please admire the pocket. It was an engineering feat. At least, for my skill level it was.
Anyway, one busted needle, a broken seam-ripper and a kid with spray-paint on their hiney and hands later, it's finally finished! I'm so pleased!!! :)
Now that's GLAM!
