Little purple riding hood

After watching a video much like this one a few years ago, we stopped putting Abner into her car seat with her coat on. I figured she was better off a little chilly than being strapped so loosely into her seat. It wasn't such a big deal when we were living on the West Coast. But now that we're here on the prairies, there's no way she can go without something on in the car.

For the first few weeks of winter we've been shuttling her out to the car in her coat, quickly taking it off to strap her in and then covering her up with her coat draped across her lap. Not surprisingly, she's not thrilled with having to take her coat off in the freezing cold. What's a crafty mom to do?

Enter the car cape.

It's actually the Little Red Riding Hood pattern from Oliver + S: Little Things to Sew. Can you tell how much I'm enjoying that book? I think I've sewn more patterns from it than any other book on my shelf. It's a brilliant pattern for our purposes. Abner can use the side slits to get her hands out while still keeping herself mostly covered and warm.

Snug as a bug tucked into her car seat.

I went way off pattern and used a fluffy purple fleece for the main fabric. It was a pain to sew and holy moly there was a tonne of purple fluff floating around the house afterward. But, it is definitely cozy. I lined it with a basic polka dot flannel to keep it nice and soft.

Look - the straps are done up and everything!

It was a chilly day when we took these photos and Abner got quite warm in the short time we were outside. I think that bodes well for her staying warm in this thing even on the coldest of days. It also looks pretty cute, don't you think?