Needlecrafts Sewing

Sewing Patterns for a Child's Shopping Cart Seat Cover

By
Debbie Colgrove
Debbie Colgrove
Debbie Colgrove is an award-winning seamstress and tailor who shares her knowledge with beginner sewers on how to work with patterns and fabrics. She has over 40 years experience and has been writing and authoring books for two decades.
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Updated on 05/31/19
Hispanic girl in shopping cart
Jeremy Woodhouse / Getty Images

Just like you would not hand a baby a bag of raw chicken, you might not want your child to touch or gum the hand bar or rest of the cart that shoppers touch. You can make a shopping cart seat cover to provide a barrier that protects your child from the bacteria and germs on shopping carts.

You can find a number of free patterns, low-cost commercial patterns, no-sew options, and step-by-step photo instructions online for shopping cart seat covers. Some of these covers can even double as a cover for a restaurant high chair, swing, and booster chair.

If you have a particularly messy eater at restaurants, you can simply pull up the high chair cover, bundle it up, shake it out at home over a garbage can, and throw it into a washing machine.

  • 01 of 08

    Lil Boo Blue

    DIY Universal Shopping Cart Cover

    Lil Boo Blue

    Lil Boo Blue offers a free, downloadable do-it-yourself, universal-size shopping cart cover pattern that can double as a high chair cover for your little one when you are eating out.

    What is great about this cover is that it can fit any size shopping cart, including the oversized carts at wholesale stores like Costco, Sam's Club, and BJs. The only downside, this pattern requires a lot of fabric, but the cost of the additional fabric is negligible when you consider how this cover can serve double duty.

  • 02 of 08

    Jan Andrea at Home

    Jan Andrea at Home, a home crafter, offers free instructions for a shopping car seat cover with no-sew directions (using polar fleece), some sewing (using fleece and fold-over-elastic), or lots of sewing (using woven fabrics and bias tape). 

  • 03 of 08

    Candle on the Hill

    This inclusive "Cootie Cover" pattern suggests not only using this padded cover on shopping carts but other public places such as highchairs, swings, booster seats, and more.

    While this pattern isn't free, it's inexpensive and comes with additional add-ons like pockets and loops for adding toys. It also has instructions for a second leg hole set for seating two small children in a larger-sized cart that seats two.

  • 04 of 08

    All Free Sewing

    Maureen Wilson from All Free Sewing offers free step-by-step instructions for a shopping cart seat cover that allows you to attach toys to it.

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  • 05 of 08

    Happy Hour Projects

    baby in cart seat

    Happy Hour Projects offers free step-by-step instructions for a DIY soft structure seat in 3 hours. The end product is made with gathered elastic that makes it easy to slip the finished product into most shopping carts. This seat cover doubles as a restaurant high chair cover.

  • 06 of 08

    Lit Centric

    baby in lit centric seat

    Lit Centric offers a free pattern with step-by-step photos and instructions. The instructions include alterations to make a shopping cart cover made for two-seater carts. The cover is reversible, and the instructions do not call for extra-wide fabric like some of the other instructionals. You will need 44-inch wide fabric for this cover.

  • 07 of 08

    Tip Toe Fairy

    baby in tip toe fairy seat

    Tip Toe Fairy offers a free tutorial with step-by-step photos for a shopping cart and high chair cover with a toy strap and extra safety strap to help keep your little one in place. These instructions are simple enough that you do not require a pattern. 

  • 08 of 08

    No Sew Cover Featured on Rookie Mom

    If you want to find a way to keep your child germ-free when you visit a grocery store, but you lack sewing skills or a sewing machine, the Rookie Mom has got you covered. This simple, no-sew instructional is quick and easy. It will take you more time to pick out a fabric than to make this cover.