Monday, April 15, 2013

Making an Old Stroller New for $5 in 5 Easy Steps!


Being a new mom living in a city who takes the bus frequently, I realized that having a lightweight stroller for public transit is essential. (And I thought pre-baby I would be a one stroller household- hah! How things change...)  We only have a heavy, large stroller for our car-seat that I can barely maneuver down the stairs, let alone lift by myself up bus stairs while carrying an infant. Although it works great for walks around the neighborhood it will not work well for travel. So being a natural thriftster and craftster at heart, on a trip to a thrift store I spotted an older model reclining umbrella stroller for $5 and saw an opportunity. After I had looked up reviews on my smart phone and pushed it around the store and folded it down a few times and was satisfied with its safety, I purchased it and brought it home. I have tons of fabric from previous projects that I have saved, so I pulled out some scraps of the right size and got to work. I made sleeves for the handles, and for the main body, top-stitched the new fabric down folding under the edges. The only problem I had was going through extra thick parts I had to slow down and hand crank my sewing machine. Up above you can see the steps I went through to get to the finished product. Click to enlarge image. I left the directions somewhat vague as I found it was more a trial-and-error project, and that way if you attempt at home you can customize to your specific stroller model.