Cup Holder

Every time I give Parker his sippy cup while he's in the stroller the same thing happens. He either gets distracted and drops it, or he decides he's done and tosses it over the side. But either way it ends up spout side down on a dirty floor or sidewalk. That is, WHEN I see it fall. There have been a few times another shopper has kindly informed me my son dropped something. Otherwise I wouldn't have noticed it was missing. And if I don't have wipes or anything to clean the cup, I have to put it away until we get home. Not ideal when you have a thirsty, cranky little boy.   :)

I looked up cup holders, but couldn't find any plastic ones that would attach to our stroller. So I wondered if I could make something out of fabric. Maybe one end would wrap around the cup and the other end would attach to the side of the stroller? Then when Parker tosses it, it wouldn't get lost--it would just hang off the side. I thought it was worth experimenting!

I measured around the narrowest part of the cup, then added enough length that it would hang a few inches off the floor. For our stroller, that ended up being 21 inches long plus seam allowance. I made the width 2.5 inches. I was planning to use a button to fasten it around the cup and I wasn't sure if it would pull too much or tear the fabric, so I also cut a strip of white fleece (22" x 1.25") to sew into the middle to make it a little stronger.

I folded the cotton in half lengthwise and pinned it onto the fleece, then sewed down both sides leaving the ends open. To turn it right way out I attached a safety pin to one end and started threading it through, like you would put elastic in pants. On one end I turned the raw ends in and sewed across. On the other end, I turned the raw ends in and inserted two pieces of velcro, then sewed across a couple times to secure it. The velcro pieces were about 2 inches long and they have to be sewn in so both fuzzy/rough sides are facing up in the same direction. 

Next I put the non-velcro end around the cup and wrapped it snugly around, marking where the button and button hole would need to be placed. And I got to use one of my favorite settings on my sewing machine! I can put the button into the foot and then just let the machine do the work--it measures the button and makes the perfect sized hole needed. Have I mentioned how much I love my new machine?! :)  Lastly I sewed on the button and then I was able to try it out!

I attached it to the stroller and it seemed to be the right length. It doesn't touch the floor but it looks long enough that Parker will be able to hold it easily. And it can also sit in the basket underneath. 

I haven't let Parker try it out yet, so maybe we'll have to go for a walk tomorrow and see what he thinks of it.  :)