DIY Padded Bike Seat Cover

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Whether you're an endurance rider, a road racer, a mountain biker, a commuter or leisure rider, a comfy bike seat can definitely make the difference between a good ride or a bad one. Once you've spent time finding the perfect bike seat for you, protect it from the elements with this oil cloth bike seat cover. Rain and sun can do damage to your saddle so it's designed to easily fit right over your existing seat. Ride in comfort, be stylish and keep your seat protected, a triple win situation in our book.

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Image Credit: Beth Huntington

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Things You'll Need

  • Freezer paper

  • Marking pen

  • Ruler

  • Sharp scissors

  • 3/4-yard oil cloth (or regular fabric)

  • 1/2-yard batting

  • Wonder clips

  • Safety pin

  • 1 1/2-yard ribbon or cord

  • 1 cord lock (optional)

Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 1

Create a pattern by tracing around the bike seat on freezer paper. Use the ruler to mark a 1/2-inch seam allowance around the entire traced line. Connect the dots and cut around the outside line.

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Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 2

Trace around the pattern on the back side of the oil cloth and cut.

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Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 3

Trace around the pattern on 2 layers of batting and cut.

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Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 4

Cut a piece of oil cloth that is 4 1/2-inches wide and 34-inches long. Fold over 3/4-inch on one of the long sides. Use clips to hold in place (pins will put holes in the oil cloth) and sew to form a casing for the ribbon or cord. Be sure to remove the clips as you sew.

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Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 5

Layer the batting and the oil cloth seat pieces on top of one another. Clip the long raw side of the oil cloth strip around the outside of the seat pieces with the right sides together. Slowly sew around the edge, easing in the strip around the curves.

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Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 6

Notch the curves. Be very careful to not clip the stitching.

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Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 7

Attach a safety pin to one end of the ribbon or cord. Thread it through the casing you created on the edge of the oil cloth. Be patient, this takes some time when using oil cloth because it is much stiffer than regular fabric.

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Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 8

Turn the seat cover right side out. Remove the safety pin from the ribbon and thread the ends of the ribbon through a cord lock. (If you don't have a cord lock, you can simply tie the ribbon once you fit it onto the bike seat.)

Image Credit: Beth Huntington
Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Step 9

Place the cover onto the seat and pull the ribbon tight so it fits.

Image Credit: Beth Huntington

Ride in comfort and style.

Image Credit: Beth Huntington

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