Under Seat Storage for Your Van

This was a project stemmed out of necessity but turned into something very handy. I have a van with front seats that sit high on their bases. Both seats are enclosed on the back. The passenger seat has a door on the front but the driver's seat is open. Plenty of room for stuff under the drivers seat.

Directions:

The problem was when you came to a quick stop all that stuff slid onto the floor in front on the seat and under your feet. I decided to make something to go across the front of the seat and hold the stuff under the seat under the seat.

Eventually I decide the best thing was a piece of cloth that I could duct tape in place; quick easy solution. Then I had the idea to use Velcro tape. That way the band would be removable to easier access the stuff below the seat.

In looking for material to be the band, I came across an old pillow case. At first I was going to cut the bottom out and have a pouch. All I would need to do to make it more durable would be to turn the edge and sew it. Then I realized it would be better to cut the top of the pillow case off, turn it inside out, sew the bottom together and turn it inside in. Voila - pouch with finished edges. Before cutting the pillow case, I took it out to the van and held it up to the seat base to see what I wanted the width to be.

I used Velcro that was fairly wide and had adhesive. I measured it out the width of the pouch I made, stuck it on and sewed it onto the pillow case pouch along the top and the bottom

Then, with the two halves of Velcro together on each side I put the pouch up against each side of the seat so I would know where I wanted them to stick. I wanted equal overhang on each side. Once I knew where I wanted it I marked one outside edge with a pencil.

I took the adhesive off one side and carefully lined it up with the pencil mark and attached it to the side of the seat. Then I took the other side of the pouch across to the other side of the seat. Pulled off the adhesive cover and pressed it into place.

All done. And then I found a bonus to the way I made it. The areas where I left the Velcro open (not sewn) made little pouches on the side of the seat. And because the pillowcase had a wide edge finished edge on the top these areas are hard to see through. Perfect spot to stash emergency cash on trips. If you have car trouble, you lose your wallet or some unexpected expense arises with your planned activities you have cash available. You can slip credit cards or money cards on the other side. Whatever you have in the side, as long as it isn't to big or bulky, you can't see just by looking in the pouch.

By Suntydt from Tazewell, TN