Car

The journey of a Hatchbag boot liner.

Today we want to show you what happens between clicking “Place Order” and the parcel arriving on your doorstep.

Here at the Hatchbag Company, everything is made in-house. So from the moment an order arrives in our online shop our team takes over.

As our boot liners are tailored to fit your car model exactly, we sometimes will ask you very specific questions during the ordering process on our website. We check that your order has all the information we need, and we will contact you in case there are any unanswered questions. Our Customer Service team will help you if you need any more help with the configuration or are unsure about the specifics of your car model.

Once we have all the information we need, production begins. Your selected colour material will be cut by a state-of-the-art cutting machine and then hand-marked by the cutter. This is a unique identifier for your personal order.

How many pieces make up a bootliner?

It differs from car to car, model to model. But here is an example of what a bootliner looks like when the cutter is done with it.

It is then handed to our high-frequency welders, who weld the first batch of hook and loop fastener strips onto your boot liner.

Yes, you can weld fabric, too!

Once the smaller hook and loop fastener tabs are safely welded onto the PVC, the individual loose parts of the cut-out material move into our sewing room. Our team of highly skilled sewing machinists will then sew all the prep work like darts and long strips of hook and loop fasteners into the boot liner. Darts make sure the boot liner will fit into all the recesses in your car and will hug the edges tightly. The long strips of hook and loop fastener are your attachment points for extras like Bootliner Extension or Bumper Flap. No robots involved!

Once the prep work is complete, straps for the headrests and our logo are inserted.

From here the boot liner moves on to the next team.

All the various pieces that make up the boot liner are assembled into the main product, your boot liner is finally talking its final form. Every piece is sewn into place and all is secured with a black border around all of the outside. This is called TAPING and gives the edges of the liner and all our extras like bumper flaps and tailgate cover a nice, clean finish.

Your liner is finished, so now it gets teamed up with the correct tabs and strips of hook and loop fasteners so you can attach your boot liner securely to your car.

Every car is individual, so our logistics team will personalise your fitting kit before your order gets packed for shipping. Some cars need more fasteners than others, some don’t need any at all, so we take care in putting together the correct tabs and strips for your fitting requirements.

All that’s left to do now is ship your order out. Our courier collects daily and has a Next Day mandate within the UK, so your order is normally with you the day after it has left our sewing room.

If you are in Europe and USA, we aim to deliver your order within 6 to 8 days after it was placed.

We hope you enjoyed this little look behind the scenes and discovered something interesting in the making of a tailored car boot liner.

The Hatchbag Team

If you’re not sure which colour to choose for your new Hatchbag boot liner, this guide will help you decide. The pictures below will not only show you what our boot liners look like when they have been fitted, but also how the colour could suit your vehicle and personal preferences.

Due to the large volume of vehicles we provide for, the pictures shown are only generic ones. This means the pictures will not match your vehicle exactly but should give you a good indicator on how the boot liner could look in your vehicle.

Most popular colours: Black & Grey

Unsurprisingly, most of our customers tend to choose black or grey for their liner. Black is what you would expect it to be, often complementing the existing darker colours of the boot. The grey can best be described as a battleship grey. An added advantage of the grey is that it shows the least marks over time.

Most vibrant colours: Red, Orange & Pink

If you’re looking for something more colourful then look no further. If you are the kind of person that likes to stand out with brighter colours, take a look at our red, orange and pink liners. They will certainly jazz up your cars’ interior decor and make your boot stand out from the crowd.

Great alternative colours: Blue & Brown

Our final two colours may not be the most popular or vibrant, but they do have a charm of their own and may suit your car perfectly. The blue is a royal blue, whereas the brown can be described as a milk chocolate brown. Brown is also very popular with customers ordering for cars with beige interiors.

Hopefully this guide has given you an idea of what the Hatchbag boot liner will look like in each colour. Now it’s time to go ahead and customise the perfect boot liner solution for your needs.

You've got a new lease car, but, you need to protect your boot when transporting your dog, pram, fishing gear, DIY tools, bikes etc. Here is where Hatchbag steps in with our array of boot liners in seven colours. Plus our boot liner extras such as, bumper flap, rear seat flap, tailgate cover and a choice of three mats; rubber mat, hatchbed mat and odour mat.

All of our boot covers act as a second skin to your car boot and will prevent your lease car boot’s interior getting covered in dog hair, scratched or damaged. And you may be thinking this all sounds great, but, if I use self-adhesive tabs to attach the boot liner to the car then will this damage the interior?

The answer is no. If your car boot is made from carpet and is self-adhesive tab friendly then you will not have to attach any self-adhesive tabs to your car. You may want to consider our frequent use fitting kit, which consists of thirty-two double-sided adhesive tabs. These tabs act as a sandwich between the liner and the boot carpet, so that when you remove the liner the carpet does not fluff up.

Cleaning your lease car boot

If your car boot is made from plastic, you will need to attach self-adhesive tabs to the boot. Before you do that, we recommend the following cleaning procedure:

• - Take two lint free cloths and Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover.
• - Soak one cloth in Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover and clean down the sides.
• - Take the second cloth and dry the sides to the point the cloth is dragging across the surface.
• - Test a piece of self-adhesive to see if it adheres to the plastic. If yes, continue attaching the remainder tabs. If not, please repeat the above steps.

When you come to remove the boot liner and self-adhesive tabs from the boot, we recommend the following procedure:

• - Take Autoglym Intensive Tar remover and a cloth
• - Soak the cloth in Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover and clean down the plastics to remove any residue
• - Then take any valeting product and valet the sides of your boot

If you return the car after your lease is up then the car boot will be in the same condition as the day you got the vehicle.

The question dog owners across the county face, irrelevant as to whether they have a brand new car or if they have had a vehicle for months/years is: How do I protect my car boot from being covered in dog hair?

We’ve all been there, following a day of adventure with our pet pooch, we arrive home, let the dogs out of the back and are faced with dog hair and muddy paw prints everywhere. And, so, the process of cleaning the car boot begins, even though we know that the next time you take your dog out, you are going to be faced with the same dilemma. So, here at Hatchbag, we appreciate your time is precious and have come up with a way to keep your boot, dog hair free!

Step 1: Clean your boot from pet hair

If you have a brand new car then your car boot will be pet hair free, however, for those whose pooches have been in the boot already, the first step is to remove the hair.

To do this, you will need to give the car a good hoover out and also either use a pet hair removal brush to remove the hair from carpet, or, wrap your hands in cellotape to remove the dog hair from the carpet.

To prevent you from having to repeat step 1 on a frequent basis, you may want to invest in a boot liner. All our boot liners are tailor-made to fit the contours of each specific car model and are made from tough, waterproof and non-absorbent fabric. Plus, they are wipeable meaning, if you want to give them a clean it will literally take a couple of minutes.

You can also customise your boot liner to suit you and your family and pets needs. So, if you need a boot liner to just cover the base, the sides and back of the seats then a Standard version will be more than suitable.

Step 2: Prepare their space

Should you wish to give your pet more space by folding your backseats down with the liner in situ then you will need to upgrade the Standard version with either a Rear Plus or Rear Split. The Rear Plus allows you to fold your backseats down altogether, whereas, the Rear Split offers more flexibility in that you can fold your backseats down individually or altogether.

And, if you want to protect your bumper from being scratched or from muddy dog paws then we also offer a bumper flap, which attaches to a loop fastener strip at the end of the liner and can be rolled away in the boot when not in use.

If you have big dogs that like to drool over the headrests then a Rear Seat Flap might be of use, which attaches to the top of the backseats and flaps over the headrests. And for pets that like to press their bum up against the boot door, a tailgate cover will not go amiss.

Step 3: Cleaning your hook and loop fasteners!

Inevitably no matter how much we try, some pet hair will be attracted to some of the hook and loop fasteners, especially owners who have more curious pooches. But, we have a few tricks to help keep the hook and loop fasteners pet hair free.

Before fitting your boot liner, you may want to squirt the hook and loop fasteners with anti-static spray, as this will prevent the fasteners being covered in hair.

However, should hair accumulate in the hook and loop fasteners then you can use either a lint roller, tweezers, a comb, duct tape or even a toothbrush to remove the hair. Then you can use the anti-static spray to prevent hair from getting into hook and loop fasteners again.

Step 4: Keep pet odour at bay

And finally, we all know how much our four-legged-friends like to jump in puddles, lakes, or roll around in mud and sand, not only covering them in muck but also giving them a distinct smell. So, in order to keep pet odour at bay, Hatchbag have come up with an odour mat, which is comfortable for your pooch to sit or lie on with the quilted material, but it also has a charcoal layer in the middle to absorb unwanted odours.

Now, you can spend more time with your beloved pet than cleaning out your car boot. Don’t forget to send us your snaps of your pooch on the road, as we love sharing them on our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter page.

As a car owner, it’s important that you do what you can to keep the exterior of your car looking its best. However, it’s just as crucial that you look after the interior of your vehicle too. To learn how to protect your car from the inside out, keep reading.

1. Invest in a boot liner

There’s no denying that the car boot is a convenient place to store items that we want to take from A to B. However, whether it’s your food shopping, a pram, a bike or even your pet dog, getting stuff in and out of your boot on a regular basis can be detrimental to your car’s interior. If you’re not careful, you could potentially damage the inside of your vehicle, leaving it looking tatty and tired more quickly than you’d like.

To avoid ruining your car’s interior, you could invest in a boot liner from Hatchbag. And if you want further protection then why not choose an optional extra such as; a bumper flap to protect your bumper from dogs jumping in, pram wheels or work-tools, or a tailgate cover, to protect the inside of your car boot door. All of these accessories will help to keep your boot clean and protect your upholstery.

2. Keep it shaded from the sun

We all know the ways in which the sun can affect our health - but did you know it could damage your car too? Not only can the sun’s harsh rays discolour the paint on your vehicle’s exterior, but they can cause the inside of your car to fade too, including the upholstery of your seats, and can even cause the dashboard to warp and crack.

The good news is, there are a number of things you can do to stop the sun from ruining the interior of your car. For example, you could use a windscreen sun shade. This accessory sits on the inside of the window and stops the sun from penetrating through the glass into the car. Usually, these shades are reflective too, helping to keep your vehicle cool in the summer.

You could also try parking your car in the shade, such as under a tree or, better yet, in a garage.

3. Clean it out regularly

When it comes to keeping your car spick and span, you’ll need to make sure you clean it out regularly, in particularly giving it a good vacuum. Over time, it’s easy for the foot-wells and sections between the seats to become grubby, so make sure to clean up any crumbs, stones and dirt that’s built up.

It also helps to use a suitable surface cleaner to wipe down your dashboard and steering wheel, and you could scrub away any marks on the seats using an appropriate stain remover. For the finishing touch, you could hang a fragrant air freshener from your rear view mirror.

So, you currently own a small vehicle whether it be a Seat Mii, a Volkswagen Up, a Skoda Citigo, a Mini Hatchback Mk 1, Mk 2 or Mk 3, or even a Smart ForTwo and you are thinking well my car boot is rather small is there any need for a boot liner, as how much damage is really going occur?

To all the dog owners out there, you do not need us to tell you just how much dog hair can get all over the car boot, even into those areas that are so hard to reach and therefore, no matter what size the car boot, a Hatchbag boot liner is perfect for keeping those hairs at bay.

But, for all those who do not have a dog then you may be asking yourself well why do I need a car boot liner? Well, for owners of a Seat Mii, or a Volkswagen Up or a Skoda Citigo, you will have realised that it does not take long for those metal sides of the boot to get scratched or become damaged, even by just putting your weekly shopping in the back of the car. Therefore, our boot liner will ensure that your car boot is protected at all times.

And, for all you budding gardeners or even those who just like to potter around the garden, who are fed-up of cleaning the mud from plants which have moved position during the car journey, or, bags of soil which have split and distributed mud everywhere in the car boot; which evidently is a time consuming experience. So, here is where our Hatchbag boot liner steps in, as with one quick wipe down with a wet cloth all those mud spillages will disappear and your car boot will be left in pristine condition. Furthermore, with our rear split version, you can even extend the coverage on the drop-down seats, preventing any damage to the actual car interior.

So, no matter how small your car boot, Hatchbag boot liners can help not only prevent damage from occurring to your vehicle but also saving you time from spending ages cleaning the boot, so that you can spend more time on doing the things you love like gardening.

For more information on our boot liners, please click here!

1. Please take two lint free cloths – one will be used for cleaning and another one will be used for drying

2. Apply Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover generously to the first cloth.

3. Using first cloth with Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover scrub the surface clean where you are going to apply the Velcro onto the plastic

4. Then thoroughly dry the area with the second cloth (with no Autoglym Intensive Tar Remover applied to it)

5. When drying the area, you need to get it to the point where the cloth is dragging and slightly peeling off onto the plastic. Then dust away the strands of cloth. You may need to repeat steps 3 + 4

6. Stick the Velcro onto the plastic

7.  Wait 24 hours/designated time stated on fitting instructions until fitting the liner

A boot liner is an essential piece of kit if you regularly transport dirty or large items in the boot of your car, such as pets, sports equipment or other potentially damaging goods. Not only does a liner help to keep the inside of your boot clean, but it also protects against damage to the interior of your vehicle. In order to get the most effective performance from your liner, it is vital to ensure it is correctly fitted, so follow our handy guide to installation.

How to fit a car boot liner

It couldn’t be easier to fit your specially designed boot liner. Simply unfold your Hatchbag, ensuring that the base sits neatly in the boot. If you have Velcro-friendly carpet, the liner can be secured directly to this. Alternatively, you will need to apply self-adhesive Velcro tabs to the plastic or metal of your boot interior. Spread the liner over the base of the boot, and secure the back in position around the rear headrests, using the Velcro straps. Once the back of the liner is in position, secure each of the side panels with the Velcro tabs provided to either the carpet or the plastics.  Full Fitting Instructions will be sent out to you with your liner.

If you often transport wet dogs or muddy outdoor sports equipment, your boot liner may become dirty. To ensure your liner stays in great condition, simply wipe it down with a wet cloth to remove mud, grease or dirt.

Removing the boot liner

When it's not in use, it is simple to remove your boot liner. Loosen the Velcro tabs around the base and side panels, before undoing the straps around the headrests. Fold the side flaps down, followed by the back of the liner, before removing it carefully from the boot of your vehicle.

If you regularly take your liner in and out of your vehicle, you may wish to consider our ‘Frequent Use Velcro Patches’, which reduce the fluffing effect on the carpet. See our Accessories section for more information.

Each Hatchbag is designed to follow the contours of your specific model of vehicle, so you can be assured that getting the perfect fit every time is quick and simple. Check out our video for more information about fitting your car boot liner.

For more information, watch our video.

Keeping the boot of your car in pristine condition can be a tough task. Daily usage can introduce grit and dirt and carrying equipment can cause general wear and tear to it.  You may wonder what happened to the beautiful interior of when you first purchased the car!

However, if you want to avoid being left with a frayed and scratched car interior follow our top 3 days to protect your car boot.

Follow our top 3 ways to protect your car boot:

Boot liner for your Boot

The boot of your car often has a very tough life. Whether it's transporting muddy football kit, bikes, golf trolleys, pets or gardening supplies it can end up looking messy and uncared for.  You should provide protection for your car boot through a car boot liner.  They fit perfectly into the corners of your boot and are tailored to fit a wide range of makes and models.  They are made of a tough PVC material that can be easily cleaned.  It acts as another layer in your boot to keep it clean and fresh.

Floor mats

Placing mats in the boot will help protect the carpet from dirt being brought in from your goods, and in particular pets.  Adding mats will stop the hard task of removing mud from the material; instead you can simply remove the mat and clean it.  This is a perfect choice for animals that have dirty paws!

Preventing smells

Smells can be one of the hardest problems to remove from the material of your car- especially the smell of wet dog!  Although air fresheners can mask the problem, they can never get rid of the smell.  The odour control pet mat comes with a quilted blanket that contains carbon to absorb and eliminate the odour.