Diaper Bag

Earlier in the year when I found out friends of Ryan and I were expecting (Hi Sara and Graham!) my creative juices began to flow and I knew I wanted to make Sara something special for her baby shower.

Sara and Graham, New Years 2009

It took me a while to come up with an idea, as well as gain enough confidence in my sewing abilities. After some time an idea finally came to mind. A diaper bag. But not just an ordinary diaper bag. One that is stylish and undiaper bag like. I began researching and trying to find a pattern but finally gave up! I stole measurements from another diaper bag and decided to just make my own pattern. While doing so I decided that I wanted to make a pattern for a matching changing pad.

After the pattern was made I got to do the best part...shop for material! I already had it in my head that I wanted to have a black and white polka dot ribbon tied around the exterior so I went and found the perfect, sturdy black fabric. This was going to be used for the exterior of the bag, exterior of the changing pad, bag handles and homemade bias tape.

I wanted the interior to be fun but not too wild. It took me a long time but finally I found the perfect black, white and red floral pattern that I thought was fun and not your typical "granny" floral. I used this fabric for the changing pad, bag interior, and the bottle holders on the interior.

It was finally coming together except for one thing. The changing pad interior. I wanted to make something that they could actually use so it had to be convenient. After a little bit of research I found this stuff called, fusible clear vinyl. This stuff is great! You just put it on the fabric that you want to use it for, iron, and ta-da.....a wipeable changing pad.

First, I made the changing pad. Sewed together the exterior, a layer of cotton, and vinyl interior using the homemade bias tape to give it a clean look. I folded it and hot glued then sewed four 1 inch pieces of Velcro to the interior and exterior. I included a package of wipes and it was ready to go.

I then sew the interior pieces together.

I then attached the bottle holders. I inserted a piece of elastic to the top so that when a bottle is there it is tight enough to hold it in place.

The exterior of the bag was next. I took all the pieces and sewed them together.

I then attached the ribbon and hand sewed all around the exterior to keep it in place. This had to be done before I put the interior in. I tied a bow at the front and secured it with a couple of stitches.

Finally, I sewed the handle pieces together making them about 1 inch thick.

After all that was accomplished it was time to put all the pieces together. First I attached the handles to the inside of the exterior.

I then placed the interior liner inside the exterior. Then I folded the exterior and interior top pieces down 1/4 inch and sewed it all together. (This gives it a clean line without bias tape) Lastly, inserted the homemade changing pad inside the bag.

And there you have it....a stylish homemade diaper bag. Before the shower I made sure to buy the appropriate diaper bag articles such as a onsie, blanket, and other baby essentials to put in it. I was very excited to finish this project and give it to Sara at her baby shower. It was a lot of work but completely worth it.




xo