I love being a mother! It has to be the best job I have ever had. But I hate diaper bags! With a firery passion. And just as I had gotten away from having a diaper bag I had another baby. Two under two. Sigh, I guess I have no other choice then to chain myself to a diaper bag. But why? I already carry my purse. And not to mention the carseat....wait a sec! Enter my solution
And it was fairly simple. All you need (other then the basic sewing equipment) * 6in or so (play with this size) of elastic for the opening of the bag along with 1.5in for the fastener
*cute button of your choice
*one of those kid links- fits perfect around my carseat handle.
It's a little hard to see in the picture but it gives you an idea of how to put it together.
First thing is to cut the fabric you can use the dimensions that I did- or make your own. The bag that I did holds four diapers (three little ones and one big one) the travel size wipes, burb rag, and my nursing cover. With space to spare.
SO using a ruler measure out 8x10 for the front panel (a) and then 8x16 for the back (b) then you will need to measure out two strips of fabric 2x16(c and d). I used contrasting (huge on the contrasting) fabric-cuz i'm fun like that. I also used the contrasting fabric to make my loop- if you look at the picture- at the top, the one that shows the backside- you can see two loops one vertical and one horizontal. Ignore the horizontal one- that one was an experiment and I didn't bother to remove it because it holds the paci so well!
To make the loop simply hem each short side, fold right sides together and sew up the back. Turn right side out- set aside.
You will need to hem each short side of the strips (c and d) along with the short side of (a) panel but on your (b) panel you need to hem every side minus the bottom- pick a short side to be bottom- doesn't matter just pick one. Hello bottom.Now for the bit of the tricky part, not hard just tricky. But if you use plenty of pins you will be fine. Take (a) panel and match it to (c) panel on the top start pinning. Make sure you have right sides facing each other (unless of course you want it to look a bit edgy or something like that.) Repeat with (d) panel but on the other side of (a) panel. They should and will over lap on the bottom. I did this to add some strength to the bottom of the bag. Sew this part first. Go slow around the corners and make sure you have all the pieces of fabric.
Repeat with main body to (b) panel.
So now you should have what looks like a bag. You can go ahead and turn it right side out to admire your work. Aw! So pretty! Now turn it right side in again. Take your elastic and sew it just inside the opening. Starting at the edge of the back panel on one side, gently stretch the elastic and sew it to the other side (along the front of course) of the back panel. This will help keep the items in and not let them escape (we all know how things sprout legs and leave.) Along with give you a nice ruffle to cover up your imperfections.
Now you're done on the inside. Turn it right side out again. Taking the piece you did earlier (the loop) that you set aside, fold that in half and sew to the back. You want it to be just level with the front of the bag. So the weight and gravity can do their job and make it hang right. It's going to take alot a stress so make sure you do a sturdy sewing job. On the front of the bag you will need to attach your button. I placed my items in the bag and folded the flap over to see where it made the most sense to sew on the button. Sew button on. Then sew your elastic loop on to use as your fastener.
Lastly attach your wonderful diaper bag to your carseat carrier using a link you have stolen from your child. It's okay- lets be honest they have alot of links. And you could use break from picking up all those links.
I hope you enjoy your bag as much as I have enjoyed mine. Live me a comment about how the tutorial was and if you have any questions!
Happy Crafting!
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