Diaper Bag

(Again, sorry for the crummy pics.  Too lazy to edit them!)

I found these pants at Value Village awhile back, priced at $7 but it was a 50% off day so it cost me $3.50.  I would never, EVER wear these pants.  But for some reason I fell in love with the fabric.  The orange-ish coral design, I just couldn't get enough of it!  (Which is weird because usually I'm more into the vintage-y look.)

So I bought it.  I started thinking it would make a really neat bag; a fun, snappy accessory because I could never bear to have that fabric be an article of clothing for myself.  (Although, now that I think about it I'm pondering some cute little girl outfits I could have made out of it...oh well.)

The only type of bag I carry around these days is a DIAPER BAG.  And I'm about due for a new one, I just couldnt find one in stores that I really liked.

So, with a little help from this tutorial (found via Preser Foot) I made myself a new diaper bag! 

I made it wider than the tutorial suggested with a bit longer straps.  I also didnt use canvas/home decor fabric, so I made the lining (which was just part of a white sheet) into quilted fabric.  And I didn't put a strip of contrasting fabric along the bottom, although I did want to.  I just couldnt because the background of the orange coral fabric is actually an off-white and all my fabric was just too white. 

Like I said, the lining is made from white sheet.  I quilted it with some batting (my first time really using batting; it was interesting!).  I also added some little details inside. Like a pocket, just big enough for diapers, with the other pocket being big enough to hold things like burp clothes and stuff.

Also inside is a little zippered pouch sewn on.  (I would have just done a normal pocket, but it was a last-minute addition and this way was easier.)  I was able to use the zipper from the original pants, and some of the leftover fabric from the pants.  Waste not, want not!

The front of my bag is my favorite feature.  When I was planning my bag, I asked my friends on my family blog what they liked best about their diaper bag.  One of my friends gave me the link to her diaper bag to show me this cool pocket thing that you can slide a blanket or coat or something through for easier carrying.

This is my attempt to mimic that genius.  I wasnt feeling up to another zipper, so I just made it a little pouch that I'm hoping will be perfect to hold my cellphone and keys.  But as you can see, the blanket slides right through.  Marvelous.

And speaking of blanket, I did make a baby blanket for this next kid.  Since we dont know for sure if its a boy or girl, I tried to choose colors that could go either way, but I just cant handle the yellows and greens.  I thought this blue with a chocolate brown would look great.

Too bad Joanns didnt have any chocolate brown in the silky that I wanted, and I was too impatient to wait.  But I found a remnant of that ivory color, so at 50% off I decided it would work fine.  OF course, sewing them together was another adventure...I've never sewn with slippery fabrics much!!  I thought I pinned it enough, but it still had issues.  Oh well, the baby won't care, right?  Plus I went ahead and appliqued a butterfly on it, in hopes that I'm right and it will be a girl.  If I'm wrong, however, we have enough of the blue to make another blanket and I'll get some more silky stuff....and then give it all to my mom to sew for me!!!!



So, there you have it.  My amazing diaper bag...not really.  Everytime I look at it I see something I could have done better or differently at least.  But right now I have no inclination to fix it, so it is what it is!