Diaper Bag with lots of pictures!

So my neighbor reminded me a couple weeks ago that she was due to have her baby soon, and when I asked how they were set for supplies, she replied they have next to nothing.  So!  Being the adventurous and giving type, I said "well I will make you a diaper bag if you like" (having never even looked at a bag pattern) and of course she said sure.  So I searched and searched, and liked this tutorial at the Moda Bakeshop the best:

Baby On The Go Diaper Bag « modafabrics (wordpress.com)

It's well written, has lots of pictures, and a lot of positive response in the comments section.  And uses 20 strips from a jelly roll, which I happened to have available!  There are a couple little steps not explained perfectly, but it's pretty easy to figure out.  On my next bag I'll be sure to take pictures of those steps, I thought I did on this one but apparently not!  :)

Sewing row by row by row, I used The Painted Garden by Dena Designs for Free Spirit Fabrics.

 

I laid out my strips light-dark-light so that when you set the bag down it's on a darker fabric.

 

All the pieces; I realized afterwards, I could piece some 9in and 6in blocks for the pockets, hmm...

 

This turned out to be one of my favorite revelations, the transformation of quilted fabric into STURDY fabric!  It's too funny, I think my favorite part of this bag is the pocket edges hahaha

 

But look at how clean they turned out!

 

I laid out my little pockets dark on light and vice-versa aiming for some contrast.  My husband said he still couldn't see them :D

 

Ah, the HANDLE, and this thing is sturdy too let me tell you, it is going NOWHERE.  I broke only one needle, and only because I was a goof and used a 70/10 or something silly like that as an experiment.  DO NOT USE THAT SIZE NEEDLE, use a jeans needle, obviously... reason being at the time of sewing on this handle you are sewing thru 6 layers of quilt.  Not including seams, and there will be seams that will try to snag your needle and shoot pieces of steel into your eye.  By the way, next time I plan on altering the type of fabric I use and hopefully that will help a bit with the toughness.

 

 

And who can leave a pattern alone?  I came to the conclusion that interior pockets would be handy, at the very least something to hold a bottle or two.

 

So I found instructions from like, 6 different sites, and pieced together the easiest way I could think of to make this bad boy

 

You'll love this, that black topped bottle right there?  That's my salt grinder!

 

Gathering in the bottoms, this was a first for me.  Actually, almost everything I did on this bag was a first, what am I thinking?

 

Ok, I've made straps before, that part was the easiest for me, and since I didn't have charm squares like she suggests in the tutorial, I used some of the other jelly roll strips.  It came out wide enough for my taste.

 

I don't know how I'd bind the seams, so I just sewed them nice and tight, and I am pretty sure it will work out just fine.  This green is home décor fabric from Joann Fabrics.

 

So neat that it holds itself up, even inside out.

 

Alright, the zipper is on, sweet...

 

Getting ready for turning it inside out

 

Oh fluff!  Well that won't work, I think she will want to access those pockets immediately upon opening, darnit.  Ok, take the zipper back off...

 

There we go, all better!

 

A bright and happy bag which will hopefully last them many moons!  Now to add a changing pad and a pacifier clip, and the baby shower is this Saturday, eek!

 

I am super proud of this bag, so much so that I carried it all over town to show, well, everyone who even glanced at it!  I definitely need to make a little label for it so my friend will know what to tell people who ask, and who knows?  Maybe someone will make a request for one!  I already have fabric for one for myself, it's a great size for a project carrier and I really like the fact that it closes and will keep things IN.  I crochet and cross-stitch on occasion, since it's a portable craft, and many of my projects are fairly large, so this will work great. 

 

By the way, please feel free to leave me a comment if you have any questions, I am more than happy to share how the process went for me and how I solved little issues along the way.

 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

~Brandy