A diaper bag.

It’s a necessity for mommies everywhere.  I’ve looked at tons online (which can cost up to several hundred dollars, if you want a designer label — I fail to understand why that would ever be necessary, but that’s me).  I’ve used a few that I was given or bags that I had around.  I sewed one right before I had my second baby (it was okay — too big and the zipper broke, and I never fixed it).  I’ve given it a lot of thought, really — what would be in my ultimate diaper bag?

Well, here are my issues:

• 12″x18″x6″ size
• Zip closed on top
• Long 2″ wide shoulder strap
• Three divided pockets on outside
• Cup/bottle holders on both ends of bag
• Inside, large snap-closed pocket
• Other inside, built-in wet bag with zipper
• Zippered snap-on pouch (inside) for wallet, keys, phone (option)
• Fully lined

How awesome does that sound?

Now, there are some tricky parts to this.  Putting in that wetbag is a bit frustrating at times.  But go slow, take it step by step, and you will get it done.  Are you ready?

You will need:

• 1 yard “cute” bottom-weight fabric
• 1 yard lighter fabric (for lining; I used linen)
• 1/2 yard PUL
• 10″ 1/4″ elastic
• Matching thread
• 18″ zipper
• 14″ zipper
• 5 snaps (if desired)

Now, you will need to cut several pieces from this.  I will attempt to show you below in a picture, but I am also going to tell you.

• 4- 13×19 rectangles (2 cute fabric; 2 lining fabric)  This is the body of the bag
• 2- 45×7 rectangle (1 cute; 1 lining)  This is the sides and bottom of the bag
• 2- 24×3 rectangle (cute fabric) This is the strap
• 2- 6×7 rectangles (cute fabric)  These are the cup holders
• 2- 19×7 rectangles (1 cute; 1 lining fabric) This is the inside pocket and outside pocket
• 1- 19×24 rectangle (PUL) This is the wetbag
• 1- 8×4 rectangle (cute) This is the optional snap-in pouch

Breathe.  One step at a time.  I can’t tell you how many times I went over and over all the pieces I cut to make sure I had all of them.  If you find you’re missing something, you can always go back later.  The pieces above are folded up in some cases so you can see the lining pieces underneath.  Top is the strap; the large center part is the body pieces; left side is cup holders; right side is inner/outer pockets; bottom is the bottom/side of bag.  PUL is missing from this picture (oops).

First we’re going to do the strap.  It’s the easiest.  Put the fabric pieces right sides together, and sew around both the long sides and one short side, leaving the other short side open.

Now, use that open end to turn the fabric right side out.  It will look like a tube.

Tuck the ends of the open side in about 1/2″ and sew it closed.  Then, turn to the long side and press it down smoothly and sew all the way down.  Go around the entire strap this way.  This is called “top stitching” and it makes your tube into a nice flat strap.

There, the strap is done.  Now, let’s do the side/bottom.  Measure from each end of this piece (the cute one) down exactly 13″.  Make a mark here.

This is where you will put the bottom of your cup holders.  Set it aside for a minute.  Pick up each cup holder and get your elastic.  Cut it into two 5″ pieces.  Now, place the elastic on the wrong side of each cup holder, about 1/2″ from the top.

Use a zigzag stitch to sew the end of each elastic to the edge of the cloth (positioned as above).  Then, slowly stretch it and sew all the way across.  When it’s done it will naturally pucker since you stretched it.

Fold down the extra fabric over the elastic.  Sew it down, stretching the elastic so you get a smooth, straight seam as you do.  Do the same to the second cup holder.

Now it’s time to sew the cup holders onto the long bottom/sides of the bag piece.  Place the bottom of the cup holder at the mark you made earlier (it will not go all the way up) and sew it down.

Notice, because of the gathering, that the top edges match, but the bottom is a little bigger than the strap.  Simply gather it a little bit in the center (I did two little “fold over” sections about a third of the way through) and then it will match nicely and you’ll have a good pocket.

You can see a little bit of the gathering in the above picture.  Do the same thing to the other cup holder.

Then, pin the lining fabric to the back of this one (wrong sides together).  Sew the long sides, but leave the short sides open for later.  Set this aside.

Now, we’re going to work on one of the sides of the bag.  You’ll need one “cute” side, one lining side, and both the cute and lining pockets.

First, hem the top edge of the big pockets.

Pin the inner pocket to the lining, and the outer pocket to the outer fabric.

Sew these down along the sides and the bottom, leaving the top (hemmed part) open.

Now, put the two parts together (pockets facing out) and sew together.  This part of the bag is now done.

Here comes the trickiest part…so pay attention!  Though actually this wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be.

Get your other lining fabric and your PUL.  Lay the PUL out flat with the shiny side DOWN.  Place the lining fabric over the top half of it, and pin it down (seriously — pin it.  I didn’t, then screwed it up, had to rip stitches, and pin it to redo it).

This is tricky to sew because the shiny side of the PUL is down against the sewing machine and it slips around easily.  Go slow.  Sew it together on all four sides.  On the bottom (where the PUL hangs down), stay a couple inches above the bottom of the lining fabric.  Later you will be folding the PUL up to make the bag.

Once these parts are sewn together, it’s time to make the slit for the zipper.  Here is about where it should be placed.

You need to cut a slit in the fabric where the zipper lies.  This slit will go through both layers — the PUL and the lining fabric.  It should be slightly shorter than the zipper itself.

On the edge of each slit, cut up about 1/4″, and down about 1/4″.  Fold these over (both layers) with the PUL side facing up.  Pin the zipper to the PUL side.  You are pinning it to the lining (folded over), PUL (folded over), and both layers in the front too.

Sew the zipper on both sides (along where it is pinned).  The zipper is being sewn to four layers of fabric.

Then the zipper is in!

Now, flip it over and fold up the PUL.  Sew it on all the open sides so that it is now a closed bag, accessed through the zipper.

Final step to this side is to pin the outer fabric to the wet bag and sew it together on all four sides.

Now, it’s time to put the whole thing together!  Almost done.

Pin one side to the long side/bottom piece you sewed earlier.  The corners will be a little bit weird; it’s okay.  Later, you’ll fold them over slightly as you sew.  Pin RIGHT SIDES together now, you’re finishing it with neat edges!

(You can see a snap I put on in the picture below.  It didn’t work out so well, mostly because I can’t find the second die for my snap press.  But you can add one to the lining fabric, or Velcro, prior to sewing the lining to the cute fabric when you sew the side with pockets way before.)

Sorry that is blurry.  Somehow I only took one shot.

Fold over the corner carefully as you are sewing, just slightly so it all fits.

The very last step is the strap (and zipper, except I ran out of time and didn’t get to mine — I’ll mention it briefly in a minute but I don’t have pictures).

Tuck the unfinished edges of your sides in, and put the strap down in between them.  Sew across to finish them and sew the strap on.

To do a zipper, you will simply pin it to the inside of each edge of the bag, and sew it like you did the previous one.  If and when I get around to adding mine, I’ll take pictures and put them in here.

Then, your bag is done!  How awesome is that?

What’s your favorite diaper bag feature?

Who doesn’t love a pretty skirt?

I made this style of skirt for my daughter for Christmas last year.  She loves it and wears it all the time.  When she heard I was going to make her another to do this tutorial, she was thrilled!  I even decided to make myself a similar one too…why not?  I like pretty clothes and FREE (I have a ton of fabric sitting around…seriously, like 100 yards or something) sounds awesome to me!

All you need to be able to do is do a straight stitch.  It is very basic and easy to do this skirt, so it’s a great project for a beginner.  Or someone more experienced, because it does make a cute skirt.

You will need:

• 1 – 3 lengths of fabric (depending on how many layers you want to your skirt)
• Matching thread (I use neutral/tan on everything)
• Elastic, 3/4″ or 1″ (depending on size; smaller for a smaller person)
• Measuring tape
• Scissors
• Pins

I know; I didn’t say how much elastic or fabric you will need.  It varies entirely depending on how big you want the skirt.  So let’s talk about that part first.

You can choose to make the skirt all one color, two different colors (coordinating colors/patterns), or three colors.  So the first thing you need to do is decide how many you want.  Got it?

Now, measure yourself or your intended recipient from natural waistline to where you want the skirt to end.  I personally prefer a long-ish skirt, falling a couple inches below the knees.  I think it’s more modest.  But that’s me.  It’s up to you how long you want to make yours.  To this measurement, you will add 2″ for seam allowance and elastic casing.  This is your total skirt length.  If you are making it from just one fabric, this is your number.

If you want to make a skirt that is two different colors, divide this number in half and add 1/2″ to each.  So, if you want a skirt to be 24″ in length when finished, you will add 2″ — 26″ total.  Then you will divide this in half — 13″ each.  Add 1/2″ for seam allowance — 13 1/2″ per piece.  This is your length per piece.

If you want a skirt that is three different colors, divide your number by 3, then add 1″ to the “middle” piece and 1/2″ to each of the outside pieces.  So, if you want a 24″ skirt, you add 2″ — 26″.  Then divide by 3 — we’ll call it about 9″ (it’s really 8 2/3″).  Add 1/2″ to top and bottom pieces — 9 1/2″ each.  The middle section, add an inch — 10″ total.

Now, you need to figure out how big around the skirt needs to be.  Measure your waist loosely with a soft tape measure.  You will want to add 6″ to this number for your top (or only) tier.  This is so you can put in the elastic and have extra fabric there to make it look gathered and pretty.  You want 2″ less elastic than the original number.

If you are doing additional tiers, then the second one needs to be 50% wider than the first.  The third needs to be 50% wider than the second.  This is because you will be gathering it later.

Types of Fabric

I have used all types of fabric for this — light cottons, silky, denims, etc.  It seems to work out okay.  It’s probably best to use either denims or light to medium weight cottons.  Silky fabrics may look a little weird.  But, choose what you like; this is forgiving.

The Tutorial

Okay, it’s to get sewing!  Gather up your materials.

Measure yourself (or your intended recipient) if you haven’t already.  If, like me, you’ve temporarily lost your tape measure, you can take a rough estimate by wrapping the fabric around yourself and adding the 6″ that way.  This worked for us.  Cut your first rectangle (your top piece).

The denim is my top fabric.  I have it laying on my bottom fabric.  I will cut the bottom piece roughly the same width, but 50% longer.  Like this.

See how it extends well beyond?  That’s how you “measure” if you’ve lost your ruler.  This pattern is pretty forgiving.  Like I said, it’s simple.

Now it’s time to sew!  First you will need to pin the two pieces together, right sides together (if you have three, you will do this next part twice.  If you have one, skip this part).  Match the ends and the center together.  The longer piece will be loose around the pins.

Yes, that’s my daughter’s foot there…she was “helping.”  :)

Now you will sew it.  Start at one end, and gather slowly as you go along.  I do mine like this.  A quick sewing note: always forward stitch a few stitches, then backstitch, then continue sewing normally at the beginning of every seam.  It helps to add strength.  Do the same at the end — backstitch a bit to make sure it’s sturdy.

I do this about every 1 – 2″ all along the skirt.  It works out as a nice little gather.  Once you have done this, you will need to sew a second seam just below the first, to reinforce it.  It will look like this.

If you have a third tier, repeat the last few steps to get that third tier sewn on.  If not, move on.

Fold your skirt in half, right sides together.

Now you will sew a seam down the open side so that the skirt is put together.  Almost done!

Now, turn down the top of the skirt (to the inside) to make a casing for your elastic.  It should be 1/4″ further than your elastic is wide.  I”m using 1/2″ elastic because it’s for my daughter and she’s small.  Use bigger elastic for bigger people.  Here’s mine folded down.

Sew this casing down, but not all the way.

Leave a couple inches open in the middle, like this:

Take your elastic, and put a safety pin on one end.  This will give you something to grip as you put the elastic through.  Slip the safety-pinned end into the casing and work the elastic all the way through, making sure not to lose the other end inside!

Once the elastic is all the way through (make sure to keep it flat; don’t let it get twisted or it will be uncomfortable), sew the elastic ends together.  Go over them three or four times (forward stitch, back stitch, repeat).

Once it’s sewn together well, allow the elastic to go fully inside the casing.  Smooth it out so it’s roughly evenly gathered all around the skirt (you can adjust this later as you’re wearing the skirt, so it is not that crucial now).  Sew the opening of the casing closed.

All that’s left to do is hem the skirt.  If possible, you will want to try the skirt on now to see how much it should be hemmed.  (I did one for my niece as a gift for Christmas so obviously I couldn’t have her try it on.  But I do with my daughter.)

The right way to hem it is to fold it up 1/2 as much as you want and pin it and sew it, then fold up again and pin and sew, using a zig-zag if desired.  This way you have a nice finished edge on the inside and out.

…or you could be lazy like I was, and just fold it up and sew it once.  No one’s going to see, right?

Now your skirt is done!  Isn’t that cool?  Here’s my little model with her new skirt.  She normally hates having her picture taken and runs from the camera, but she was so pleased with her skirt that she agreed to pose for me.  She did, however, feel the need to make faces.

How easy was that?

Do you like fun skirts?  What’s your favorite style?