Diaper Bag??? Check✓

Another necessary item can be checked off the list, and I will have to admit it is my favorite so far. Probably because it is more for me than the baby.☺

For this diaper bag, I did not want a bag that looked like a diaper bag. Apparently after four other children the novelty of making everything look like it is for the baby wears off.

I absolutely fell in love with Anna Maria Horner's Pressed Flowers from her Drawing Room collection. (The best news is: I still have some left! I'll try and think up something to make to give away soon.) The fabric is tons more gorgeous in person. I was so excited when I saw it.

I decided to make the straps and the bottom out of gold vinyl. That was a tricky business! Vinyl wants to stick instead of sewing smoothly. I think you can buy a Teflon foot, but of course I didn't have one. I used cornstarch and it worked okay. I did not do a perfect job with it by anyone's definition, but hopefully it will still hold up. I really like the look of it so I should probably break down and buy the proper foot.

The strap also has rings that I thrifted off of a handbag that I found on a garage sale for 50¢. The vinyl on the bag was not in good shape, but it had tons of hardware I knew I could use so I was very excited about that find.

The interior has a zippered pocket in the lining on one side and a pocket strip divided into three pockets on the other. It is lined with gray Kona cotton. It is the first time I have ever put in a zippered pocket. I found a tutorial here. It worked like a charm! I will be making more of these in the future. The closure is a magnetic snap.

The pattern I used was my SewBaby Double duty Bag pattern. But I altered and changed almost everything about it so I'm not sure that it would help you if you wanted to make something similar. My advice would be to start off with a really simple pattern for a tote like the Double Duty Bag, and then just re-draw the shape to suit your vision. Don't forget that things like the pocket strip will also need to be changed if you change the exterior shape like I did. Yeah. . .that was an "oops" moment for me.

So there you have it! One finished diaper bag? Yes indeedy!