In the Bag

When we first got Levi, one of the first things I had to figure out was what to use as a diaper bag. At the time, I quickly repurposed a cloth tote that I had received at Young Living's School of Nature's remedies two weeks before. It's one of those bags made from that recycled/recyclable fabric like you can get at the grocery store for 99 cents. It worked okay, and I actually discovered I liked the size and shape of it... I just found myself wishing for a flap to cover everything and keep it more secure, and a few more pockets to keep it organized.

Thus, I decided to make my own. I have never made a bag before... well, unless you count the flat bags made from a single piece of fabric folded around itself in thirds that were some of the party favours for Jude's 5th "Safari Party" birthday. This was going to be more complicated. Since my brain cells are somewhat overtaxed already these days (see last post, if you don't know why that is), I decided to let someone else do the thinking and started searching the internet for free diaper bag patterns.

The one I settled on was the Hip Mama Diaper Bag from A Mingled Yarn. The dimensions were nearly identical to the one I was using, and it had the same pockets and more. I ended up adding one more small pocket to her design to store first aid items.

I purchased the hardware and lining fabric, but for the shell I used some denim my mom gave me on the roll a few years ago. (The same fabric I used to create this fancy denim dress a few years ago.) And, like when I made my first plushy (an Angry Bird or five for Noah's birthday last year), I discovered that making bags is really, really fun. :-)

I. Love. It. It is the perfect size, and I love how durable it is.It fits the perfect amount of cloth diapers and wipes and a bottle for this age for a day around town.

Now, I'm thinking of making the other boys book bags for when they go back to school in the fall. :-)