When putting together my little girls nursery, I knew I wanted to make a custom changing pad cover. I made one to match the curtains and sheets! And of course, it had to have chevron! 🙂
You can follow along this super easy tutorial to make your very own changing pad cover. It’s fast and easy, and very cheap!
1: get your supplies
- Pick your fabric (you will need 48″ x 32″ if using one fabric; if you want it to have two fabrics – like the picture above – cut the top piece to 19″ x 32″ and the bottom piece 30″ x 32″)
- 3/8″ Knit Elastic – you’ll need 36″ of it
- Serger if possible
- Sewing machine
- Iron
- Cutting mat and rotary blade
- Paper or pattern paper to make an appliqué if desired (see elephant in picture above)
- Fusible interfacing if you are going to do an applique
2: pick your fabric
- If your fabric is directional, make sure you have enough for the correct direction
- I chose a super soft white piece of fabric for the head
- I used all scrap fabric! Lucky me! That means I didn’t have to spend any money on this one {except for the actual changing pad}.
3: Wash fabric and iron
4: Cut Fabric
- Square your fabric
- For two pieces: 19″ x 32″ for the top and 30″ x 32″ for the bottom
- For one piece: 48″ x 32″
- Measure and cut your elastic (since you already have everything out to measure and cut)
- If you want an appliqué, measure and cut that out as well
5: Cut the corners off
- Cut two squares 8″ x 8″ in both sets of fabrics. It’s easiest to fold the fabric in half and cut
- This is for the corners, so you need 4 total squares cut out
- It should look like this:
6: Serge, or zig zag sew middle seam
- If you have a serger, lay your fabric right sides together with the 32″ seams lined up
- Serge across to create the seam
- If you don’t have a serger, sew the seam together with a 1/4″ seam allowance
7: Serge, or zig zag sew corners
- Serge corners together by matching the corners of each 8″ x 8″ square
- Leave the thread chain of the serged stitch
- If sewing, sew the edge with a zig zag stitch, then sew with a single stitch next to it about 1/4″ seam allowance
8: Iron casing for elastic
- You can put the elastic on one of two ways. You can sew a casing –
- To sew the casing, make sure you use your iron and pins.
- Measure a little over 1/4″ all the way around, and pin
- Iron seam
- Then, measure a little over 1/2″ all the way around, and pin
- {so you folded your fabric twice. Once to create a clean seam, and second to create a pocket}
- Iron that too
- Sew all the way around
- That will be your casing
- The other way to put the elastic on is with yourserger – this is a tiny bit harder, but worth the challenge!
- Make sure your elastic is measured out to 36″
- I like to pin in 4 places. Just equal opposites of each other. Find a natural middle, pin. Find opposite than that, pin. Then while holding those two pins, find in between those and pin. You should have 4 pins around the edge. Now, pin your elastic to those pins. That way you have a good guide to know about how much you should stretch the elastic.
- Now serge 🙂 Get more tips on how to serge with elastic here.
- If you choose this way, you will still have to turn the elastic over and top stitch a casing to create a clean seam
9: Close elastic
- If you chose to sew the elastic in the casing, you will need to sew the elastic together once you put the elastic through the casing.
- Best way to pull it through the casing is with a safety-pin. Stick your safety-pin at the end of the elastic, and pull around through the casing.
- Once you have both ends of the elastic, sew together
10. Finish
- Now, you can close your casing. Sew up the whole or toptstitch the casing depending on how you put the elastic in
11. Applique
- If you chose to add an applique, it’s super easy. Just cut out your applique in the fabric you want
- Iron on with fusible interfacing
- Sew around the edges to give it a clean look!
Step back and enjoy!! Yay! I love how the changing pad cover is custom to my baby girl nursery! I couldn’t find anything with elephants on it, so I love that it matches the room so perfectly!
Make sure to read more about how to Serge here! Or if you want some cute ideas for a little girl’s nursery, read here!
