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Diaper Bag Tutorial

April 22, 2014
By B

DIY Diaper Bag Tutorial

I am super excited about this DIY diaper bag tutorial! My sister just had her fourth adorable little baby! I volunteered to make her a diaper bag! I did a lot of research and found my two favorite diaper bag tutorials and meshed them together! I also added quite a few different elements to them, so I thought I’d create a new tutorial for those who are looking for a great messenger style diaper bag.

If you are interested in making one, here is a list of what you will need:

Fabric:

1 yard main exterior fabric (this is the blue grey you see the most of)
1 yard lining fabric (this is the grey and white paisley that is on the inside)
3/4 yard accent fabric (this is the darker grey with circles on the top half of the flap)
1 1/4 yards of fusible fleece interfacing
1/4 yard of mesh (this is the black side pockets)
1/2 yard of lining for inside pockets* (this is the solid grey for inside pockets –
you don’t have to use another fabric for this, you can use some of your other fabric if you’d like it to match that way)
4 magnets
1 invisible zipper (make sure you have the invisible zipper sewing foot)
3/4″ elastic (match for top of mesh pockets)
Pattern paper (optional if you want to make the pattern pieces before cutting)

Cut Your Pieces
*I created a pattern for each piece before cutting so I could lay on my fabric and utilize the space as best as possible. If you do this make sure you label each piece because as you can see below there are going to be a lot of pieces!

Strap: 37″ by 6 ” Cut 1 accent fabric, 1 main fabric, and 1 interface
Side Panel: 6″ by 11 1/2 ” Cut 2 lining, 2 main and 2 interface
Side Panel Pockets: 8″ by 9″ Cut 1 mesh (it needs to be wider than the side panel so you can add elastic)
Bottom: 6″ by 15″ Cut 1 lining, 1 main, and 1 interface
Back Pocket: 15″ by 9″ Cut 1 lining, 1 main, and 1 interface
Main front and back of bag (not including front flap): 15″ by 11 1/2″ Cut 2 lining, 2 main, and 2 interfacing
Front pocket (under the flap): 15″ by 6″ Cut 1 accent, 1 main, and 1 interfacing
Interior pockets on long side: 15″ by 6″ Cut 1 *interior pocket fabric
Interior pockets on skinny side: 6″ by 8″ Cut 1 *interior pocket fabric
Flap Accent Top Half: 7″ by 11 1/2″ Cut 1 accent fabric
Flap Main Bottom Half: 10″ by 11 1/2″ Cut 1 main fabric
Flap invisible pocket: 20″ by 11 1/2″ Cut 1 accent fabric (this is going to be folded in half between the front and back of the flap fabrics)
Back of Flap: 17″ by 11 1/2″ Cut 1 lining, and 1 interfacing

Your pieces should look something like this. I have all of the same sizes stacked together, so there are more under each pile.

For convenience, the next thing I did was iron all of my fusible fleece interfacing pieces to the main fabric. The only exception to this will be the flap portion. The fusible fleece will be iron to the lining instead of the main fabric.

***All seam allowances will be 1/2″ unless otherwise specified***

Next, make the strap. There will be three pieces involved. Your main fabric, the fusible fleece which should already be ironed on to the main fabric, and the accent fabric. With right sides together, sew down the two long sides leaving the ends open. Turn right side out, iron, and top stitch. (You don’t need to worry about the ends because they will be sewn into the sides). Set strap aside.

Now comes the hardest part. The flap. Just take it step by step and I will do my best to make it as clear as possible! I wanted my flap to have rounded edges. I lined up the bottom half (the main fabric) and the back piece (the lining fabric) and the pocket and traced a cup around the corners and cut. I only took off the small point on the corner.

The first part of the flap is the invisible zipper. If you have never put in an invisible zipper I recommend watching THIS youtube video. It helped me so much. Sew the invisible zipper to the bottom portion (the main fabric) first, then add it to the top portion (the accent fabric). Don’t forget to include your pocket as you are sewing in the zipper.

The picture below is what the back side of the front of the flap looks like. You are looking at the invisible pocket from behind.

Once you have the invisible zipper in, add the magnets. Just sew them to the bottom corners of the lining.

Now place your back flap piece (the lining fabric) right sides together with the outside of the flap and sew. Turn right sides together and top stitch. Set aside your flap.

Time to make the inside of the bag. I made the pockets first (the solid shiny grey fabric). To do this you can serge the top if you have a serger/overlock machine. I only did this because this particular fabric frays. If your fabric doesn’t fray then you don’t have to worry about this. If it does fray and you don’t have a serger, just sew a zigzag stitch 1/8 seam allowance. Fold the top part over and iron so you have a nice seam. I then top stitched with a double needle. You can see it in the picture below.

This part is fun because you can make your pockets however big you want! Once you have your top hem done, pin onto the lining fabric and sew vertical lines where you want your pockets. For simplicity and for the size of diapers/wipes, etc., I just did two large pockets on each side and one pocket on the tall sides.

Once your inside pockets have been made, put the lining pieces together. I started with the bottom and the two tall side pieces. Right sides together and sew a 1/2″ seam allowance. Try your hardest to line these pieces up, it will help when putting the whole thing together.

Make sure to iron as you go…

Next, add the two big sides to the bottom piece. Line the corners up as best as you can. You’ll have something like this. Keep in mind that you are going to need a hole in the bottom of the lining to flip the bag. You have the option of sewing it all together then unpicking a hole (that’s what I did just because of the silky fraying fabric that I had), or you can just add the hole as you sew it in this step. Try to make the hole somewhere in the middle, not by a corner.

The next part is just a tiny bit tricky. You just have to match up all four sides and sew together. Once you have that done, set the lining aside.

Make the outside of the bag. The steps are similar to the inside, you’ll just have a few more things to add. Before we put everything together, let’s make all of the pockets. I used a mesh material with an elastic top for the side pocket. You don’t have to do the mesh, but I do really like how the elastic part turned out. It will be nice to have that when you put a bottle or a water bottle there. It will fit snug, but not so tight that it can’t go in and out.

To make the side pocket, you’ll first want to add the elastic part. Super simple. Just take your top fabric (mine was a small extra black piece of fabric I had lying around) and sew one side of the elastic to it. Feel free to use zigzag or straight stitch. Make sure to use the “lock” function on your sewing machine so that the elastic is sturdy.

Once you have the elastic anchored, sew your fabric into the trim. You’ll want about a 1/8″ seam allowance. Although this is flexible, just make sure you don’t sew your elastic.

Next, take the elastic and stretch it however tight you want the pocket. I stretched mine about 1″. Once you’ve figured out how tight, then anchor that side down too. Just sew up and down with a zigzag. It doesn’t have to be pretty because it will be sew into the bag. Just make sure it is sturdy enough to pull the elastic. Now repeat for the second side pocket.

Put that side pocket to the side, and make the back pocket. Super simple. Just put right sides together, and sew only on the top edge. Turn over, iron and top stitch. Set aside.

Before making the next pocket, you’ll need to add the other set of magnets. Take your front piece (not the flap), match them up to the flap and sew the magnets in just like you did the first time. I just grabbed a scrap piece of fabric, sewed a small circle and before closing the circle I put the magnet in and closed it up. *Tip – make sure you have the magnets facing the correct way. You wouldn’t want to have them be the wrong side and they won’t attach.

Make the front pocket (under the flap). This is similar to the back pocket. Just put right sides together, sew across the top edge. Turn right sides out, iron, and top stitch the top edge. Just as you did on the inside pocket, now pin this pocket to the front of the bag (not the flap). Sew one vertical line to create two pockets. You can see this pocket here:

If you zoom up on the picture you’ll see that I reinforced the pocket by sewing a small triangle right next to the vertical line. I did this on my inside pockets as well. This is just for durability. Not necessary.

Okay, now like the lining, put all your pieces together. Sew the two tall sides with the bottom. Right sides together with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Match the corners real nice so it will be easier in the end.

Sew with right sides together the two big sides to the bottom. You do not have to add a hole to the exterior fabric. You only need a hole in the lining – like this:

Sew all of the sides together. This is a hefty amount, so take your time and be careful you have all of the layers while sewing. After sewing with my sewing machine, I serged the edges of the exterior fabric because it was so hefty. I just did this for durability. If you do this, don’t serge off your sewed seam, just near it.

If you don’t have a serger you can use a zig zag stitch to reinforce the seams if you’d like as well.

You are almost done! Now put your bag together! This part was tricky for me and I actually did it wrong the first time around, so I had to unpick and re-do it. So to save you of that heartache this is what you need to do. You are going to have your lining on the outside, and your main fabric placed on the inside.

First, take your main exterior fabric and turn it the wrong way, or right side out (the fabric will be FACING you). First, pin the strap to the main fabric. The edges will come up and the long part of the strap will go down and around the bottom of the bag. Second, pin the FLAP to the back piece.

Now place the main exterior fabric (with pinned strap and pinned flap) IN to the lining.

The lining is going to be right side in (the correct side of the fabric is going to be facing AWAY from you, or in other words the lining will be sitting how it will sit in the bag).

Just pin around the top of the bag. Sew around with a 1/2″ seam allowance. Again, you are working with a lot of layers so you can serge/zigzag if you’d like. I didn’t. Now turn the bag right side out. You will be pulling the strap, flap, and the exterior main fabric through the hole you created in the lining.

Sew the hole in your lining. Fold your lining down into the bag where it will sit. Iron. Top stitch around the top of the bag to hold the fabric in place. If you haven’t already, top stitch around the edge of the flap to make it look more professional.