Diaper Bag Sewing Project

Since I cloth diapering, I've also started to carry around a couple extra cloths in the diaper bag. The mini-tote I used became too small, and my back-pack diaper bag is too big for regular everyday use. So I made one. 

I went through our stash of bags to see if there was anything else I could use as a diaper bag. I found nothing suitable on its own, but I found this computer bag that I had custom-made in college for my old HP laptop: 

I sewed it out of an old dress and pillow cases. (I've always been a crafty re-maker of things like old dresses and pillow cases.) I knew I wouldn't be using it as a computer bag anymore, so it became fair game for another re-make. 

I didn't take pictures of the process, because I didn't think it would be interesting enough for step-by-step photos. I detached the pink sections and shortened them to about 12 inches. Then I made handles out of what was left of the pink stuff. I used the bottom of an old denim skirt to make the 4-inch panels around the sides of the bag. 

By far the hardest part was installing the zipper. This was my first zipper installation in about ten years and the first ever on my own. I had to rip stitches and start over a few times, but I finally got it right.

Beautiful zipper. 

It's definitely not a perfect construction, but it was completely free and looks great to me. When you only sew for yourself, you can have an imperfectly sewn bag and be perfectly happy.

I didn't want a bag with lots of pockets, so this is perfect. It's just one big space for my paper dipes, cloth dipes, wipes, changing pad, nursing cover, extra pacifiers, breast pads, burp cloths and more if I want. It's super light and all around handy dandy.

I wish I had a picture of that old dress. It started as a little girl-style shift that my sister wore in elementary school I'm guessing. Now it's a diaper bag. Gotta love [basically] free fabric!