Wednesday, July 28, 2010

The Never-Ending Diaper Bag

Y'see, there was a pattern sale at Joann's last week. Any Butterick pattern for only 99 cents each; normally, patterns range anywhere from $8-$12. I was all over it. Surprised? I didn't think so. Three dress patterns, one short sleeved jacket, and...the diaper bag. I've been considering making diaper bags to sell, but wasn't sure if it would make sense...time-wise.


Let me tell you...time-wise, this pattern doesn't make ANY SENSE!!! Don't get me wrong, the actual sewing part is super duper easy and the pattern directions are a breeze to follow. But there are SO MANY PIECES! It took forever to cut out all the pieces. For-ev-er. I also had to change a couple of things - for example, I shortened the strap a good six inches on each side because otherwise the bag hung down to my knees. No joke. The other really annoying thing was that the pattern didn't tell you to add the velcro to the flap until the very end...which requires you to hand stitch three strips on. Sewing thick velcro by hand is NOT easy. Or comfortable. My thumb still hurts. Instead, I would move that step to just before sewing the flap front to the flap lining, which would mean being able to sew the velcro on by machine.

Thing is, I absolutely love this bag! It has a ton of pockets (three on the outside, five on the inside), is very sturdy, the main pocket is HUGE, and the long strap is a definite step up from the double short straps on our current diaper bag. Whenever we lean over to hold the boys' hands, the short straps immediately slip off our shoulders. Very annoying. This new one can be hung from one shoulder, or across your chest.

Oh, and have I mentioned how much I absolutely love love LOVE the fabric I found? Seriously? Who could say no to this fabric? I want to buy up Joann's entire stock. THAT is how much I love this fabric. Okay, maybe that's a little excessive, but I am considering buying more of the fabric to make a matching clutch and key fob.


The fabric. Love the little birds!


The whole bag.


The large front pocket.


Velcro side pocket.


Elastic side pocket.


HUUUUGE main pocket!


All the interior pockets, plus the key lanyard.


I think my favorite part of each project is showing the finished product to Nathan. His reactions are always gratifying, especially when he says things like, "This looks like something you would buy in a store." Thanks babe!

So, final conclusion? I would definitely make this bag to order, but the price would kind of need to make all the cutting worth my time! Ha ha ha!

2 comments:

Kate said...

It probably is big... to mamas who don't cloth diaper! :-) It looks great, Lindy, you do good work!

Joellen Armstrong said...

My mom used the same pattern to make me a couple bags... and I think she said the same things about the pattern... the velcro, the crazy long strap and so many pieces! Love it tho, and that fabric is amazing!!