Mindy Carlson

I had the great privilege of making a diaper bag for a mom-to-be. It was commissioned by her boss. Now that’s the kind of boss I want to have! The mom has 2 small children already, just about my kids’ age, actually. This will be her third baby and her boss wanted her to have something nice for this new addition. (Again, what a boss!)

A while ago I had seen a really pretty fabric called Lily & Will designed by Bunny Hill Designs and manufactured by Moda.  At the time I had really, really wanted to buy it, but I didn’t have a specific project in mind for it and I really couldn’t just buy another collection of fabric and store it on my fabric shelf.  I had just done that recently and the fabric was languishing and waiting for inspiration.  So I was thrilled when I got an actual baby project commission and the mom-to-be loved muted earth tones, greens, and Tuscan yellows.  Exactly the Lily & Will palate. Yay for me!

By scouring the DC area fabric stores and some of my online favorite places, I managed to find all the fabric I needed.  One of the boxes came and I seized it with a vigor and glee that made the UPS man take a step back.  I was pretty excited.

Three solid days of cutting and sewing later, I had a diaper bag.

Because we’re talking about a woman with 2 small children and one on the way I wanted the diaper bag to be roomy and easy to quickly yank things out of.  So I went with a lot of pockets inside, a pocket at each end, and a divider down the middle.

I also gave it a loose button closure so things wouldn’t just fall out, but she could plunge her hand in quick when she needed a burp rag or snack.

And for that special touch I added a monogram for them.  Her last name began with an “A” so I picked a nice curvy script and let my embroidery functions do their thing.

And as a bonus to her I sent her a changing pad.  It was a prototype using some iron-on vinyl I’d never used before so I stuck it in for free.  The iron-on vinyl went on like a dream and I’m excited to try it for other projects. For the inside of the changing pad I used a waffle-woven fabric in a brown that matched the fabric collection and I batted it with cotton quilting batting.  It looks pretty slick.

Next time I may decide to use a hand towel cut to fit the fabric.  That would give it a different kind of durability and cushioning.  And there will definitely be a next time for the entire project. I’m hoping the giftee will get back to me with some comments after some real-world use and I can improve the design, but regardless I will be making more of these bags. Hopefully I’ll have one or two for the home show in December!