ANOTHER Diaper Bag

The story behind my 2nd diaper bag with this fabric and style:

         SIGH. On my last road trip, I threw the kids in the car in a hurry and placed my diaper bag on top of the sunscreen on the floor of the backseat. Without me knowing about it the bag got sprayed with the entire bottle. When I got to where we were visiting, I decided I would wash it like I have in the past.  This time I was using a front loader washer. These washers don't have the same capability to spin things like this dry like a top loader does, and because of the washer, the bag looked like it had been run over by a semi truck and drug 10 miles after one wash.
          I decided I'd try to dye the outside black again and make the black look better.  I knew the dye would bleed so I sprayed the inside fabric with scotchgard. It did nothing, so don't waste your money. After spray bottle spraying the outside bag with dye and washing it, the outside looked the same and inside looked destroyed and purple.
           After bawling at the loss of my hard work, time, and the fact that I really did like my last bag, my husband said "make a new one" knowing it would cost more money, but I would feel better.  (Oh, how I love that man!!!)
            I tracked down the fabric again online, had it shipped and by the time I got home from my trip I was ready to sew!
            This time, I wanted to add a few inches length to the bag because there was never room for my older daughter's toys and books in the bag when we went to church, and honestly it felt small to me even though it was the biggest bag I've had yet.  I thought adding 4" to the length of the bag wouldn't be too big of a change, so I altered the pattern and added 4 inches to the length, not thinking about how it would change the whole look.  This picture above looks good.  the proportion of fabrics looks fine and it doesn't seem too weird.  well, by the time I got the binding on top bith the seam allowance, it looks .....weird. long and way too skinny.  I should have made it a little wider and shorted the outside pockets a little.
            I had a whole night of bawling AGAIN over this diaper bag dilema and couldn't get past how silly it looked to me, not to mention I ran out of fabric for the outside and ended up using pink for the lower half pockets not realizing that it would turn into the bottom of the bag later. My brain was overloaded at the time with "motherhood." (If I sound like an absolute wreck and emotional disaster, you are right... I was. Having a baby messes you up for a long time. .... Still not back to my old self.)
            I skyped my sister and showed her the bag, sent pictures to my husband on the phone, posted pictures on facebook and finally figured out how to make it better. Having a pink bottom made the odd shave more obvious and it would get dirty so fast, so I took a regluar cotton piece of black fabric (It was all I had, and I don't live down the street from a fabric store.) and I ironed fusible fleece to it. Then I pressed under all the edges and hand sewed it on to cover up the pink.  It will do and it makes the bag less awkward to me.

(i've been having trouble with blogger and now have lost the before picture. I also deleted it off my computer)

          

 I love the inside of this bag now! I have 2 more pockets than the last bag.  I did the inside completely different than last time too.  I did each side of the bag separate, then pieced it together rather than doing it like I did the outside of the bag. it worked out great!

I even added a place to keep my keys, because lately, I try to get the kids out of the car, and by the time i'm ready to go into a store I can't remember where the keys are or if I locket it or not. THEN, I can't find them later when I need them. adding another kid in the mix messes with my memory and focus ability big time.

Pocket inside pocket on the outside of the bag. I keep all my chap stick and pens etc there. 

pocket on the outside

 while making the bag, I ran out of black fabric, so I used pink thinking it would look ok. first mistake is that it will get dirty fast.  it also makes the size very evident and makes it look more short. it just plain looks weird to me. so under estimating the amount of fabric is a mistake. always get more! I don't live down the street from a fabric store either. 

                                                    I love the way the top turned out.

fully stuffed!

Carseat Canopy

        There is something wrong with me. seriously. I wanted to get this sewn before I had Carli, so I started and finished this Thursday and I had her Friday. I'm nuts!

       The zebra print is a bit much, but it was cheap at walmart and I only a little left of the animal print after doing the carseat recovering and diaper bag. I had black fabric that was pretty much free that I purchased from a garage sale last summer. I used that for the inside.

I purchased this AWESOME pattern from:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/ElizabethWyatt?ref=seller_info

It is worth every penny! I'll tell you why!

 The canopy is extra long in the front and back and sides. The last one I had barely covered her feet in the front and it was always flying up in the wind. 

The back also has this awesome bustle that you can snap up and let the baby get some air without exposing her to sun and stuff. I'm still overwhelmed by zebra print. I really wish I would have gone with something not so loud.

The front has a zipper that you can open to see her, or give her some air and still block the sun while still allowing you to use the handle to cary her. I love the girly ruffle detail or you can do a less girly piping detail.

Inside there are 2 convenient toy loops that I always wished others had. They are placed right below the straps used to attatch the cover to the carseat.

            All these combined make for a very user friendly and cute canopy that baby can sleep comfortably under.

           While making this, I was so rushed that I didn't take my time to read instructions carefully and am used to patterns with a ton of step by step pictures. This pattern is a lot more like the patterns you purchase in the store. If I would have slowed down I would not have gotten frustrated during the zipper/front and back assembly process. AND I should know better than to cut the zipper short before the thing is done. SO DUMB!!!! that lead to a lot of safety pinning and taping to make sure it stayed the way it was supposed to before completion. I ended up adding a lot more time than needed and using my seam ripper way more than I like to just because I hurried. ANYWAY, it turned out fine and works! again, not perfect, but nothing of mine ever is. :)

Diaper Bag for Our new little girl

     This pattern is from the previous post I made "diaper bag for Mary" where I was disappointed in the pattern and wanted to make some changes. I figured out how to change the pockets inside to be big enough on the ends to actually use and I added a zippered pocket on the outside to keep my chapstick, lotion etc handy. 

               I found a tutorial online that helped me figure out how to do it: http://u-handbag.typepad.com/uhandblog/2007/02/zippered_inner_.html

It's a pocket INSIDE a pocket!!

   For this bag I used canvas on the oustide as well and for the inside I used "Bundle of Jungle" print by Marcus Brothers. 

     It has a zippered top and binding along the top that my poor fingers are cursing me for doing.  There are also 6 pockets on the outside .. plus the zippered one, and 6 pockets on the inside.  Now I need to make some things like a changing pad and wet bag. :)

This was an old jjcole binki holder that I took apart and TRIED to make it with my fabric. It worked, but it's not the best sewing job ever.

I also made some pacifier clips really quick. :)

It's good to get one thing on my list of many things to sew done!