Frugality and the cloth diaper bag

OK folks, lets face it, there aren't many BIG diaper bags out there. Way back in February, I was facing weekly hospital trips (all day out & about) combined with a newborn in cloth diapers.... cloth diapers are MUCH bigger in a diaper bag than paper ones. I was also dragging along 2 changes of clothing, 1 for a spare and 1 for the inevitable plaster casting mess that would be all over the original outfit, at least 1 blanket, a nursing cape, insurance paperwork, wallet etc.

In my soul I wanted nothing more than to spend about $150 on this...Fleurville bag... please note the botanical azure pattern.. DROOL.


BUT... She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life. Proverbs 31:12

Yes, I needed a bigger bag, but we didn't have that kind of money. So, I resolved to find something cheaper. Alas, all else cheaper was too small, or just plain old black. Now I like black, but I had been wearing it for about 9 months, and the idea of adding another piece of black to my wardrobe was just horrifying at the time.

On craftster I ran across a review of the Modern Diaper Bag from The Amy Butler Little Stitches book, so I decided to make it. I thriftily borrowed the book from the library, bought the spendy interfacing with a 40% off coupon, and was off to the races!


I wanted big and less than 50, so here she is about 45ish for total cost. It was really tight to get all the pieces out of the yardage though, so if you are doing the same pattern I would buy extra fabric. Nice pattern, but there is no cutting layout, and most of the pieces are just dimensions, ie. "cut a 12x18.75 rectangle."

Here's the fabric I used...Thank you Joann's....

I didn't read all the directions well, so I cut the long pockets a bit short. To compensate for this, I just eliminated the bottle pockets and replaced them with my own Super-dee-duper wallet pocket, and a pen/lipstick pocket...I am SOO glad I did that! I can reach by my seat while driving and grab a pen or my credit card with no trouble at all... Just be sure to add your own special pockets at the top of the bag. You don't want to be reaching down into the abyss to get the pen or money.

I also added a key fob thingy, so I won't have to dig for the keys anymore.


This baby is big! I've got in it: 4 BumGenius One Size diapers, A wetbag, 1 prefold, Nursing cape, swaddling blanket, extra outfit, wallet, keys, inhaler, phone, coupon folder, sanitizing wipes, etc. and its not even full.... It would be better a bit wider though, about 6-8 instead of the 4-5 it is..... OH the first pic has my Xl carhart sweatshirt hoodie in it too... :-D


Heehee I'm so proud of finally getting the guts to sew this up. My bag is useful and I still love seeing it.... Good thing it's not black. All in all I feel that I did well, yes I could have toted it all around in a giant plastic bag, or 2 bags, but then I would have been sorely tempted to buy that spendy mothership. I probably would have been struggling with a bad attitude as well, but that's a different post. :-D