Diaper Bag Tutorial

Diaper Bag Tutorial
Want to make a hip diaper bag that your friends will envy and you will love for both its style and its practicality? This diaper bag tutorial will make a bag that’s large enough to hold all your baby’s needs with room left over for your must-haves too! Features include being fully lined and spacious interior pockets that you can customize. Interior pockets can be made using lining fabric or exterior fabric for contrast.

 

If you’re looking for a full diaper bag pattern complete with full sized printable pieces, check out our Airdrie Bag Pattern or Lola Bea Diaper Bag Pattern!

 

Diaper Bag Tutorial

You will need:
(affiliate links below)
Exterior Fabric – 1 yd (1.25 yd if making interior pockets using exterior fabric for contrast) – home décor weight fabric works best

Lining Fabric – 1.25 yd (1 yd if making interior pockets using exterior fabric for contrast) – home decor weight fabric works best
Lightweight Woven Fusible Interfacing – 1.5 yd
¼” elastic – 1 yd
½” double fold bias tape – 1.5 yd
Magnetic snap
Your favorite sewing music (I recommend John Mayer, Ben Harper, and Jack Johnson)

Pieces to cut (see diagram if you want to ignore my writing):

Exterior fabric:
Cut 2: 20×18” rectangle for main body of bag, with 4×4” square cut out of bottom corners *double check direction of pattern in fabric before cutting is correct*
Cut 2: 3×26” strips for straps
Cut 1: 3×6” rectangle for magnetic snap closure tab, angle corners on one side if desired
If making interior pockets out of exterior fabric for contrast: Cut 2: 8×26” rectangles

Lining fabric:Cut 2: 20×18” rectangle for main body of bag, with 4×4” square cut out of bottom corners
Cut 2: 3×26” strips for straps
Cut 1: 3×6” rectangle for magnetic snap closure tab, angle corners on one side if desired
If making interior pockets out of lining fabric (do not cut out of lining fabric AND exterior fabric): Cut 2: 8×26” rectangles

Interfacing:Cut 2: 20×18” rectangle for main body of bag, with 4×4” square cut out of bottom corners (along 18” side)
Cut 2: 3×26” strips for straps
Cut 2: 3×6” rectangle for magnetic snap closure tab, angle corners on one side if desired

Double fold bias tape:
Cut 2: 26” length

Elastic:
Cut 2: 14” lengths

*All seam allowances are 1/2” unless otherwise noted.*

Directions:

1. Iron interfacing to corresponding exterior fabric pieces on the wrong side of fabric including the main body and straps. Iron interfacing to magnetic snap closure tab pieces of lining and exterior on wrong side of fabric.

2. Right sides together, sew the 2 main body pieces of exterior fabric together at bottom seam and press open. Sew side seams and press open. At the opening where you cut the 4” squares, match and pin the bottom seams to the side seams and sew using a ¼” seam allowance. Press seams towards top of bag.
3. Mark placement of magnetic snap by measuring 4.5” from top center of bag and attach bottom half of magnetic snap using manufacture’s instructions.

*Turn fabric right side out and place somewhere that you can see it when you are getting frustrated later on to keep you motivated (that’s why I always do the exterior first)!

4. Attach top half of magnetic snap to closure tab piece of lining. Right sides together, pin to exterior closure tab and sew ¼” seam, angling at corners if desired. Turn right side out and topstitch 1/4″ from edge.
5. Right sides together, pin and sew exterior fabric strap to lining fabric strap. Sew ¼” seam down each side, leaving ends open. Turn right side out, press, and topstitch along each side close to edge. Repeat for other strap.
6. Sandwich bias tape over top edge of interior pocket fabric and sew close to edge, forming a casing for the elastic.

7. Press 4-5 evenly spaced pintucks into bottom edge of interior pocket, until width of interior pocket is 20”. Stitch along lower edge to secure pintucks. Turn lower edge under ¼” to wrong side and press, turn another ¼” and press.
8. Thread elastic through backside of casing and backstitch at both ends to secure. Pin wrong side of pocket to right side of main body lining 5” from the top of the lining, matching up side edges, and topstitch two rows along lower pintucked edge. Stitch pocket to lining at sides.

9. Stitch vertical lines through lining and interior pocket to form individual pockets that fit your needs.
10. Repeat steps 6-9 using 2nd interior pocket and 2nd piece of main body lining fabric.

11. Complete lining of bag using step 2 above.

12. Right sides together, place exterior fabric main body inside lining main body, pinning at side seams. Sandwich closure tab on back center of bag (opposite of side that bottom half of magnetic snap was attached), ensuring that the exterior fabric right sides are facing each other. Sandwich outer edge of straps 3” in from each side seam, again ensuring that the exterior fabric right sides are facing each other.
13. Leaving a 4-5” opening, stitch along upper edge of bag, through exterior fabric, lining fabric, straps, and closure tab. Turn bag right side out, trim seam to reduce bulkiness if needed, and press. Hand stitch opening of bag closed and top stitch 1/2″ from edge. Top stitch another row 1/4″ from top edge.
14. Take a good long look at your bag because you are finished this diaper bag tutorial, and can start filling it up!

Diaper Bag Tutorial

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74 Comments

  1. Wow! Great tutorial! Abby you are so clever! I was skimming through the tut saying to myself – oh, so that is how you do that! The bag is amazing.

  2. wow abby! great job on the tutorial. every now and then i think i should do a tutorial for something and then i decide its was too much work. great job!

    1. our daughter soon to deliver our first grand daughter – my wife planning to stich one bag like this will you share your changfes please, so that she can use your input also !

      thank you !

  3. I love this bag and just finished it for a friend. Here’s a pic…http://www.flickr.com/photos/durhamse/3618728628/

    I am a newbie to sewing and following patterns…there was one piece of the instructions that I found challenging – when to sew together the lining of the bag. I was able to figure out what to do because I’ve made other bags before. Maybe I missed this in the directions, but if I didn’t then it might be helpful to add it in for people like me who are new to sewing. Thanks so much for the pattern, I know my friend is going to love this bag!

  4. I really liked your tutorial for the diaper bag and nursing cover, I made them this week, although mine are smaller, they are going to be great. I added pockets on the outside of the diaper bag, and a tab with our name, as well. Thank you.

  5. I Loooove this! I’ve been needing to make a new diaper bag with some fabric I found recently, and I couldn’t figure out quite how to do it, but this is perfect!

  6. This is so cute, but I’m finding the finishing instructions (i.e. sewing the lining to the bag without leaving a raw seam at the top, and sewing the straps on) to be really confusing. I think I will probably just make it work, but if you could clarify it at all, that would be wonderful!

    @ the poster who was asking about the dimensions, it’s pretty large – maybe 18×18 or so? I ended up trimming it down a little bit before I started sewing.

  7. Anonymous: As far as sewing the lining and straps and bag all together, I’m wondering if you’re missing that you need to sew them all RIGHT sides together? That way there are no raw edges when you turn the bag inside out. The straps should be sandwiched in between the lining and exterior of the bag, and all right sides should be facing in. Hope that helps!

  8. This looks great! I can’t wait to try it! One question: since I am new to sewing and have yet to work with fusible interfacing, what kind of needle should I be using in my sewing machine for this project? Will the all-purpose needle that comes with the machine suffice? Or is it better to use a particular kind of needle? Any advice anyone could give would be much appreciated. Thanks so much!!:)

  9. Thanks for the tutorial! I just finished my diaper bag tonight. I was a little worried about how it would turn out since I made a big change to it and I am new to sewing but am happy with the results and am planning on making more.

    you can check it out here

    http://jenijones.blogspot.com/?zx=c9f04c5b049e4388

    my blog is private so I’ll send an invite to your sewmuchado@gmail email

  10. I’m a little confused about sewing the exterior and the interior together. Your instructions say to put the lining in the exterior, but the picture looks like the exterior is in the lining. So which is it and does it matter?

  11. Andrew and Ester:

    You’re right! It actually doesn’t matter which goes inside the other, but I’ll change the wording so that the picture matches the words! Thanks for letting me know :).

  12. Love your diaper bag – it has lots & lots of pockets which is very handy. I’ll post pictures once I figure out how to get them over here. crzyquilter in Queen Creek, AZ

  13. Thank you, thank you. Since I am an internet, tutorial taught sewer, I really appreciate all the hard work that you put into this. I love the way mine turned out!

  14. Thank you, thank you. Since I am an internet, tutorial taught sewer, I really appreciate all the hard work that you put into this. I love the way mine turned out!

  15. Diaper bag? I want to make this for a purse! Can’t wait to try it out and of course, John Mayer makes EVERYTHING better!

  16. Just started making my bag and realized I used non woven interfacing (too late to go back), do you think that will be a problem?

  17. thank you so much for the awesome tutorial! i am a beginner sewer, and was able to make this bag! i love the way it turned out..granted it took me a long time..but thats due to my skills haha.. thanks again!

  18. I’m so going to make this with ruffles on the outside of the bag, got to doll it up(: Thank you for the free pattern. At my local quilt shope they are selling these patterns for $12 a pattern! Crazy huh?

  19. This is such a great bag!!! I’ve been looking for just the right beach bag and cannot find one big enough… in either a store-bought bag or in a commercially-produced pattern. This looks like it will be PERFECT for my beachside or poolside needs!

    Pair this fantastic tutorial with one I just saw on making your own oilcloth using clear contact paper and VOILA you have a perfect, WATERPROOF beach bag!!! Yay!

    I’m so looking forward to making this cute bag and then using it when I go to Lake Tahoe in June!

  20. This is a great tutorial! I made a diaper bag using your directions for my sister-in-law. Thanks for a fun and useful project! Here are a couple photos of the finished project.

  21. Thank you so much for posting such a great bag pattern! I found it easy and gratifying to have it completed within the day! It looks great and i cant wait to start using it for my as yet unborn baby girl! Thanks!

  22. I love this bag and I’m making it for my pregnant daughter. However, I noticed that it is not insulated. I bought some Insul-Bright and was wondering if I can use it for the pockets too. The only thing that may cause an issue is that the pockets may be too bulky and I will have to add another piece of fabric for the other side of the pockets to sandwich the Insul-Bright. Any suggestions?

  23. I’m not sure if someone mentioned this, but in the written instructions, it says to cut one 18×20 set of the exterior, interior, and interfacing fabrics, and it should be two.

  24. Thanks so much, Abby. I live in France..patterns are so expensive, so I typed in “free diaper bag pattern” and fell in love with yours. I’ve just made one for my daughter who is expecting in March.. You explained it SO well..I’ll be back to your sites for more advice!

  25. I made one for myself over a year ago and it has been my favorite diaper bag! I made another one for a friend who really likes it too, thanks for the tutorial it was very thorough.

  26. Thanks for this great tutorial. I am only new to sewing so also had problems with fixing together lining and outer, and it took three attempts and two unpickings to get it right.
    For other novices – pop the outer with the right sides facing out, into the inner whih has been turned inside out.
    I used the basic shape/pattern, but changed handles, didn’t use a flap, put pockets on front, and only one set of non elasticated pockets inside.
    The back is plain green, in case my friend fancies .
    [IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i468/Stephsterno1/Sewing%20projects/327891_10150623270336972_510241971_11032096_828499492_o.jpg[/IMG]

  27. Thanks for this great tutorial. I am only new to sewing so also had problems with fixing together lining and outer, and it took three attempts and two unpickings to get it right.
    For other novices – pop the outer with the right sides facing out, into the inner whih has been turned inside out.
    I used the basic shape/pattern, but changed handles, didn’t use a flap, put pockets on front, and only one set of non elasticated pockets inside.
    The back is plain green, in case my friend fancies .
    [IMG]http://i1095.photobucket.com/albums/i468/Stephsterno1/Sewing%20projects/327891_10150623270336972_510241971_11032096_828499492_o.jpg[/IMG]

  28. I made this bag this weekend and I just love it. The button tag was a bit hard to sew along at the indented part but other then that I found it great. I had to read a few parts several times to get it thru my head lol. This was my first ever sewing project. So a beginner should be fine.

  29. I just finished my diaper bag, and I am in love. Instructions were easy to follow. I added a zippered pocket to the bag of the bag. Great tutorial!

  30. I wish I had sewing machine to begin with. You make such a wonderful pattern and I had lots of pretty fabric to try. My bag is packed and bigger bag is all I need, if I could make it myself I’ll be even happier. I can sew by hand but I think I need stronger stitches. Sigh.

  31. I have made this bag at least a dozen times and LOVE it. However, I really want to put pockets on the outside of the next one I make too. Can anyone share how I would do that. For some reason I can’t wrap my brain around it. Thanks!

  32. @ jana you would make your pockets on the outside before any lining. You can cut a square what ever size you want hem the raw edges with a 1/4″ seam and top stitch it on. Hope this helped.. Sorry if I stepped on toes but didn’t see any reply.
    Blessings, Gweny

  33. Gweny – Thanks! No worries about stepping on toes :). I had actually forgotten to reply to Jana so I’m glad you did!

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  35. I made this bag and I like it a lot. However I had some trouble with sewing the outside and the lining together. I would suggest to baste the handles first, and then assemble outside + lining. Like this, the handles would be securely in place and not shifting while sewing.
    Except for this small point, thanks for the tutorial.

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  37. I made this bag almost three years ago and have used it just about daily. I searched the internet high and low to find this tutorial again and I am so glad I did! Thank you so much! I am now off to make a replacement for my favorite bag of all time. :)

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