Last Sunday Ben and I put the boys to bed and then proceeded to enjoy our lazy afternoon “off”. We are at the beginning of trying to transition Payton from a nap to a quiet time in his room, and the transition was off to a rough start. My big idea was to give him my alarm clock, set it to go off an hour after he went in his room, and that would be that. No such luck- he popped in and out of his room to let me know that the music was going (which it wasn’t) or that he needed to go to the bathroom. Of course, after his dashing about upstairs finally woke up his brother, he finally decided to have a nap. Grr, the joys of raising a very rambunctious three year old. I might need to read Dr. Dobson’s The Strong Willed Child. The title fits Payton to a tee. Any suggestions on how to make the transition from a daily nap to a quiet time from more experienced moms would sure be appreciated….
Eventually Ben and I did manage to scrape a few quiet minutes to ourselves so Ben played his Father’s Day gift (a video game) while I decided now was an optimum time to pull out my sewing machine and sew a diaper clutch for my purse. I have now transitioned from a diaper bag to just throwing a couple extra diapers and a box of wipes in my purse, but my purse was always looking like a disaster with the extra baggage along. Case in point-
What I really wanted was something to corral the wipes and diapers into a manageable space that I would be able to grab or give to Ben to change Devin’s diaper. I saw some for sale, but for the $15-25 being charged, I knew I could make something cheaper.
After fishing through my leftover fabric, I found this black, red, green and white fabric that I just love. It makes me happy, and I need all the happiness I can get while changing diapers. Potty training is only 1 1/2 years away! But until then, I’m stuck.
I grabbed an old wipes container that had a top middle opening rather than one that opens along the side seam. I took mine from the church nursery (sorry if I stole someone’s- it had been lying there for 8 months, so I didn’t think anyone would mind. If it’s yours, contact me and I’ll buy you a new one!). I used the wipes container and a diaper to measure how much fabric I would need, along with a 1/2 inch seam allowance.
I then used the backing as a template for cutting the top piece.
A leftover scrap made an easy layer for the middle to keep the underside of the fabric from showing.
I didn’t care that it wasn’t 100% straight as I knew that the outer edges would be covered by the front pockets. After cutting the front piece of fabric (intended to create the two pockets) in half, I hemmed the one piece to create the diaper pocket. I’m all about eye-balling hems. Fortunately, they usually turn out well. You could pin or iron if you want, but it will add extra time.
After hemming the one piece, I put the good sides of the fabric together and sewed around the three sides of the four to make a pocket. Turn out once completed.
Diaper pocket- completed! For the wipes side I cut the remaining pocket piece in half, hemmed the inside edge that would allow for the opening to get to the wipes, and then sewed around the edged using the same method as before. I did, however, make a mistake and sewed the top edge down.
This left me unable to get the wipes contained in, so out came the handy-dandy seam ripper and I pulled the whole seam out. To fix the problem I had to stitch an extra piece of fabric between the two side pockets to join to the two pockets. With the body of the clutch sewed, I turned my thoughts to how to make it stay closed in the confines of my purse. A leftover button in my sewing basket and some basting tape leftover from making superhero capes was the perfect answer. I sewed the button on-
(Please excuse the shape my nails are in…looking at in the pictures is making me seriously consider a trip to a manicurist in my near future). And then I attached the basting tape into a loop to put around the button.
And that was it! Not too complicated (I likely made it sound more complicated than it was- sorry!) Here is the final product.
Some have asked for the dimensions of the fabric that I used. These are just the sizes I used, so be aware that the finished product might not fit your wipes container or diapers if you don’t pre-measure.
Piece 1 (back): 12×9 inches (1/2 inch seam allowance for all sides) Piece 2 (middle coverage): 9×2 inches Piece 3 (diaper side) : 9×5 1/2 inches (1/4 inch seam allowance for all sides) Pieces 4 & 5 (wipes side): 4 1/2×5 1/2 inches (1/4 inch seam allowance for all sides)
If you choose to make a diaper clutch like this, feel free to send me a picture and I’ll post it to share. Wish us wisdom as we try and deal with Payton’s sleeping, and I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your day!
Nifty sewing! That fabric is certainly cheerful! As to getting Payton to sleep, I know a woman who used to babysit used to put on a quiet video for quiet time (more Wall-E or Thomas the Tank Engine than Cars or VeggieTales)it’s not ideal, but sometimes it helps to move from active time to calm time… If he’s into puzzles or books, those might help calm him down before quiet time. My boys like fish, so we have some fat gold fish in a tank in their room. It’s amazing how little they need to be fed and a couple of snails keep the tank clean. We also play a traditional hymns CD at naptime and bedtime. That’s what works for us, maybe there’s something in there that will help you. Just remember, he will always come out if he thinks he’s missing out on the action.
What a clever lady you are! Maybe this could be an item to make and sell at craft sales.
Nap time at our house usually meant listening to stories on tape (still have a lot of them – Colby, Psalty the Singing songbook, stories read by Grandma and Grandpa, Bullfrogs and Butterflies, etc.) Some of them even had books to go along with the story; when you heard a chime sound, you turned the page. You are welcome to look through the collection next time you are here; however, you will need a cassette player to listen to them.
the way I worked quiet time at our house was to put the girls into their room, put some books around them and maybe a few small toys and tell them, “you don’t have to sleep but you need to have a break, and so does mommy…If you stay in yo…ur room quietly with your books, etc. I will come back and get you in a little while.” Sometimes they would still fall asleep, but I would wake them up at the end of quiet time, weather they had slept for 45 mins or 5 mins. I hope it gets easier
I love, love, love this idea. I’ve made a couple of covered diaper wipe cases, but THIS idea is genius. I think I’ll give it a go.
Kate
*found you through a pin on pinterest.com
Thanks for coming to visit and leaving a comment, Kate. I hope your attempt works out for you. Come back and let me know how it went!
Is it possible you could give measurements for the fabric pieces? I want to make one as a gift but I no longer have any diapers on hand. Thank you…awesome idea!!!
Thanks for the great idea, Stephanie! I have changed the post to include the dimensions of the fabric I used. Hope your friend appreciates your gift!
What are the dimensions for the length and width of the base i dont have a diaper or wipes to use for dimensions giving this item as a gift anyone please help?
I have changed the post to include the dimensions that I used, Chelsie. I hope it helps! Come back and let me know how it turned out!
Love the tutorial! I’m thinking it’s just the thing to make as a gift for some friends, and myself.
(Just a thought… If you sewed the top of the wipes side, a thin bag refill of wipes would be able to fit inside, even though the hard case cant!)
Great idea, Amy! I have actually transitioned to doing that exact thing. I use the Kirkland wipes from Costco and every time the wipes case is half empty, I move it to my diaper clutch.
I found your tutorial on pinterest and while looking at it, I read your nap issue. I don’t have a solution to offer, I wish I did! However, I have a little girl who is almost 3 and a 4 month old son. My daughter refuses to nap, but throws fits all afternoon! I’m trying the “quiet time” routine, but she usually ends up “playing drums” on her toy box or jumping around! It doesn’t help either of our situations, but it’s nice to know neither of us is alone! Thanks for the great tutorial!
You are so right, Maggie. Knowing that there are others out there going through the same things makes life so much easier to deal with. I hope that you and your daughter find a new normal that will work for both of you soon!
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I absolutely love this idea and I will be attempting it soon. Jut curious though, about how many diapers can you fit in there?
I can usually fit between 3-5 diapers in, depending on how much space I’m willing for it to take up in my purse. If I’m just running around town, I stow 2 in there and it’s much thinner.
Thank you! That’s exactly what I was looking for! Can’t wait to get started.
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I made one of these today to match a baby quilt I finished yesterday. It turned out great! Mine was slightly different, but very cute. Thanks for the tutorial!
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Just made one of these today. Still trying to figure out the closure for mine though! I’m NOT a button type of person. Can’t sewn one on to save my life. I always tell my hubby if he needs it done he’s gotta do it himself. Plus, I don’t have any hand needles either. hmmm.
Dawn has a great idea for a non-button closure below, Kelli, or you could also try a snap button that you can find at your local fabric store. Hope one of those ideas helps!
You can also try using some elastic in a loop. this would require some planning before you start, but really easy to do.
My sewing teacher in high school told is to get the perfect height on you button, put a stick match (the ones that are square and come in a box not the type from a match book) under the button while you see it on then you can just pull it out when you are done sewing and it leaves it the perfect amount off you item….
For an alternate closure you may try a fabric strip velcro to stick to the other velcro piece on the other side rather than the loop and button.
That’s a great idea. Thanks for sharing, Dawn!
I absolutely LOVE this idea..it’s so practical! I saw this on Pinterest and had to repin this!
I made one of these for a baby shower gift. It was very easy, and not very time-consuming. I’ve made other diaper clutches/totes/carriers, but like yours the best! I’d love to send pics to you. Is there a way I can do that? Thank you!
Margie
Margie, you can email me photos at glasspej at gmail dot com. I’d love to see your creation!
I love to sew things that serve a great purpose. I love this idea! I just thought about a great addition!…a small long pocket added to the top of the diaper side (big enough to fit a tube of baby butt cream. Perfect
Add a small button to the pocket if you’d like!
That is a great idea, K!
i love this.. i just made mine and i did a few different ideas of what i wanted.. but this is so easy to follow and i love it.. thank you so much!!
Whomp, whomp. I must have measured wrong. My wipes container (same as yours, minus the deer motif) wouldn’t fit in the pocket when I was finished
That’s not fun. Hopefully you’ll be able to find a wipes container that will work with your clutch.
It was driving me crazy, so I made a new one!
Instead of the 9 1/2″ pieces, I simply made them 10″ and used an even smaller seam allowance.
Thanks for the tutorial!
I’m glad that it worked out for you!
What a great idea! I’m going to make 4 for baby showers. 2 blue print and 2 pink print. And I think I’ll make one for my parents car. I’ll put wipes in one side and tissues in the other side. I love them! I’m going to start tomorrow. Thanks.
I made one of these, using your tutorial. I changed up the directions just a little to suit myself. I have tried to upload pics, but can’t figure out how to do that. Where do I look for the “upload” button?
Hi Margie. If you email me a picture by following the email icon in the sidebar, I’ll get one posted for you!
I saw this in a repost on Pinterest and am excited to make one for a soon-to-be first-time grandmother. For the closure, you could use a ponytail elastic for the loop. A button with a shank on the back (rather than holes through) makes the space under the button easier. Another suggestion would be to recycle the snaps from a baby outfit. Just cut out both sides of the snap (gripper) with some fabric all around then sew them on. I love your post and Pinterest makes your sharing continue. God bless you and yours for your kindness in posting for all to use.
The ponytail elastic is a great idea, Donna! I’m glad you were able to make use of the tutorial.