I’ve been struck….struck by a feeling of pure excitement! It actually happens to me every single time I start a new project to be honest! I love searching for the perfect pattern and then pairing it with amazing fabrics, and sometimes those parts are reversed…sometimes you have an amazing fabric and you just have to find something to make with it! Once those things are figured out, we move on to the part I almost love the most, I almost find it therapeutic…preparing the pattern pieces…cutting out and fusing interfacings….stacking all those completed pieces and clipping their labels to them……ayyyy yi yi, my heart lol! I mean obviously the sewing part is fun too but the joy I find in the prepping stage is immense….I wonder what that says about me lol?
Anyways, this is what I spent a whole day doing this weekend! I previously told you that my sister-in-law, Dawn, has asked me to make a diaper bag for her niece who’s having her first baby, a little boy! I started looking for patterns and sent her about a dozen pictures of fabrics we have in-stock that would be fun! It took me quite awhile to find a bag that I was happy with and once I showed it to her, she immediately agreed it was perfect!
This is the Teddy Mommy & Me Diaper Backpack by RLR Creations! I’ve made a few different bags by Rachel, the designer and owner of RLR Creations, and I’ve loved all of them! I love how she writes patterns and if you ever have questions, her FB group is very helpful, both herself and the members!
This bag may look like “just another backpack” but it’s so much more! First off I loved the idea of a backpack so Mom and/or Dad can just throw it on their backs, leaving their hands and arms free to carry baby! It’s a great size (16” tall, 10 ½” wide, and 7” deep) and is loaded with pockets, 10 to be exact, and one of them has a very “cool” job….it has 3 elastized pockets to hold 3 baby bottles and, are you ready for this….it’s insulated to keep those bottles cold!!!!! How stinkin’ cool is that! The other thing that hooked me was the opening of the bag….it uses a metal internal frame so the bag opens wide and stays open!! I’m telling you….if your socks aren’t knocked off right now like mine were, there’s something wrong with you lol! The whole thing is genius! These bag designers blow my mind…..how do they even come up with these things, and keep coming up with them lol?!?
Dawn picked out a super cute fabric for the interior, Little Things Main Mist by Riley Blake, so then I found a solid canvas that I wanted for the exterior in a denim blue color.
Geez, both of these fabrics look much darker in the picture than in real life, I guess that’s what happens when you take a picture at midnight when there’s only artificial light and lots of shadows lol! Trust me, they look amazing together lol! I did add in one other fabric for some exterior accents in order to break up all the solidness but I’ll keep that a secret until the big reveal lol!
All my prep is done and I’m ready to go! Baby is due in November but the Grandma, who is Dawn’s sister-in-law and also lives in Ecuador, will be here in October so I want to have the bag done for then so she can see it in person! Hmmm, I don’t know the exact date that she’s visiting, I guess I should find out lol!
This is a BIG BAG so now I’m both excited and nervous, but in a good way! From what most people in the FB group have said, and what is normally true in bag making, the prep is the longest part of the project and once you actually start sewing, it goes quickly…..I sincerely hope this is true! I of course, will keep you updated and without question, will share the completed bag once it’s done!
Have any of you made this bag before? I’d love to hear your thoughts if you have, and as always, any tips are welcome!
Wishing you all an amazing week!
Shawna
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