Craft Project: Changing Pad Clutch

So I've decided to add yet another feature to my blog: craft projects.  In addition to cooking, I LOVE to make things and I thought blogging about them would be fun!  I also plan to do my best to put together tutorials for anyone who wants to try these projects themselves.

My friend Taryn (blogger over at Mr. Jones and Me) recently had a baby shower, and I decided I wanted to make her a present myself!  I've always thought baby crafts looked like so much fun to make, but I've never attempted one.  Until now! :)

I found a number of tutorials online for portable changing pads that rolled up to look kind of like an over-sized clutch.  I thought they were pretty cute, and definitely something a new mom could use.  Most importantly, the instructions looked easy enough that even a novice seamstress like me probably couldn't screw it up too badly.  So I decided to give it a try!

I basically followed this tutorial from Small Fry and Co., except that I only rounded the corners on one end, and instead added a pocket at the other end like in this tutorial from Cluck Cluck Sew. 

I used a patterned cotton for the outside, and a nice soft flannel for the inside, with organic cotton batting in between.  I'm sure the tutorials I linked to above do a much better job explaining how this is done, with nicer pictures than my camera is capable of, so I'll just give a quick run through of what I did.

The first step is to lay your fabrics out, right sides together, with the batting on top.  Trim to your desired size, round the corners if desired, and pin everything in place.

Sew around the edges, except leave one section unstitched (a little wider than your hand).  If you decided to round your edges, clip the corners.  Then turn it right side out and press the edges flat.

Make sure the edges on your unstitched section are folded in.

Fold the pocket up, pin in place, then top stitch around the entire edge (this will help keep the batting in place).

The final step is to add the velcro closure.  If I was going to make this again, I'd use a bigger piece of velcro as my little piece didn't seem super secure.  But anyway, in order to decide where to place the velcro, you need some idea of where the flap will hit when the pocket if full of diapers and things.  I don't have any diapers, so I just used some wash clothes and estimated how big it would be.

I pinned the velcro in place, sewed it down, and that's it!  Pretty cute, no? :)