Doll Diaper Bag

Parker's little friend turned two this week and we were invited out to a small local park/zoo to celebrate with her. It was a fun day! We saw a few animals, fed and pet some goats and then went on a couple rides. Parker was a bit scared on the carousel, but he LOVED the second ride--a ring of tiny fire engines and police cars that went slowly around in a circle. I buckled him into one of the fire engines and stepped back, expecting him to freak out once the ride started. But when it started to move he looked up with a grin and began turning the steering wheel and ringing the bell! It was the cutest thing ever to see him riding in that little car all by himself!   :)  He would look up at us and smile every time he went around. There weren't many people there so when the ride ended we got in line again and he got right back on. And then we did it again and again....and again! He was having a blast. Poor little guy...I felt bad when we finally decided to leave. I'm sure he could have happily stayed there all day! I think all the excitement wore him out, though. On our way home Parker was in the car for only five minutes before he crashed. Kyle carried him straight in to his bed and he didn't even wake up. That never happens!

We were happy we could help celebrate Kaylee's big day! I wanted to make her something for her birthday, but the week before was so busy that I never got a chance to work on it. My idea was to make her a doll diaper bag, something I had seen on Pinterest and thought it was just too cute! The picture was from a blog though, and that's all it was--just a picture. She didn't have a pattern or tutorial for it. I know because I emailed the author to ask.  :)  She was very nice and wrote back saying she had found a pattern for a regular bag and tweaked it to make it the size she wanted. Made sense. She gave me a few measurements to try. I'm not sure if this is actually the "pattern" she used or if she was just trying to be helpful. Here were the measurements she suggested:

back: 10x7
front: 10x7
flap: 10x7
sides: 4x7
bottom: 4x10
handle: 4x?? (depends how big your child is!)

Not having anything else to go on, I pulled out an old piece of cotton and cut out the pieces listed. I cut out a second set of pieces for the inside lining. Wouldn't hurt to sew a practice one and see how it turned out. I didn't take pictures of that first one I made, but it turned out pretty well. There was something about the size I wasn't completely happy with so, like the blogger, I made some slight adjustments. I didn't make another practice one, but when I cut out Kaylee's bag I changed the dimensions a little. I also added an elastic pocket on each outside end and a couple more pockets inside. I figured her doll would need a lot of accessories.  :)

I wanted the bag to have some stiffness so it would stand up on it's own so I lined the whole thing with fleece. Aside from cutting out the pieces, sewing the bag only took a couple of hours--I was able to sew it all during Parker's nap. Here's how it turned out:

I had a little extra time, so I cut out a matching changing pad and a few wipes. The wipes are squares of muslin. I used pinking shears to cut them out and left the edges raw. The changing pad is reversible, with one side matching the bag and the other side a coordinating solid. And I sewed a ribbon in one end to wrap around and tie it.

I picked up a magic bottle, a sippy cup and a mini fork and spoon to go inside, too. Here's the finished bag with all the accessories:

Considering I didn't have a pattern to go on, I was pretty happy with how it turned out! If our next baby is a girl, I know what one of her future Christmas gifts will be!  :)