Drawstring Wet Bag Tutorial

My cloth diaper washing habits were getting lazy.

I'm a little ashamed to say that when I'd fall behind on load of laundry

that wet diapers would sit in piles on the kids' bathroom counter.

The stink doesn't take long to sink in.

Ick. Right?!

I needed a solution...

another wetbag to rotate with loads of laundry.

So I went off to a nice cloth diapering store

thinking I could buy a simple one

and save money on shipping.

They had some really cute ones,

but they were like $20-40 for a large size!

Yikes!

So I went off to the fabric store,

and for less than that...

I bought myself a yard and a half each of

cute cotton fabric and some plain white PUL

(the waterproof material my cloth diapers are made out of),

some cord for the drawstring,

and a double cord stop.

While I was there I also bought an invisible zipper

to make a diaper bag sized wet bag

(but that will be another tutorial another day).

I researched lots of wet bag tutorials

but never really liked what I saw.

I found a drawstring gift bag tutorial here.

It was way too small, so I made some adjustments

so it could be used for a large wetbag.

This is my first tutorial, so I hope it works out.

If you make your own, I'd love you to leave me a note

and a link to a picture of your bag!

{HERE'S WHAT YOU NEED}

1 1/2 yards each of a cotton print and PUL

drawstring or cord or ribbon...whatever you're in the mood for! (about a yard)

cord stop

regular thread

sewing machine

pins

large cutting mat

scissors

a yard stick is helpful too...

Painter's tape (or masking tape or whatever you have on hand)

a large safety pin

{1} Cut the fabric.

You'll need one piece of 12 in x 12 in and one piece of 24 in x 47 in

of both types of fabric.

Iron cotton fabric if needed.

(this will give you final dimensions of a bag about 11 x 11 on the bottom x 23 inches tall

adjust the numbers accordingly if you want different dimensions...)

{2} Take the rectangle and square of the cotton fabric and line them up.

Right Side of square up, wrong side of rectangle up.

Lay the long edge of the rectangle about halfway on a side of the square.

Stick a pin where the square ends.

You'll want to stop sewing about a 1/2 " before you get to that pin.

{3} Don't sew down the first 1/2" so you have a little bit to sew together at the end.

Start sewing with about a 1/2" seam allowance.

Stop sewing about a 1/2" before you get to that pin.

{4} This step sounds a little tricky.

You might want to read it a few times before trying.

When you stop about a 1/2" before that pin, leave the needle down.

Then lift the presser foot and rotate the square underneath

so that the next side of the square is lined up with the long edge of the rectangle.

You're essentially sewing the long side of the rectangle all along the sides of the square.

The corners won't be perfect, but later you'll cut them a bit so they lay flatter.

Your corners should look like this:

{5} Move your pin to the end of the next side of the square.

Sew the next side down, again stopping about 1/2" before the corner and pin.

{6} Repeat the last two steps until you're back to where you started.

Be careful not to sew over that 1/2" of fabric you left in the beginning...

You'll want to sew right up to it.

You might want to hold it out of the way with your hand.

You should have about an inch of fabric left.

{7} Fold the left over fabric over the top of the 1/2 " you left in the beginning.

Pin it down.

This doesn't have to be perfect.

Sew all the way up.

Reinforce the bottom stitch where the two ends by sewing over the newly stitched edge.

{8} Trim the corners of the long rectangle

so the corners lay nicer when you turn it right side out.

Be very careful not to snip too close to your seam!

{9} Repeat steps 2-8 with the PUL fabric.

For mine, I wanted the "right" side of the PUL to be what showed on the inside of my bag.

You can make it work with either side since it's a lined bag.

Just make sure you know what you want before you start sewing. :)

{10} Turn your cotton bag right side out.

Place it inside your PUL bag that's inside out...

just like how you left it after step 8 the second time around.

I'm REALLY sorry that I forgot to take a picture of this step!

{11} Take a strip of painter's tape and mark off

1 1/2 inches seam allowance on your sewing machine.

If you don't do this, you'll have to draw a line for a

1 1/2 in seam allowance along the top of the PUL.

{12} Mark off a 3 inch section from the top of the PUL bag with 2 pins.

This is to help you remember where to start and where to finish

so you leave yourself room to pull the bag out and

have a space for the drawstring to go through.

{13} Sew a 1 1/2 inch seam along the top, leaving yourself that 3 inch gap.

Make sure you backstitch at both ends.

{14} Turn the whole thing right-side-out by pulling the fabric through that

3 inch opening you left yourself.

Again, sorry no picture for this step.

Next time I think I should write down my steps as I go

to make sure I've got all the important pictures.

Lesson learned.

{15} Tuck your PUL inside the cotton bag.

Iron the top side of the bag.

Be careful not to use too hot of a setting

or to leave the iron on the fabric too long.

PUL will melt.

And that would be messy.

{16} Move your painter's tape to allow for a 1 inch seam allowance.

And stitch a 1 inch seam all the way around the top of the bag.

That should leave all of your seams neatly hidden inside the bag.

{17} Find your 3 inch opening at the top of your bag.

Put a safety pin at the top of your drawstring.

Put a pin in the back (so it won't get pulled inside the bag).

Thread the drawstring through the bag.

Then take out the pins and put the ends of the string through the cord stop.

Tie knots at the end of the strings so the cord stop can't come off.

OR

Put ONE end of the string through the cord stop TWICE (up then down).

Tie the string ends and move the knot around until it's safely inside the bag.

The finished product should look like this!

Again, this is my first tutorial, so I hope it all the directions work for you.

If you do make your own, I'd love you to leave me a note

and a link to a picture of your bag or any suggested changes you have!

Coming soon: the small, zippered diaper-bag sized wet bag!