even though i’ve made those larger diaper bags to give away as gifts, i personally am not thrilled with big bags as such! mainly because i am barely five feet tall, so carrying a bag half my size looks a little silly! whenever i’ve had my nephews and niece and we’re going somewhere, i always just cram what i can into my purse instead of lugging around an extra bag!  i remember when i worked at the center some families would seriously pack what i thought was their entire nursery into these diaper bags! EVERYTHING you could think of would be inside, and they’d already have back-up clothes and whatnot at the school! i guess after dealing with the lack of space and trying to keep my classroom organized i really just vowed never to have to carry one for myself!

i whipped this bag up one weekend without a pattern. but its a basic square shape so how can you go wrong right?  i thought i liked the patchwork print, but with all the shades of red/pink and the big roses, i think it might be way too shabby chic for me! the inside is really cute and has a polka dot print. (looking back, i wish i had used the polka dot as the exterior!) the front has a pocket, as do the sides. the inside has 2 small pockets on one side, and the other side has one large pocket. i used some fusible fleece and heavyweight stabilizer for the inside of the bag so it has a decent firmness to it! this bag is also nice because it doesn’t really look like a diaper bag, so you can also substitute it as a purse! (which is actually what i’m going to do with it! my mother in law has been wanting me to make her a tote, and i think she might enjoy this one!)

for my purse party last weekend i ended up whipping up this bag as a diaper bag! i added side ties to cinch the sides in (this one was a bit bulkier than the patchwork bag so the ties really give it more shape). i used a pale yellow (i think it was called tea stain- what a cute color name!) for the lining. i wanted some other contrast rather than using a boring brown or matching blue). this one is in my shop right now! ( how fun to be able to say that now!)