This easy sew diaper strap is such a great way to use up any fabric scraps you may have… we always have tons of scraps from making baby gifts like fabric rattle blocks and minky blankets. This diaper belt makes a wonderful gift to give to new parents.
In my early stages of having kids, I carried around a diaper bag ~as each pregnancy went on, I slowly ditched the diaper bag in favor of alternative methods of carrying wipes and diapers… by child #5… I had long given up the diaper bag and started carrying a pack of wipes and a few diapers in my mom purse. Problem is.. they never stayed together, thus this strap came in super handy. I first saw this sewing idea on Calico — fell in love, and made over a dozen before I lost my sewing machine in one of many moves.
Was cleaning my garage a few weeks ago and buried deep at the bottom of MANY boxes was not one, but two of my old sewing machines. I reunited with cartwheels and was so ecstatic that I finally had my machine back. I have since made over a dozen for family and friends that have had babies.
Is a diaper belt a necessity?
Not really… but it’s so nice to have! Although in most cases, I was always with the baby when we went out somewhere, in a rare circumstance that Dad had the baby, the diaper bag was never practical. He actually preferred to carry a diaper strap that tucked wipes and a few diapers together …
This diaper strap can be dressed up with an embellishment on the end (button or felt flower), or left plain – you could even coordinate the material to match the baby’s minky blanket… it’s super easy to make and requires a basic strip of fabric (quilters cotton works great) and a piece of muslin.
In fact, if you don’t have any fabric scraps, you can pick up fabric quarters at Walmart for just under $1.00 every day. Every so often Joann will have them on sale but if you miss the sale there are many other options.
Easy Sew Diaper Strap (with fabric scraps)
Supplies needed:
- cotton fabric, 20×10
- muslin fabric, 20×10
- thread & sewing machine
- iron
- iron on velcro
Step by Step Instructions:
To get started with this project, you’ll want to cut a strip of fabric 20″ by 10″; lay down, and then cut a piece of muslin the same size. I use muslin because it’s inexpensive, but if you don’t have muslin you can use another piece of lightweight fabric, just avoid using something too thick because you will be folding it over several times.
(My lighting is rather poor because I did this late at night).
Head over to your ironing board, and plug in the iron so it’s nice and hot.
Lay your cotton fabric right side down, with the muslin fabric directly on top. (pay no mind to my horrible cutting skills!) Hopefully, you aren’t as bad at cutting things to size as I am 🙂
Fold in the right edge 1/2 inch, and iron flat to form a crease. Repeat that on the left side.
Now, you should be looking at a rectangle of fabric – muslin on top, with the edges ironed towards the inside 1/2 inch.
Fold the top of the rectangle down towards the middle; then, fold the bottom up towards the middle. Iron to crease the top and the bottom.
Fold the bottom up towards the top, completing the strip. Then iron along the seams so it’s nice and crisp. Unplug the iron and put away, and head back to your sewing machine – you’ll want to sew up on one short side, across the top, and back down the short side, using a 1/8 – 1/4 inch seam. I did not sew the crease… but you can if you wish!
Once you are done, pull out your velcro. I prefer using velcro that irons on.. just because I hate the stress of trying to sew on velcro (in fact, the iron on kind is the only kind I use – and it has always worked beautifully for baby projects).
Cut an equal piece of velcro + backing — so you should have two pieces. One top piece and one bottom piece.
Lay one piece of velcro on one end of the belt, and iron on for 10-15 seconds. Allow to rest, then flip over the belt, and iron the other piece on the opposite end (It’s important that you get this right!)
If you want to dress it up a little, include a button on the top, where it fastens, or leave as is. I think it’s cute as is — but that’s just me. I always gift my strap with a new pack of wipes, and a note to explain what it is — there was a point in time that I had newborn diapers to gift along with, but now that my baby is 1 1/2.. the newborn diapers are long gone!
This is such an easy DIY gift with scraps – once you do the first, you can literally crank out several in a matter of 30 minutes .. have some on hand for family and friends who might be expecting! They pair up super with fabric blocks or, a baby minky blanket!
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