Guest Tutorial: Wet Bag by Christie at A Lemon Squeezy Home

Christie of A Lemon Squeezy Home has been a friend and neighbor of mine for nearing four years.  She is incredible.  I look up to her in so many ways: as a talented crafter, amazing mom, and just all around wonderful person.  Christie is just good people.  And her blog reflects her perfectly.  I asked Christie a couple of months ago to do this tutorial for me.  I've made wetbags before, for cloth diapering, but Christie makes CUTE wetbags. So much so that she used to sell them and they were in pretty hot demand. 

 Wetbags can be used for all sorts of purposes beyond cloth diapering.  Really, no diaperbag or child overnight bag should be without something washable in which to throw soiled clothing or wet swimsuits.  And they are perfect for packing liquids for travel--all your shampoos, lotions, etc.

 Reusable and washable, wetbags are a cute green alternative that are simple to make...

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Hi everyone!  I’m Christie from A Lemon Squeezy Home and I’m so happy to be on Sabra’s awesome blog today.  Seriously, I owe Sabra a lot, including inspiring me to start my own blog for crafting.  So thank you Sabra, for letting me guest blog, and for being a great friend to me. 

Today I’m going to show you how to sew a wetbag.  I like wetbags because you can use them for more than just cloth diapering.  Take them to the pool for wet clothing and towels.  Maybe you have a little one who is potty training.  This would be a handy thing to have in the diaper bag for any accidents.  Much cuter than a plastic grocery bag, don’t you think?  In case you are wondering, this wetbag ends up being 9” x 12” and will fit about 3 large cloth diapers.

To start, you’ll need the following materials:

*Two pieces 10” x 12” cotton fabric

*One 4” x 14” strip of cotton fabric

*Two pieces 10” x 12.5” PUL (polyurethane laminated fabric)

*9” zipper

*matching thread

*I read that polyester thread prevents wicking (leaking of moisture in the bag), so I usually use that if I have it.

*baby powder or tissue paper

With shiny side of the PUL down, lay your zipper on top of a short side.   

Place on of the cotton pieces of fabric on top of that, ride side of the fabric touching the zipper.  This is where the baby powder or tissue paper comes handy.  The shiny side of the PUL is tricky to sew on—my machine sticks and it isn’t fun!  So you can either place tissue paper on top of the shiny side of the PUL, or you can dab a little baby powder over the shiny side where you will be sewing. 

Pin together.  Using your zipper foot, sew along the side of the zipper, as close to the zipper as you can.  You can see the dotted lines in the picture below—that is about how close you’ll be able to sew with the zipper foot. 

 

Turn both layers over and make the cotton and the PUL even along the sides and bottom.  Topstitch closely to the zipper. 

Set the bag aside for now.  Let’s make the strap.  Fold the 4” x 14” strip in half and sew 1/4” seam along the long side.

Open the seam and iron.

Turn right side out and topstitch along both long sides.

Pin to the cotton fabric, preferably on the side where you would start to unzip (so opposite of how I did it—oops!).  I think it’s better that way so if it’s hanging by the handle and you have to put something in there, you can unzip it much easier with one hand.

Take the two cotton layers and line up as evenly as you can.  Sew 1/4” seam down each side, making sure to catch the zipper and also the handle that you pinned in.  Leave the bottom open. 

Now take the two PUL layers and also line them up as evenly as possible.  Sew along all  3 sides.  Since you are sewing the non-shiny sides, your machine should work fine on this part without tissue paper or baby powder. 

Turn the bag right side out by pulling the cotton layer down over the PUL layer.    Tuck the bottom of the cotton layers and iron.  Topstitch closed. 

Now you have a cute, and better yet, reusable bag for wet items or cloth diapering!

Thanks again for having me Sabra! 

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Thanks, Christie!  Just a couple of more notes from me:

-If you are wondering where to purchase PUL, there are many online sources.  Here are a few:

Wazoodle
Kids in the Garden

Celtic Cloths

Or check online markets like Etsy and Hyena Cart for smaller shops carrying it, too.

You may also be able to find some locally, but call ahead first as it's generally not carried as normal inventory in most fabric stores.

-When purchasing PUL, keep in mind that printed woven PUL, for whatever reason, has a tendancy to wick (sweat) more than solid PUL.  This is why Christie's webags are so great: you get the style of a print in your choice, with the preformace of a solid PUL where it counts.

Also, don't forget to enter the giveaway for the yarn from 8 Little Coconuts.  It ends tonight at midnight, so comment and enter.  And enter the giveaways at Project: Project, too.