Well, not *completely* unexpected – I know I have seen people discussing “wet bags” as I’ve been reading up and shopping for our cloth diaper transition. But I didn’t think to apply it to me: I need wet bags! And, since I’m broke, I decided to make my own! I bought supplies for $7.80 at Joann’s (using coupons, etc) and made three wet bags. One is perfect for holding dirty dishes, another for prepared and clean cloth wipes, and the third is not ideal for the used diapers and wipes (yet). I sewed up each bag slightly differently. I primarily looked at this All Wrapped Up blog article (great photos, simple, efficient, and nicely finished instructions) and added my own methods as I went.
For all three I decided to put the shiny side of the PLU as the interior of the bag – open the bag and there is the shiny PLU. It made sense to me that if poo got smeared on it, it would come off the plastic more easily than the fabric side of the material. So, for my zipper I placed PLU (shiny side up), zipper (right side up) and fabric (wrong side up) before stitching, turning, and top stitching.
I also did not cut the bottom of the fabric pieces. I cut the material expecting the fold to be at the bottom of the bags. I left an opening for turning in the side of the cotton fabric. I decided the extra sewing might damage the PLU if I did it there and soiling might get in the exposed ridges of the stitching otherwise.
I created box corners on the two yellow bags and left the corners flat on the grey bag.
Now, my first bag had issues. Well, they all do , of some sort… I was using zippers I had on hand. This zipper wasn’t long enough and after it was installed and top stitched, it left big gaps between the zipper and the edge of the bag. I cut scraps of fabric and PLU and sewed them over the gaps.
I think it looks cool stitched up! This one is for clean wipes.
The second bag didn’t have any significant issues. I just don’t like how the bulk of the zipper makes the corners bulge out. This one is for used dishes and can be attached to the diaper bag strap.
This zipper was also a little short, but I prepared better and it fits relatively well.
The downside is, while it’s a good size to hold several wet diapers, the zipper opening is not very wide and requires two hands to put the dirty diapers in. This can be problematic when handling a squirrely naked baby! 😀
So, all done! They match my diaper bag and are darn effective. I more than payed for it in the use they’ll get and the hours of entertainment I got from playing with fabric! 😀