Changing Pad

From Annette's Crafts

We're having a baby boom in my family: I have three to sew for all coming between May and June. This changing pad is for my niece-to-be. The bonus here is that the pad features a "pillow pocket" that may be stuffed with spare diapers. Carrying case and comfort feature all in one! It's also big enough to be used as a lap pad or floor pad for a small baby.

Materials:
* 1 piece of flannel 18 x 36 inches long
* 1 piece of solid colored flannel 18 x 45 inches long: this is the one that forms the pillow, so it needs to not have a right and wrong side, unless you want to sew on another 9 x 18 inch panel.
(You need roughly 1/2 a yard each, assuming the flannel is 45 inches wide.)
* A piece of batting 18 x 36 inches, and/or better a piece of water resistant, washable fabric to sandwich in.
* Your choice of blanket binding or narrower bias tape, at least 3 yards
* Thread to match
* Optional: Snap or velcro for fastening the finished pad shut.

Tools:
* Sewing machine
* Scissors
* Cutting mat and rotary cutter (optional)
* Pins

Skills:
* Basic sewing machine operation

Instructions:
1. Create a sandwich of your two pieces of fabric, batting, and (optional) washable waterproof fabric. The 45 inch long piece of fabric goes on the bottom, and the other two line up with its bottom edge.
Place the right sides out: you're sewing this "upside up."
2. Sew straight across at the 9, 18, and 36 inch marks from the bottom of the shorter fabric. This is where the fold lines are. You don't need to sew at 27 inches, since this is where the pillow pocket attaches.
3. (This is where it gets tricky) Pin the blanket binding or bias tape, starting on the top right, around the edges of your sandwich.
The thing to keep in mind is that you want to leave one side of the "pillow pocket" open. When I got to the right-hand side of the pad, I folded the pillow pocket down and pinned the binding over all layers so the edge would be closed when I stitched.
IMPORTANT: you don't want a raw edge when you sew the 18 inch side of the pillow, so remember to turn it under a 1/2 inch or so on the right edge when pinning down the binding.
You could, of course, chose to leave both edges of the pillow open which would be just slightly easier to stitch since you wouldn't have to fold anything over.
4. Stitch around three sides of the pad, starting with the top left and finishing on the top right, making sure to sew the pocket shut.
If you're using the extra wide blanket binding like me (note: I would probably chose a narrower one if doing this again) you may wish to sew it down twice: use a zig-zag stitch about 1/4 inch from the inner edge, and a straight one dead center.
5. Now, turn down the pillow pocket the rest of the way across, making sure to fold at least a 1/2 inch under. Sew across, completing the pocket.
6. Optional: attach Velcro strips or snaps to fasten shut the pad when folded in quarters. I didn't bother, since this will usually be stuffed in a diaper bag, and possibly folded in 1/2 across the 18 inch dimension as well. If you chose to use Velcro, be sure to attach the soft "loop" side to the side of the pad baby will be lying on.

From Annette's Crafts

That's it!