How to Make a Diaper Changing Pad

There are a lot of free patterns out there for diaper changing pads. I recently saw one made from a placemat, but it was too small for my tall babies. I saw another made from fabric and chenille, but I couldn't bear the thought of having to deal with baby blowouts on chenille (blech). I decided to make up a tutorial that combined some of the ideas I saw with a few additions I needed.

So here you go...

I have a diaper changing pad that came with my diaper bag. I always thought the size was great, so I used that to measure my fabric. It's about 25" long and 13 1/2" wide. It's not as compact as some, but it's sure nice to have a big enough protective area in public restrooms. You can round the corners if you want. I saw someone trace a CD to do that once.

If you want to put a pocket on your changing pad, cut a piece of fabric for that. I cut the piece big enough to hold a diaper and some wipes. Leave an extra 1 1/4" of fabric for a hem.

Another thing I liked about my previous pad was that it could be wiped clean. Finding cute waterproof fabric for babies can be a challenge, though. One of the tutorials I saw suggested using iron-on vinyl to make your fabric waterproof. I had never heard of it, but decided to try it. I found mine at JoAnn last week. (My fabric came from there too.)

I cut the piece of vinyl to match the size of my fabric, then followed the instructions on the package to iron the vinyl on to the fabric.

Now, take the pocket piece and iron the top edge down 1/4". Fold down another 1" and press. Stitch across the fabric. If you want to add Velcro, sew that on now. I sewed one side of the Velcro to the top of the pocket (on the inside). I lined up the pocket to the changing pad piece and sewed the other side on it.




Now, you might be one of those people who have a gift for sewing on bindings using a sewing machine. I am not one of those people. I always like the outcome better if I sew my bindings by hand. So that's what I did. I pinned the three layers together (the vinyl covered side, the batting, and the side with the pocket) placing the binding around the outer edge. When I came to the end, I just folded it over and pinned it. You have to be careful to keep the pocket in place as you do this.

Hand stitch (or use a machine) around the edges of the binding. You'll have to bunch it a bit at the corners if you made them round.

When you're finished, you can attach another bit of Velcro to keep the whole thing shut.
Questions?