Friday, February 1, 2013

Baby Doll Cloth Diapers

For Lucy's 2nd Birthday, my husband and I (mostly I) decided to get her a baby doll. Now she already had a Baby Stella doll, but I wanted to get her a dolly that looked more like a baby and less like a doll. I also wanted to get her some accessories to go with her new baby doll. We knew her baby brother would be making his arrival sometime around her birthday so we wanted her to have her own "baby things" so that she would be able to care for her baby along side Mommy.

So I began my search. Do you know how hard it is to find a nice baby doll that does not cry, pee, laugh or some other annoying battery-operated baby simulation? And then you find one and it is going to cost you an arm and a leg. I did end up finding one, not exactly what I wanted, but I had to keep in mind that baby was going to be dragged and banged around by a two year old. And baby came with a little bassinet type bed, which meant one less thing Mommy was going to have to find and/or make! So that was the big thing off my list, now I still needed to find a few more accessories. Ideally I wanted a diaper bag and a stroller. The stroller was easy to find. The diaper bag - not so much. I really didn't want to just get a flimsy little bag with junk in it.

After searching and searching (and refusing to pay $50 for a dolly diaper bag), I did what any other mother would do. I headed to pinterest (you knew that was coming didn't you??) I saw a cute little diaper bag on pinterest that was made out a scrapbooking caddy. But finding a suitable caddy, at a price I was willing to pay, with limited locations to shop was pretty much impossible. Then I had a brainwave - what about a travel toiletry bag? It would have various compartments and pockets and you can get them in all kinds of stylish designs. So I headed to Bentley to see what they had and sure enough I found a cute quilted toiletry bag that was just the right size to hold dolly diapers, a few bibs and a toy bottle.

When I first hatched this idea in my mind I envisioned myself sewing bibs, cloth diapers, burp cloths and a change pad out of matching fabric. But as the time crunch hit - keep in mind I was 37ish weeks preggo - I knew the sewing list was going to have to be chopped drastically! So I decided to focus on the diapers. Of course I searched pinterest and found a few tutorials but I wasn't happy with the size or they looked too complicated, so I drew up my own template and set about making cloth diapers. Check out below for the tutorial!

Baby Doll Cloth Diapers

For this project you will need paper pattern, 2 squares of coordinating fabric, velcro, and coordinating thread.

First I made my pattern on paper. The diaper on the left is Baby Stella's and it is pretty flimsy so I decided to bulk it up a bit. Plus I wanted her to be able to use it for other dolls and stuffed animals too.


Next I chose my fabric, one for the outer and one for the lining. I used a plain flannel for the lining which turned out to be a very good choice as it stays put on Stella and doesn't slide off. I placed my fabrics good sides together and pinned my pattern on. At this point you could cut out the diapers leaving a seam allowance but for simplicity sake I traced the pattern with marker (I would recommend a marker specifically made to wash out and not a permanent one like mine - but you live and learn right?)


As you can see the fabrics are good sides together and pattern traced and ready to sew.


Since baby dolls are so messy, I needed to make more than one diaper. I used two different cotton prints because we all like a little variety in our diaper stashes.


Stitch along the marker line being sure to leave a gap in the top seam so that you can flip them right-side out. Then cut out the diapers leaving a small seam allowance. I also cut slits along the material in the curve and cut the corners for a better fit and form.


Turn diapers right-side out through the hole.


Top stitch around the diapers. This allows you to stitch the hole closed at the top and it makes them look nicer (and I am sure that is the first thing Lucy noticed, right?)


Sew on your velcro. I sewed a line through mine as I knew Lucy was not going to be easy on the tabs and I wanted them to stay put.


Stella modeling the cloth diapers.



My daughter loves them and every once in a while even her Teddy gets to wear one! Happy (Dolly) Diapering!

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