Reusable Nursing pads

This is a super old project that I never posted on because, well, let's just say I am busy...  Hence the not posting for 7 months.  Oops.  Anywho, I loved these little lifesavers and they saved me a bundle since I didn't have to buy nursing pads for the year and couple months that I breastfed.

My breast feeding experience included a lot of leaking. My milk supply is shall we say... Ample. To give you a nice TMI, if I didn't nurse or express frequently enough, I was likely to shoot your eye out. As a result I burned through breast pads pretty quickly. I didn't want to use disposables since I was trying to be eco friendly, and the reusable pads I found didn't quite work.  The store bought ones were itchy, the handmade ones seemed really expensive, and ones that didn't have the drawbacks above couldn't dried in a dryer.  I laugh thinking about hanging up or laying out billions of tiny little fabric rounds.  People already thought they were coasters all the time.  So not working for me.

So, of course, I decided to make my own. I made some burp cloths and swaddle blankets so I had lots of scrap flannel lying around. I didn't trust layers of flannel to be absorbent enough so I cut up towels to layer between two pretty flannel pieces.

Reusable Nursing Pads

1) Make a cardboard template. Find a circle to use, like a coaster (haha) or bowl, or draw one with a compass (or use the string and a pin method). Mine was about 4" in diameter although a bit bigger might be nice for larger breasted mommies.  I am rather small busted, so adjust as you see fit.

2) Use your template to trace circles on your flannel and your old towel.  You can use a sharpie for this as you will be cutting them out, and if you have a serger, you will be trimming off the ends. For each pair you need 4 flannel circles for the outside and 2 terry cloth (towel) circles for the absorbent layer.

3) Cut out the circles and stack them up flannel, towel, flannel. Make sure the pretty side of the flannel is facing out.  Line up the edges the best you can.

4) Serge the edges, going slowly enough to keep the round shape and all the layers even. Make sure the layers don't bunch. If bunching is a problem, baste the layers together in an x before serging. This should help.  If you don't own a serger, you can turn and top stitch.  It will take longer, but is still really cheap and easy!

Some people say to use PUL (a waterproof material) for the backing. I'm a little afraid to use waterproof material because it's not breathable and can encourage yeast growth which causes thrush.

Don't want to make them yourself?  Check out my Etsy shop to buy a few pairs!

Wazoodle

I like great companies. I love small businesses. I feel good about buying US made. I like crafting supplies. I seek out good prices. I demand good customer service. I am impressed by sincerity.

Dear reader, this may not interest you in the least, but I felt obligated to tell you about the new and improved wazoodle. It's a website that sells cloth diapering and other supplies to the general public. Let me take a moment to disclaim: I don't work for them I get no money from them and I get no stuff from them unless I pay for it. Which I do. And will continue to.

Anyway, if you are into making your own cloth diapers or accessories, you may have heard of them. They used to be a Canadian based company, but after scathing reviews because of poor customer service and slower than slow shipping, they went up for sale. It is now run out if New Jersey and the new owners seem so awesome! They have scads of new products, all made by the same factories to keep the product quality high (that was the one good thing about the old wazoodle), but such a better attitude. The prices are great, shipping is much more affordable, and I don't have to feel guilty buying from a foreign company (business? In NJ. Products? Manufactured in the states. Yay!)

I get my PUL there, barrel stoppers, drawstring cord, and various other items. They have a great selection of organic fabric, including tons of bamboo.  It is a great resource for natural diapering options, especially.  Looks like they are carrying KAM plastic snaps and presses, too. I used KAMsnaps.com for that, but who knows?! I may switch! Anyway, this may not affect you at all, but I felt moved to shout to the world that a crappy supplier of great products is now a customer friendly, US company. They deserve a second chance. My newest order is placed. Hooray!

Green living: reduce, reuse, recycle

I grew up in Southern California. Not sure if region matters, but as a kid growing up I remember fun little recycling PSAs popping up between cartoons. The little diddy went: "Recycle, reduce, reuse! And close the loop." And the little logo was around a dinosaur named recycle Rex. So. Freaking. Cool. And so damn catchy it's still in my head twenty some years later.

So as I grew up, that is how I always see recycling. As a little PSA telling me to do my part before Ducktails.

Enter a dear dear friend who is much kinder to the earth than I. She said it reduce, reuse, recycle. Huh. Weird. She grew up here in Wisconsin. Maybe they had different little PSAs. And I dismissed it.

Well, one day we got to talking about stuff, and she said it again. Reduce, reuse, recycle. She continued on: the order is important. You do the first one first, and so on. You see, manufacturing items is a huge cost to the environment. Energy is used, meaning electricity and fossil fuels are spent; raw materials are used, meaning mined or cut down or drilled or whatever; the materials are then processed, which often takes a load of chemical reactions, so there are by products generated which are generally not Eco friendly; and there is transportation and packaging and warehousing and more transporting and and and.... So by the time it gets to you, the consumer, the worst what we do to the earth is done. Sure, tossing it in a landfill to not rot is a slap in the face, but simply recycling doesn't redeem that little yogurt cup in your hand. It's got a hell of a debt to pay off. And that doesn't even count the extra energy, chemicals, packaging, etc that t takes to turn the ten into something usable AGAIN. The recycling process is not as simple as sending all your pasta jars back to ragu to be refilled. They have to be broken down into usable components and reprocessed. And sometimes recycling has a worse chemical footprint because you have to get back to a raw material rather than starting there...

So back to the point: the order is key.

Reduce first. Consume less. But in bulk with less packaging or buy local with no packaging at all. Don't buy presliced or processed or packaged. All that handling costs the earth.

Next, reuse. Think. If you used every disposable item one time after its initial use, you would cut your consumption in half. I'll wait for that to sink in for you. 50% less across the board. Imagine what just that step would do for the earth. Makes you want to hang on to that plastic water bottle, doesn't it?

And finally, recycle. I'm not saying Dont recycle. We live in a world where packaging is almost inescapable. I can't buy underwear that isn't on 2 hangers and double plastic sealed for freshness. But before you just toss things in that green can in the garage, ask yourself if it is still useful, and rescue it if you can.

Okay, enough with the preachy and on to the practical. Here are a few RRR things I've done.

I (almost) never use plastic bags. I have a zillion little plastic containers that I use instead. And yes they require a quick rinse before reuse, but that's hardly the ecological impact of petroleum processing. I pack lunches with them, I store leftovers in the freezer, I put jewelry making supplies in them... I'm an equal opportunity container-er. And while I have my fair share of ziploc containers, do one better and save sour cream and yogurt containers to do the same thing. DISCLAIMER: not all plastics are safe for hot foods or microwave use. I transfer food when cold and reheat on a plate when using repurposed containers. This is important!!

I use old glass and plastic jars (labels removed) to store dry goods like rice, beans, lentils, quinoa, bulgur, and other weirdo foods so they stay fresh and I can have them out on my counter. I totally stole thus idea from "reuse first" girl. I love her. My kitchen has never been more organized. It's great for buying things from those big bulk hoppers at the store... Hint hint.

I also reuse baby food jars for storing my homemade baby food - I bought baby food on Craigslist just so I could have the jars... But that's a separate crazy lady story!

Buy in bulk instead of more packaged little things. I buy a vat of yogurt and put it in awesome little glass custard cups made by anchor hocking. Get stuff out if the aforementioned bulk bins instead of in jars or boxes or pouches. Buy the jug of juice and get a thermos. It's way cheaper that way, too. They charge you a convenience fee for all that marketing! I mean, packaging... Sorry bout that little slip... ;)

Use little plastic containers (and milk jugs with the top cut off) to start plants indoors, or for a kitchen herb garden. Wisconsin's growing season is like 6 days so many plants have to be started indoors and then transplanted. Poke Giles in the bottom, set them in their own lid, and voila you have a potted plant. Egg cartons work even better because you can just bury them in the soil and they break down. The downside is watering during the indoor phase gets... Tricky :)

Finally, I cloth diaper. Yeah yeah I know. I'm an incurable granola hippie type that doesn't live in the real world. Only I'm not. I am a stay at home mom and my kid doesn't have to go to day care, but more and more places are kosher with cloth. I assure you, it's MUCH cheaper than disposables and its not that hard to do. The diaper technology has come a LOOOONG way from our mother's and grandmother's diaper pin pricked, rubber pants wearing days. How about snaps, Velcro, and laminated diaper covers for starters? Okay enough soapboxing.

My point is, there are so many ways we can reuse what we have instead of consuming more. I'll admit, my post today was inspired by a book I am reading "7, an experimental mutiny against excess" by Jen Hatmaker. It's changing my life and I anticipate buying a copy for everyone I know. But today I started imaging a post-apocalyptic type world. What would I save if I knew there wasn't more just around the corner? Jars and lids and containers. Huge. Water? Not running down MY sink! Clothes? Only a few holes = stylish. The thing that got me the most revolves around my crafty nature. Would I EVER let a garment leave my hands without first stealing all the buttons? And the zippers?

Taping your presser foot to sew on PUL

I love Pinterest.  It is an amazing way to share and bookmark ideas.  Or I should say, that is what it is at its best.  Its also another way to spam me, annoy me with pointless and meaningless sayings and memes, and waste my time with things that aren't helpful or useful.  But with a little concerted effort, its a great way to share and and find revolutionary ideas.  Well, this may not be exactly revolutionary, but man did it help me out tonight.

A long time ago in a blog post far far away, I made a diaper pail liner using PUL as well as a wet bag.  PUL is difficult to sew on because it is a plastic-y, sticky material.  The presser foot snags on the fabric rather than gliding over it, creating an endless source of problems ranging from puckers in the stitching, missed stitches, bunched stitches, bent and broken needles, messed up timing, and even damage to your machine.  A way to avoid having this problem is to place something between the presser foot and the fabric, such as tissue paper, or even regular old printer paper.  While this really does help, it doesn't completely fix the problem and can open a whole multitude of its own issues, like getting it torn off and all those little bits stuck under the thread out without damaging your stitching, loose stitches because of the extra material being sewn over, and not being able to see the line you are stitching very clearly.

Enter Pinterest.

I saw a pin about a trick for sewing on vinyl and thought I would give it a try with PUL.  My foray into sewing stuff for my son's cloth diapers led me to use Joann's PUL which met with mixed results.  I had to replace some of the items I made after the PUL self destructed, but other items made with a different bolt of fabric is still going strong!  Anyway, This method recommended taking a small piece of scotch tape and taping the bottom of your presser foot to make it slippery.  I was pretty skeptical, but I figured I would do half the new project with paper and compare the experience and the stitching to the tape.  You do have to make a hole for the needle to avoid gunking up your needle and subsequently your machine and make a slit down the middle in the front for the thread to slide through, but it worked pretty darn well!  The presser foot slid nicely over the fabric, with only a fraction of the friction.  WORLDS BETTER than using paper or tissue paper or any other method I have found thus far.

So now we know.  Scotch tape for sewing on sticky fabrics works! Not only do you not have to deal with paper, you can see what you are doing and it leaves your hands free for removing pins, keeping your fabric aligned, and all those other things you do NORMALLY.  Go Pinterest.

Reusable flannel wipes

Remember how I told you to keep those flannel scraps from the swaddle blanket post? I used flannel scraps to make reusable wipes to compliment my cloth diapering. These work great with plain water or homemade wipe solution if you prefer, and clean up even really nasty messes. And they are REALLY easy, especially if you have a serger. I seem to say that every other post haha. Feel free to explore other fabrics, too. I heard that velour is awesome, although pricey. But hey, scraps are free, right?? Oh, one note. Do NOT use fleece (or most other synthetics). It doesn't absorb water into its fibers because they are synthetic and not porous, and it will just smear everything around and make a mess.

Reusable wipes
Materials:
Large pieces of flannel scraps or other material (steer clear of white)
Serger or sewing machine
Scissors
Cardboard scrap or cardstock
Pen or marker that will write on fabric

Step 1: Measure a piece of cardboard or other stiff material that is 8"x8". Round off the edges with a cup or other circle to trace. If you want, do it on paper first so you can fold it and have it be perfectly even and then cut the cardboard. But remember - they will be used to wipe poo so beauty doesn't count much :)

Step 2: Trace squares onto your fabric scraps using your pen. Try not to use one that bleeds really badly. You can use a disappearing ink one if you like, but cut quickly then. Remember you can rotate the square to be a diamond too, if that makes more fit.

Step 3: Cut out your squares.

Step 4: Finish your edges. Zig zag or serge around them, use bias tape, or you can try to narrow hem them if you like, but I think it will end up too bulky and be too time consuming to be worth it. Just remember to pre shrink bias tape so it doesn't pucker after repeat washings. (sorry, no photo.  Hubby took the ones above, but I finished the project another day and forgot... oops)

You are done! If you choose to serge the edges as I did, take the time to tuck in the threads instead of just snipping them off. Use a needle to weave the thread ends into a few stitches and then cut off the excess. It is annoying and takes some time, but I skipped that step on my second batch and they are already unraveling.

Add fabric and trim to a travel wipe case to have a nice little matched set!

The nice thing about these is that when folded in half, they fit perfectly in a Huggies travel wipe case. I heard about people making 4x8 ones to fit in without folding, but I think that is too skinny to get the job done. Others say to use 2 squares of flannel back to back.  While this is attractive, my one layer guys are doing great, and I can't see justifying twice the bulk.  One travel wipe case full of cloth wipes us more than enough for one day's worth of changes for my 3 month old. I made about 35-40 wipes or so, and I never run out before wash day (about every other day). This is a great way to recycle old receiving blankets, too. I got some free off craigs list with some other baby stuff I was buying and added to my stash! Yay earth! Double win!

Diaper Pail Liner Revisited - the PUL version

Okay, so ripstop wasn't awesome.  So I revisited my design knowing that there are upsides and downsides to working with PUL.  I used only 16.5" of 60" wide PUL and folded the length in half and stitched up the sides so there wasn't a bottom seam to seep through.  I also enclosed my side seams to avoid the same.  Hopefully its not just a lot of effort that wont make any difference... sigh.  I never know when I am being clever and when I am just being overly complicated.  :-(

Diaper pail liner - PUL version

Materials:
16.5" of 60" wide PUL
Thread
Sewing machine
Scissors
~ 45" of cord or shoelace for the drawstring

Step 1: Fold the PUL in half, folding selvage edge to meet selvage edge, with the laminated side (shiny, rubbery side) together.  Pin the sides together close to the edges.  Measure about 4" down from the open side and pin.  Stitch sides together below the pins, a scant 1/4" from the cut edge.

Step 2:  Turn the bag inside out (laminated side out).  Turn the corners and stitched edges very well.  To encase your seams, stitch along the sides about 1/2" from the edge, making sure the 1/4" seam allowance stays between your line of stitching and the outside edge.  NOTE: Only stitch below that 4" line from the top of the bag. :-)

Step 3:  You should now have an awkward tab at the top, above that 4" pin you put in oh so long ago.  CAREFULLY clip the fabric to the seam line.  I accidentally clipped too far on one side (easy to do when rushing) and now I have a weak spot that may tear over time.  Boo...

Doing it right the second time... too late to save the first side.

Step 4: Now to finish that top 4 inches.  Fold the cut edge of the fabric to the seam line, laminated sides together.  Fold again, enclosing the raw edge.  Stitch, keeping close to the inside edge of the fold.

Step 5:  Turn under and stitch 1/4" of the top edge of the bag, laminated sides together.  Be careful at the sides that you just finished, as the PUL can get bulky and make the stitching slip.  Repeat with the other side.

Step 6:  Turn the newly finished top edge of the bag over 1" toward the laminated side, or as much as you need to fit your drawstring.  Stitch close to the finished edge to create a casing.  Repeat on the other side.

Step 6:  Almost there!  Now to add width to the bag - note that this is the same as with the ripstop bag.  Refer to that post for more explanation if this step seems tricky.  Laminated side out, crease the bottom edge of the bag.  Place in a pin or two along that crease.  Match the side seam up with the line created by the pins and pull the front and back sides of the bag out, creating a triangle shape.  Measure three inches from the point of the triangle (the corner of the bag) and place a line of pins across to make the bottom of the triangle.

holding the bottom edge of the bag

turn the bag sideways so the bottom edge of the bag is up

place pins in 3" down to create the bottom of the triangle

Stitch across that bottom line of pins.  Repeat on the opposite corner.  The bottom of your bag should look like this:

It now has wings!!!  and with no red bull... sorry, i am sleep deprived :-)

Step 7:  Thread your drawstring through the casing you made on both sides of the bag.  Gather the loose ends on one side and knot them securely.  You are Finished!

Bottom Line:

~1/2 yard of PUL - $5

45" of cord - about $1.50?  

Total cost = $6.50

Time = ~1.5 hours, maybe more if you have to fight with the PUL... boo.

Retail cost:=$15 for a 2 pack of disposable liner refills, $16-20 for a reusable liner

Total savings: $10-15 for a reusable liner, or ~$320 over the life of the bag for disposable liners

A few things to consider when using PUL... if the laminated side is not feeding through your machine, wrap tissue paper around the seam (top and bottom, or at least on the bottom) and then tear it off once you sew your seam.  The paper makes it slide easier, but will not make extra space between your stitches.  Also, PUL is like other plastic and rubberized fabrics.  Pin holes stay there.  Some say that a run in a hot dryer will seal up those holes, but its agreed that making less in the first place is ideal.  I know I say to use pins a lot in my post, but in my pictures, you will note that my use is minimal, and often within seam allowances where it will not affect the integrity of the waterproof layer.  Back to the dryer bit... as with all fabrics, quality of PUL varies greatly, and consequently so do the care instructions.  Some people swear that PUL is fine in the dryer, regardless, and others say line dry only unless you want to destroy your item, regardless.  I say, play it safe and machine dry only when necessary (ie: you have nowhere to put your dirty diapers unless it gets dry pronto!).  It hangs dry pretty fast, so this shouldn't be too much of an inconvenience.  Hope this post helps.

Oh, and for the record, my ripstop bag was still in use up until last night when I finished this bag, and while it did seep some liquid into the bottom of the can, it wasn't terrible.  I wonder if better ripstop really would work??

Update: I now have wet bags and pail liners for sale in my Etsy shop.

Diaper Pail Liner or Large Wet Bag

MASSIVE EDIT!!!  Ripstop does not work!  I am not sure if it is just the quality sold at joann's that is failing or if it is the idea of ripstop in the first place, but I guess I have to do it again with PUL, as much as I hate working with it... :-(  such a great idea.  Just goes to show - don't believe everything you read on the internet, and not every project works every time :-(

While pregnant, I decided that I wanted to do cloth diapering.  Its a great thing really, for many reasons, but most notably for the kindness to the environment and the kindness to your wallet.  I looked online for a suitable diaper pail that was compatible with cloth diapering.  I found the Diaper Dekor Plus and so far, so good (note: I actually would opt for the largest pail they offer, the XL rather than the Plus.  Cloth diapers are so much bulkier than disposables and the bag fills up pretty quickly).  One of the huge perks of the Diaper Dekor was that the design allowed you to use a reusable diaper pail liner rather than buying their plastic refills all the time, thus saving even more money and more landfill space (not to mention petroleum!).

The diaper dekor in all its glory

A unique design allows for a drop in reusable liner

This tutorial is for a pail liner to fit a diaper dekor plus, so if that is what you need, this is your exact recipe.  However, it can easily be altered to fit the dimensions of other types of pails or for regular garbage cans or laundry hampers to make a simple cloth diaper receptacle.  It can also be used to make a large wet bag to hang from a hook or a knob of some sort, but I would use PUL as the fabric to make it a little sturdier.  I used Ripstop Nylon because it is thinner and easier to maneuver into the pail, easier to sew, and much less expensive.  However, its water resistance depends on the thickness, quality, and coating of the nylon.  I got mine from Joann Fabrics, but I am not sure it is super waterproof as I haven't really tested it other than a quick check in the store.  If you are paranoid, you can just use PUL and deal with the extra bulk and cost.

Diaper Pail Liner
Materials:
one yard of 60" wide Risptop Nylon (or PUL)
approximately 45" of cord to tie up the bag (or a round shoelace)
thread
scissors
tape measure
sewing machine

Step 1:  Cut the yard or fabric in half (along the fold line from the bolt works well as long as you make sure it is centered first).  Also, be sure to check that the fabric really is 60" wide. :-)  You will now have 2 pieces of fabric that measure approximately 30"x36".  Trim the length to about 32".

Step 2:  Along the short (30") side, fold over about 1/2" and stitch.  You don't have to worry about Ripstop fraying and raveling, but I wanted to fold over the raw edge anyway, just for aesthetics.  This will be the top of the bag.

Step 3:  Fold the fabric in half, matching the selvage edge and the cut edge you made along the bolt fold.  Measure 4 " down from the finished edge and put in a pin.  Below the pin, stitch the sides of the bag together with about 1/2" of seam allowance.

 Step 4:  From the pin up, fold over the seam allowance on each side and stitch around in a continuous U shape, pivoting at the corners, and backstitching at the bottom to add some strength.

Step 5:  Fold over 3/4 of an inch of the finished edge at the top of the bag.  Stitch close to the finished edge to create a casing for the cord.

Step 6:  Stitch up the bottom edge of the bag, with about a 3/4" seam allowance.  You can end here and have a perfectly functional bag if the following instructions are too complicated.  However, I would recommend trimming the length of the bag by about 2".

Step 7:  To add some shape to the bag and hopefully add to the capacity, we are going to modify the bottom of the bag.  With the bottom seam facing you, take the seam side of the bag and match it up to the bottom seam, pulling the "front" and "back" of the bag to the sides.  If you pull it taut, it will make a triangle with the bottom seam going down the middle.  It's a little complicated to explain, but easy to do once you can figure it out.  The best I can say is match up the seams and pull the extra fabric out of the way and boom, you've got it!

From the bottom - fold seam to seam.

Once you have the seam side done, repeat with the other side.  Try creasing the side and placing a pin along the crease to make sure you line up the bottom seam exactly with the side.

Another angle to help you visualize :-)

Step 8:  Once you have made your triangle shapes, make sure the sides of the bag are pulled taut to create crisp triangles.  One side at a time, hold the bag with the point of the triangle facing away from you, and the bottom seam up.  Measure 3 inches down from the point of the triangle and pin.  Pin across the width of the fabric triangle and stitch.  Repeat on both sides.  Congrats! You have given your bag a nice flat bottom and about 6" of width!

Step 9:  Thread the shoelace or cord through the casing at the top.  I wanted to have one of those ball thingies that you slide to close bags like this, but I didn't have one.  I totally thought I cannibalized one from something, but no dice.  Sigh.  And I can't seem to figure out what they are called to buy one.  Look out knots, here I come.

Step 10:  To put it in the diaper dekor, open the top and drop the bottom of the bag in the middle.  Roll the top of the bag over the edge and slide it down into that slot.  Tighten up the drawstring and voila! You have yourself a reusable, washable diaper pail liner!

Another big bonus to this is that you can empty your diapers into the wash without touching them and just toss the bag in after.  I used red because I thought it would be fun.  Hopefully its colorfast since its Nylon or we will have a lot of pink diapers for my little boy.  :-)  Make 2 so you have one to use and one to wash.

Bottom Line:

1 yard of Ripstop (good for 2 liners) - $6 (on sale for 25% off at Joann's)

45" of cord - about $1.50?  I had it in my stash so I'm not totally sure... :-)

Total cost = $4.50 per bag ($3 in fabric and $1.50 in cord)

Time = ~1.5 hours, probably less if you aren't stopping to feed a baby and take pictures every so often :-)

Retail cost:=$15 for a 2 pack of disposable liner refills which last for ~366 changes (I averaged their advertised capacity on their website over the 6 diaper sizes they listed, note that this is for disposables, though), $16-20 for a reusable liner

Total savings: $10-15 for a reusable liner, or ~$325 over the life of the bag for disposable liners, using their number of 4500 changes for a baby and the average of 366 changes per set of refills.  And that's only if you have one kid!  Holy cow!!!

I promise I will post more frequently.  My baby has been my #1 priority though, so blogging kinda is taking a back seat.  Hopefully I will get more mommy time as he gets older and that will mean more blog time!

Making a small, simple wet bag

After doing so much research on making a wet bag or two for myself, I decided to dive in.  Unwilling to wait for or pay for shipping, I decided to gamble on PUL from Joann's.  It gets mixed reviews as to its quality, and I am a little skeptical about how well it will hold up, but because I can buy it at half off with coupons and not pay exorbitant shipping prices like I would have to online, I figured, why not?

And thus I began my first wet bag.  Since I am kind of making up the design as I go, I decided to try something medium sized and simple for the first attempt.  I wanted it to be useful, but it doesn't have to have all the bells and whistles I ultimately want just yet.

I also realized that for all my other posts, I don't actually give materials lists before I start explaining.  Maybe I should start?

Materials Needed:
about 1/2 yard of PUL or other waterproof, sewable fabric
1 14" zipper
sewing machine with a standard zipper foot
thread
scissors

For my first step, I admittedly screwed up.  I wanted to make a bag that was roughly 14"x18".  Well, I cut a strip of fabric that was 15" wide out of the 60" wide PUL.  Then, almost without thinking, I cut it in half on the fold line from the bolt.  Leaving me with a roughly 15"x30" piece which folded in half and seamed would give me at best a 14"x14" bag.  Oops.  Well, this is my rough draft, right?  If YOU want to make the correct size bag, cut a long rectangle 15"x38".  Note that it will look just a bit different from my photos, though :-).

Since PUL has two sides, the fabric side and the side with the laminate on it, I decided to keep the soft, fabric side out and leave the laminate side to the inside so it didn't stick to or snag on anything.  You can choose to do whatever you please.  I have another piece of PUL with a pattern on it that has writing, so this wouldn't work for that, but like I said, this is my test run.

Now that we established the right side of the fabric from the wrong, fold over 1" of fabric on one short end of the rectangle with wrong sides together.  Stitch close to the raw edge, about 1/4".

Put the zipper foot on your machine.  If it is not already, close the zipper.  With right sides together and raw edges even, stitch the zipper to the other short end of the fabric.  The zipper pull should be facing toward the right side of the fabric, and you should be sewing along the top half of the zipper.  Center the zipper left and right across the fabric if the ends of the zipper tape hang over too much or don't quite meet the ends of the fabric.  This wont matter too much later, but it will look more symmetrical if you center it a little.  Stitch the zipper tape to the fabric close to the zipper teeth.  (Random Tip for sewing around the zipper pull: If you finish off your stitching when you get close to the zipper pull, open the zipper, and then restart your line of stitching an inch or so back to finish it off, you will not have an awkward bulge where the zipper foot has to go around the bulky pull.  This will lend a cleaner look to your finished product.)  Turn the zipper to the outside so the right side is showing next to the right side of the fabric and the raw edge is folded under.  Press if your fabric can handle the heat of an iron (I didn't chance it on my PUL).  If not, just hold it down during the following steps.

This view the zipper tape is open.  The teeth are toward the bottom of the photo.

Next, with wrong side to right side, lap the folded over short end over the zippered end, making sure that zipper is facing up.  Overlap the edges by 1/4" past the edge of the zipper so the folded over end hides the zipper.  Make sure the raw edges of the fabric (the long sides) are in line with each other. Place a pin just inside the zipper stop on both ends of the zipper. I found it helpful to place a pin on both sides of the zipper stops just to keep the sides from wiggling as I began to stitch.  Stitch from the raw edge of the fabric through all layers to the second pin on both sides (you should stitch PAST the zipper stop).  You should only have about 1" or so of stitching.  This is correct.  Reinforce if you like with another line of stitching over it or 1/4" above.

Your wet bag should now look like a loop.  Turn the loop inside out.  You should now be able to see the wrong side of the fabric and the wrong side of the zipper.  Take the unstitched side of the zipper and pin it to the folded over end of the fabric, keeping the raw edge of the fabric parallel to the edge of the zipper tape, but leaving an even amount of space across between the edges.  This amount of space will vary based on how far you overlapped the folded edge over the zipper on the right side.  Stitch it closed using your zipper foot.

The last step is to sew the side seams.  I debated a lot on how to tackle this part since I want my wet bag to be reasonably leakproof without being too work intensive.  I finally decided to encase the seams, using a french seam.  This is not a standard seam, so if you have not sewn a lot in the past, this may seem weird at first.  Trust me, it will all work out!


Turn the loop right side out again.  Flatten out the loop, matching the raw edges along the sides.  Place the zippered area about 1 1/2" down the "front" of the bag.  With WRONG sides together, stitch a scant 1/4" from the raw edge on both sides.  Keeping this line of stitching as close to the raw edge as possible is critical.  If you sew it too wide, trim it to 1/4" before the next step.

Unzip the bag and turn it inside out.  Carefully turn all the corners and side seams.  Again, press if your fabric can handle it, otherwise, just pin very carefully in the next step.  Pin the fabric along the side seams to the inside of the raw edges, enclosing them on the inside.  This should be roughly 1/4"-3/8" away from the side.  Stitch.  If you are having trouble with the thickness of your fabric being too bulky on the one side, you can use your zipper foot to sew these seams.  Basically, you are creating a pocket to hide that raw edge that we left on the outside.  This is a french seam.  Hooray!  Don't you feel Eurpoean fancy now?  If you have trouble with the PUL sticking to the presser foot or to the feeder foot, try pinning some tissue paper to the seam and sewing through it.  You can just tear it off once the stitching is in.

Turn your bag right side out again.  You are done!

You have successfully made a simple (ish) version of a wet bag.  And guess what?  The design is way better than most of the ones commercially available, so it is less likely to leak.  Well, I hope so at least.  I am testing it out with wet wash clothes.  Fingers crossed.

Bottom Line:
1/2 yard of PUL @ $10/yd with 50% off coupon = $2.50 (since I screwed up I actually will be making 2 from this, but had I followed my original design, I would have used more.)
1- 14" zipper = $2

Time estimate = Approx 2-3 hrs (I took a lot of time on design and did a fair amount of ripping out stitches, so its hard to know exactly.)

Retail cost = $15 on average.  Some small, cheapy drawstring ones are about $7, some are $25.
Total cost to make = $4.50

Savings = approx $10

Not too bad.  And I didn't even make you use a serger for this one!