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!

New Baby!!

So the reason I haven't posted in ages is that our little one arrived!  Julian was born Dec 14 (early! hooray!) and we have been in love ever since.  I will post some of the stuff I am working on soon, but until then, happy crafting!

Cute photo frames

I found another fun use for paint and mod podge.  Since I have so much of the stuff lying around my "workshop" lately, I keep messing with it on new projects.  I have been busy getting ready for a craft fair as of late, and I haven't had time to blog about stuff.  So, here is a small, simple project to kick things off again. :-)  These would make great holiday gifts, btw...

Materials:
Wood Photo Frame - preferably unfinished; check out local dollar stores
Paint(s) - can even be leftover wall paint for an economical craft
Paint brush
Stickers, scrapbooking paper, printed cliparts, rub on designs, or anything else you can think of
Mod Podge
Acrylic Sealer (optional)

1. Remove the backing and glass from the frame.  Set aside in a location it can stay for a while without getting lost or broken.  This project requires lots of dry time which can span a few days.

2. On some cardboard or newspaper, paint the front of the frame, the inside edge (near where the glass goes), and the outside edge, being careful not to smudge it with your fingers or paint it to your surface.  Let it dry for at least an hour, depending on the recommended dry time for your chosen paint.  Add a second and third coat as needed to get a good base coverage.  Don't skimp - you want vibrant colors!

3.  When the front is dry enough to flip the frame over without it sticking to the paper, paint a heavy coat on the back.  You don't really need to do this if you are crunched for time, but it will make your final product look more finished.  You shouldn't need to do additional coats on the back unless you really want it to look fancy from the back.

4.  Flip the frame over and add your decorations to the front.  Get creative and find images from old magazines, greeting cards, stickers (this is a great way to use up old stickers that are no longer sticky), bits of scrapbook paper, and print out cliparts from your printer.  I discovered when making baby blocks that inkjet printed paper does pretty well with mod podge - it doesn't run as much as people say.  I think the results are darn near perfect.  If decorations have their own adhesive, stick them right to the frame, otherwise use a thin layer of mod podge to glue them down.

The one on the left is a recycled greeting card!  Yay for eco friendly and FREE!  And cute, of course.

5.  Apply a generous coat (frame should look somewhat milky) of mod podge over the front and outside and inside edges of the frame.  Don't add too much to the edges or it will stick to the paper, but you want to wrap the layer of mod podge around more than the front panel alone so it seals completely and doesn't leave a visible line where you stopped applying it.  Set the frame somewhere to dry.

6. After about an hour or when the mod podge is no longer tacky, apply a second coat.  I recommend a third, but it is not imperative if you are on a time crunch.  Be careful not to leave deep brush strokes - the mod podge will dry clear, but you can still see some brush strokes in the final product, and careful application will help minimize this.

7.  You can also add an optional layer or 2 of acrylic sealer, but even I admittedly was in too much of a hurry to do it this time.  I will for next time, though!

Once the last layer of sealer or mod podge dries, you are done!  Pop a photo in, replace the glass and backing, and bask in your homemade beauty!

Bottom Line:

Frames: as little as $1 at the dollar tree, but Walmart has affordable ones for a bit more ($3-$5)

Paint: I used leftovers from other projects, but a small bottle averages $2

Mod podge: again, leftovers for me, but cost of a bottle is about $6
Decorations: Use what you have!  paint a design if nothing else!
Total cost = between $1-$13

Time = approx half an hour total work time, not including dry time; give yourself a full day to complete this if you plan to work straight through

Retail = starting at $8 for smaller ones, easily up to as much as $30!

Savings = $7-$17  Hooray!