auntie loren: changing mat tote...

paul and kimberly's baby shower is at the beginning of next month, so i got off my ass and got their prezzie ready. i made a changing mat tote from a vintage pattern my mom gave me. i modified the pattern somewhat, but the basic idea is totally the same.

the one i made is the stipey thing in the middle there. basically, it's a changing pad and those flop out things are big pockets that fold inside to hold things in when you carry it. there's supposed to be a removable rubber mat that's held in with snaps, but i just made it a permanent pad using extra thick batting. the whole thing is washable, so if there's accidents (and it's a baby, c'mon now...) you can just stuff it in the washer, no problem.

they're having a boy and i didn't want to go with stupid blue, so i chose a nice thicker sea green cotton for the outside and a super cute brown with multi-colored hearts fuzzy flannel for the lining and the pockets. it's lined with brown bias tape which matches the inside fabric. and i really like green and brown together, so i hope they do too!

the pattern had a cute bear to put on the front of the tote, so i rolled with it. you were supposed to sew it nicely on there with lots of folding and ironing, but i went with my standard of just sewing the sucker down with a zig-zag stitch. i think it looks better.

mmmm...my icy juice looks pretty good sitting there.

so here's what it looks like all folded out. i think the flap pockets came out pretty good. the whole pattern is just rectangles, so it was super easy to put together. and there are windows right above my sewing table (which is to the left of the picture) so it's casting a nice dark shadow from the light coming in. sorry...it's a funny picture...