Gusseted Wetbag

Here is my awesome gusseted wet bag tutorial. These wet bags work great for diaper pails, especially with the elastic option at the top. They don’t have points at the corners, so no stinky stuff gets stuck and they’ll fill up the diaper pail entirely. Scroll to the bottom of the page for the custom wetbag dimension calculator.

Optional Materials: 1″ wide elastic, zipper or drawstring instead of the FOE, Outer decorative fabric, seam sealing tape, webbing (with or without snaps)

1) First cut out the PUL in this shape. The dimensions for my pail are shown, using a 1/2″ seam allowance. It creates a bag that is 16.5″ L x 9″ W x 25.5″H. Use the calculator below to figure out dimensions for your diaper pail. Make sure your bag is wide enough to go over the rim of the diaper pail!

2) **This step varies- See the options below** Fold it in half with the right sides together. Pin the edges together, not pining outside the seam allowence. Hairclips also work well. Sew the edges together. I would recommend using matching colored thread, as the top of this seam will be visible from outside the diaper pail.

Tip 1: Even though the wetbag would work with the laminate on either the inside or the outside, I would recommend putting the laminate on the inside of the pail. Otherwise the polyester side of the fabric could stain, hold onto smell, or the laminate on the outside could make it tough to slide into the diaper pail. Also, if it always going to be in a diaper pail, you could sew the diaper bag with the seams facing out (wrong sides together), and never flip it the last step. That way the seams are never visiable (since the laminate is the side that will always be showing in a diaper pail. However if you use a seam sealing tape, I would follow the orginal instructions, as the seams get pressed down and are much less visable.

Tip 2: Sewing two layers of PUL can be tricky, as the feed dogs are able to push the lower ‘sticky’ layer through, but the top ‘sticky’ layer gets stuck to the foot. A quick solution is placing a piece of tissue paper between the presser foot and the PUL. If you plan on making more wetbags or diapers, buy a Teflon foot or walking foot.

3) Pull the bottom corners together, forming a box shape. The blue and orange edges shown below should be on top of eachother when done folding. There’s no need to trim or clip any corners. Sew the bottom corners together.
      

4) Cut the elastic to size. Just go wrap it around the diaper pail, and cut it at the amount of stretch you like. Sew the FOE around the edges, using a 3 step zigzag stitch (or any other stretch stitch). 1″ FOE works best, but smaller sizes work as well. Flip the bag inside out, you’re done!

** Options **

Outer Decorative Fabric: (Only use this if you have seam sealing tape. Otherwise it will likely wick.) Cut the fabric to the same size as the PUL. Place the right sides together on the side of the PUL. Continue as before.

Straps: Use one loop of webbing, or two straps of webbing with snaps on them. Place the straps inbetween the two layers of PUL, with the ends towards the outside. Sew them down with the rest of the seam. Tip: Use a lighter to quickly melt and seal the end of polypropylene webbing. Make sure your loop isn’t twisted or your snaps are on the right sides before you sew!

FOE: You can sew this in either step 2 or 4. I prefer to sew it in step 4, because folding the FOE over leaves a more finished appearance than sewing it into the seams. If you add it in at step 2, the seams will be visible from the outside of the diaper pail.

Zipper: This is the best option for travel wetbags. Fold down 1/2″ and pin the zipper in. Sew it along the edge (but not too close to the teeth or the zipper pull will get stuck).

Drawstring: I don’t particularly recommend a drawstring, as they can be strangulation hazards and don’t work well for PUL. But if you insist… Fold in the seam allowance for the sides first. Then fold down the top,

Regular Elastic: 1″ wide works best. You can either add it at step 2 or at step 4. Fold down a 1/2″ hem and sew it to it using a 3-step zig-zag stitch.

Seam sealing tape: Apply this before step 4. Use seam sealing tape to cover all the seams on the inside. The wetbag will work well without the tape, as there are only seams on the side. However, if you frequently dunk diapers or are using it for a travel bag and want no chance of wicking, I’d recommend seam sealing.

So that’s my quick little wet bag tutorial!  Hope you learned something new.

Edit: Unfortunately, the calculator doesn’t work on the new host Hope I can get around that soon!