DIY weekend / diaper bag (rive droite Paris inspiration)

When you’re saying “i REALLY need to make my hospital bag” and that you littoral want to MAKE your own hospital bag…! I was dreaming at theses pages on smallable, but when I looked closer (and at my budget) I realized I could make it myself!

The bags in the photos are from Rose in April, Milinane, Camcam, Rive droite Paris, Liewood and Gabrielle Paris all available from smallable

I had been looking at the Georges bag pattern (in french) and I was going on weekends with an overflowing tote bag… it was time!

I modified it a little bit so it would look more like the bags I wanted.

Material

Maybe you saw on Instagram, I made this bag with a thrifted tablecloth for the exterior and a curtain for the interior!

I got really lucky with this tablecloth I have to say it was EXACTLY what I was coking for – thick coton, ideal color and a bit worn… perfection.

Price : Tablecloth 7.99 $ + curtain .99 $, 20$ of thread, ribbon, zip etc + 3$ pattern

Total : around 40 $

Time : 2-3 hours

Pattern : Sac Georges

Difficulty : Advanced beginner – The pattern (In french) is SUPER clear and easy to follow.

What I modified

1. Added a tag

I GOT TAGS MADE!! I wanted that little “boutique” touch that comes from the exposed tag… I got them from inked paper on etsy and I LOVE them.

2. Only one fabric on the outside

I didn’t really want to have the two fabric on the outside of the bag. So I simply cut the outside just like the inside, in one piece, using the measurements from the pattern.

3. Pockets

As you can see int he picture, I also tweaked the pockets. I wanted two identical sides with small external pockets (no zippers).

So I made pockets 16 cm x 23 cm wide to the sides would be covered up by the straps and the bottom visible. No zip so I added 1 cm seam allowance, sewed all around, left an opening and flipped my pocket.

For the insides I followed the pattern instrcutions.

4. Straps

I wanted the straps to go all the way down to the bottom.

Si i made each strap 51 cm long and made them go all the way down. Since the bottom of the bag is sewn, the end up hidden inside and should be perfectly aligned up (and if not it doesn’t really matter because it’s on the bottom!)

You could also make the straps out of the bag fabric to really get that “Rive droite” look (but 3 weeks from giving birth I went with simple contrasting straps!)

5. Side attachement

I simply used a piece leftover from the straps and used tortoise shell looking fixtures from my local fabric shop.

For the rest I really just followed the pattern step by step!

The bag is ready, just waiting for baby now!!