DIY Wipeable Changing Pad Cover

When I was pregnant with our first child, I registered for a wipeable changing pad cover because it was the only one Target had that matched my décor. I soon became a HUGE fan. Our first child poop-sploded at least once a week and frequently peed during diaper changes. I think we’d have had to change the cover every other day if not for the ability to wipe it down after each disgusting changing adventure.

Apparently, in the last couple of years, people have decided that terry cloth changing pads are superior and wipeable changing pads have been very hard to come by. I couldn’t let this get in my way- I needed a set of wipeable changing pads for baby #2, so I set out to make them myself. The first difficulty was finding wipeable fabric. Luckily, a quick search led me to PUL (Polyurethane Laminate) fabric. Unfortunately, none of my local craft/fabric stores carried PUL in any colors that would have worked for my décor so I had to play the dreaded waiting game after ordering it online. After the PUL arrived, I began the process of figuring out how to make a changing pad cover that could be easily cleaned. Here’s how I did it.

Supplies:

• 1/2 yard PUL fabric
• 3/4 yard coordinating fabric
• 1 yard 3/4″ elastic
• Walking foot
• Needle, thread, sewing machine, etc.

DIY Wipeable Changing Pad Cover:

1. First, you need to measure your changing pad. The dimensions of the base of my changing pad are 31” by 15” and the center portion that I wanted covered in PUL is 12” wide and I wanted the PUL to run the whole length of the pad and fold under a bit. The cut of PUL I received was much wider than the coordinating fabric for the sides. For this reason, I decided to construct a frame of coordinating fabric around the PUL. You’ll need the following cuts of fabric:
   – 38″ x 13″ PUL
   – (2) 38″ x 10″ coordinating fabric
   – (2) 31″ x 10″ coordinating fabric

2. Once you have your fabric cut, it’s time to start sewing! Pin or clip one of your 38” x 14” coordinating fabric pieces right sides together with the PUL. The shiny side of the PUL is the “right” side. I used these clips as I found the PUL difficult to pin through. Sew along the 38” side. You’ll definitely want to use your walking foot when dealing with PUL. It has a bit more stretch to it than regular quilting cotton and the walking foot will help keep things lined up properly. I’ve had success with the Singer Walking Foot.

3. Repeat Step 2 with the remaining 38” x 14” coordinating fabric piece. You should end up with your PUL fabric sandwiched between the coordinating fabrics.

4. Take one of your 31” x 4” strips of coordinating fabric, pin it right sides together along one of the sides of your “PUL Sandwich”. This is the bottom of our PUL frame.

5. Repeat Step 4 with the remaining 31” x 4” strip on the opposite end of the cover. Adding these strips to complete the PUL frame serves a couple of purposes. First, the coordinating fabric I purchased (and most regular fabrics) was not long enough to encompass the changing pad cover. Second, by adding the coordinating fabric to the edges, we do not have to concern ourselves with hemming and feeding elastic through PUL.

6. Now that we have our PUL framed and all the pieces sewn together, it’s time to fit the cover to the changing pad. Cut a 6.5” x 6.5” square out of each of the corners of the cover. (I know, my cuts are less than 6.5”, but it resulted in a cover that was too big, so I had to re-cut them later- learn from my mistakes and cut a 6.5” square the first time.)

7. For each corner, place the edges of the square right sides together, pin in place and sew together. I finished each off with a zig zag stitch just to help with fraying in the wash (I’m expecting these to see the washer frequently).

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8. After each of the corners has been sewn, it’s time to finish up the bottom raw edge. There are several ways to do this, but my preference is to fold the raw edge up ¼ inch and iron it in place. I then fold up the edge another ½ inch and iron in place. I’m a huge fan of ironing my hems in place. It removes the need for pins and gives a very clean edge. Sew as close as possible to the top of your hem leaving a 1-2” gap.

9. With all but an inch or so of the hem sewn into place, it’s time to feed the elastic through. Using a safety pin, feed your elastic through the ½ hem of your changing pad cover. Be careful not to lose your tail in the hem.

10. Once you’ve fed your elastic all the way through the hem, stitch the two ends of the elastic together using a zig zag stitch. Then, stitch the hole shut.

Congratulations! You just made your very own wipeable changing pad cover! Pat yourself on the back and then start making another, because let’s face it- you can never have too many changing pad covers!