Shannon's Elephant Diaper Stacker

I'm excited to share that there is a new Sew Beautiful baby on the way! I am 29 weeks pregnant with our first baby - a little girl. I have been having a blast planning her nursery and decided on a gray/yellow theme, with little elephants all over. Since my husband and I plan on having more children in the future, we are trying to keep things somewhat neutral so that if we end up with a little boy, reusing our nursery won't be an issue. I have been bargain shopping for the big things and sewing what I can to piece together a room I love, so picking out fabric and making my own accent pieces has been lots of fun for me.

One of my favorite projects so far has been this diaper stacker; I just love how it turned out and I was thrilled that we had a pattern on hand here at work I could use: the "Fancy Trims Diaper Stacker" from our book, Precious Baby Daygowns, Round Yoke Collection. I picked this pattern above many others I had seen because of its simple lines; I knew it would be easy to adapt to our nursery's style. (Below is a picture of the original diaper stacker from the book.)

And now for the giveaway! Since I had so much fun with this project, I want to give away a copy of the Precious Baby Daygowns, Round Yoke Collection book so you can make your own! I will throw in a package of Floriani Heat N Sta Fusible Fleece and a can of Sulky KK2000 as well, since I found both of these products to be extremely helpful when stitching this up. To enter, just leave a comment on this post -- and don't forget to include your email address so that I can contact the winner! Entries will remain open until this Wednesday, February 11, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. CST. Sorry, but the giveaway has ended!

The biggest changes I made are as follows:

• The pattern called for 5 different fabrics, but I used only 2.
• I did not use any decorative trims.
  
• I did not piece the front top yoke piece as in the original; rather, I used one solid piece for both the front and back. I also omitted the ribbon rose and created my own elephant appliqué instead. (Let me know if any of you would be interested in having the elephant appliqué template and I will create one to share with you.)
  
• I added lining fabric to the front, side and back panels, whereas the original instructions did not call for lining. (I snuck a peek at the actual original diaper stacker, and the fabrics used were just a bit thicker and more opaque than mine. I wanted the same or more stability for my version, so I just cut lining pieces to match the front, side and back panels and adhered them together with Sulky KK2000 during construction. The result was exactly what I wanted - nice firm seams and non-transparent panels!)
• I did not use any water-soluble or invisible thread as called for in the instructions. Instead, I hand-whipped the back of every binding strip with my regular sewing thread.
  
• I used a piece of cardboard covered with fabric for inside bottom instead of plastic canvas.
• I made a mistake when cutting my front pocket pieces to size, so they are about one inch shorter than the instructions and the original call for - whoops! But the result is extremely similar and the pockets are still plenty large.
  

So with those adaptations in mind, here is an adjusted supplies list if you'd like to make a diaper stacker similar to mine:

• 1-1/2 yard Fabric A (yellow floral print; I used a Robert Kaufman print)
• 1 yard Fabric B (gray elephant print; I used a Japanese import fabric)
• 1 yard lining fabric (I used white drapery lining fabric I had in my stash)
• Fusible fleece (two 16" x 10" pieces)
• Steam a Seam 2 (about 6" x 6")
• Cardboard (13" x 9")
• Sulky KK2000
• Fabric glue
  
• One child's padded hanger
• Basic sewing supplies

And here are adjusted cutting instructions:

From Fabric A, cut the following:

• Two front panels, 7"W x 21"L
• One back panel, 14"W x 21"L
• Two side panels, 10"W x 21"L
• One bottom block, 14"W x 10"L
• One scrap piece of fabric for elephant appliqué, about 6" square
  
• One scrap piece to cover cardboard piece, at least 14"W x 11"L
  

From Fabric B, cut the following:

• Two yoke blocks, 16"W x 10"L
• Two pockets, 7"W x 9"L
• Two center front bindings, 1-3/4"W x 21"L
• Two bias strips for pockets, 1-3/4"W x 7"
• Two bias strips for hanger opening, 1-1/2"W x 5"L
  

From Fusible Fleece, cut the following:

• Two yoke blocks, 16"W x 10"L

From Lining Fabric, cut the following:

• Two front panels, 7"W x 21"L
• One back panel, 14"W x 21"L
• Two side panels, 10"W x 21"L

CONSTRUCTION NOTES:

1. Because you will be using one piece of fabric for the front yoke rather than piecing the yoke together, you will omit steps 1-3 under the very first set of construction directions for the Yoke. Instead, you will first create the elephant appliqué following Steam a Seam 2 instructions. Iron the appliqué onto the center of your front yoke piece and stitch around the raw edges with a small zigzag. (I also stitched an ear shape with the same small zigzag.) Then, fuse the front yoke piece onto a piece of fusible fleece and continue on to step 4, quilting over the top of your appliqué. NOTE: You could also appliqué piece after quilting for a different look.
2. Instead of stitching-in-the-ditch or using invisible thread, hand-whipstitch the back of all binding pieces.
3. Before sewing the major panel pieces together, adhere the front, side and back panel pieces to their matching lining pieces with Sulky KK2000 and treat each as one piece.
4. Instead of inserting plastic canvas into base as in step 20, trim cardboard base to size if needed and cover with fabric and secure on back with fabric glue (I used Fabri-Tac glue). Let dry and insert into bottom of diaper stacker.
5. Omit the "Yoke Embellishment" section. Insert padded hanger to yoke and hang for use!

Again, I am giving away a copy of the Precious Baby Daygowns, Round Yoke Collection book, where you can find this patter, as well as a package of Floriani Heat N Sta Fusible Fleece and a can of Sulky KK2000 so that you can create your own sweet diaper stacker. TO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY, just leave a comment on this post -- and don't forget to include your email address so that I can contact the winner! Entries will remain open until this Wednesday, February 11, 2011 at 2:00 p.m. CST. Sorry, but the giveaway has ended!