Last time I was at my local Babies R Us and Target, I was scoping out their changing pad covers. I had bought a new changing pad a couple weeks ago using one of the 20% off coupons (gotta love those!!). BUT, I had yet to get any covers for it. 

I couldn't really find anything that I liked. So, what's a girl to do!!?!? MAKE ONE! 

**This tutorial is for a standard sized changing pad {mine is from Babies R Us} measuring 16"x32".**

Here's what you need:

♥ 48" of fabric - minky, flannel, cotton, terry cloth, chenille, or any combo

♥ 1 yd 3/8" knit elastic and safety pin

♥ fabric marker or chalk

♥ sewing machine, pins, thread, scissors, rotary cutter, ruler, mat, iron, etc.... (the usual stuff)

Here's how to do it:

Cut a rectangle out of your fabric that is 48" long and 32" wide {48"x32"}. I made two versions. One where I used a single piece of fabric, and one where I sewed two pieces of fabric together.

Once you have your rectangle, use your fabric marker to draw an 8" square in each of the four corners of your rectangle. {If you are a rotary cutting pro you could use your cutter for this step... me!??! I use the draw and cut method!}

Repeat this step for all four of your corners. If you are a quilter, you could save your corners and piece together a quilt... or, let your kids cut them up and play with them ... like I did! 

Here is how your finished corners will look.

Take the two sides of your cut corner and fold them right sides together.

Be sure to line your sides up so that the inside of the corner pieces are touching. This will create the pocket for your changing pad corner. 

Pin your fabric together.

Sew a straight stitch {about 1.5" inseam} along where you have pinned. Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end. I find that when I sew minky fabric I need to use lots of pins. Minky can be stretchy. By using a couple more pins than usual it helps to keep the fabric from stretching while sewing.

This creates the actual pocket for your changing pad corners. Repeat for all four corners.

Once done sewing all four corners, take your fabric to your ironing board and press the bottom edge up about 1/2". Then fold it over again 3/4"-1" and pin in place. 

I always double pin on either side of the opening for my casing. This way I know exactly where to start and stop. In this case, I chose one of the corners as the spot for my opening. 

Using a 1/8-1/4" seam allowance, sew your casing closed. This creates a pocket for your elastic to slip into... so be sure -- before you start stitching -- that your elastic will fit between your stitch and the edge of your fabric with a little bit a wiggle room to spare. 

Grab your elastic and a safety pin. Attach your pin to one end of your elastic.

Feed your safety pin through the casing {pocket} that you just completed making. Be sure not to lose the end of your elastic!! 

Once you have fed your safety pin {and the elastic} all the way through, pull out enough elastic for you to be able to comfortable sew together with your machine.

Overlap your elastic ends about an inch and using a zig-zag stitch, sew your two ends together. I stitched mine twice to make sure it really stayed!

Stretch your changing pad cover so that the elastic is evenly spread inside your casing and sew the opening in your casing close. 

Here's how my changing pad had been looking for a couple weeks.... 

...and here is how it looks now! MUCH BETTER! 

Here is the other changing pad cover I made using one piece of flannel fabric.

Make a couple for yourself, or give them away at a baby shower! But, most importantly... HAVE FUN DOING IT!! 

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Want to learn how to make a changing pad cover out of muslin just like the ones by Aden and Anais!? Come check out where to buy your fabric and how to use it to create your own cover for about $5.