How to make changing pad covers!

We received a hand-me down changing pad which is excellent, but had some rips in it, and it's plastic-y with this embossed pattern that seems like it would be both uncomfortable and hard to clean since things might get into the crevices (and by "things", I clearly mean, "urine or feces") . Just so that I'm clear what we're talking about it looks very much like this:
(Aside to Lisa: To decode this baby item, it's a padded surface for plunking your baby down on while you are changing their diapers, since a dresser itself is a bit hard and also challenging to clean fecal matter or urine off of, especially if one is using a regular piece of furniture that one is attached to, and not obtaining a separate piece of baby furniture for this purpose. The contour is supposed to help the baby not roll off the table onto the floor. The strap is to anchor the baby on the changing pad, which I think is a bit overkill.)

I had initially thought it would be worth it to buy covers at the store, but then Fred Meyer was out and Target only stocked one in sage (clashes with our chartreuse bedding) and one in velour with an ugly blue-and-white pattern. (Seriously, even if I didn't hate the consistency of velour, what's up with that?) I then scoped out the online sites, but Target had ridiculous shipping charges since their changing pad covers didn't qualify for free shipping, and then when I looked further I noted that none of the covers I could find were actually contoured like the changing pads themselves. They fake it by using stretchy fabrics, but it's still just like putting a fitted sheet over the changing pad. The longer I thought about this, the less acceptable I found this kind of denial of topography, so I threw a fit and decided to make my own.

I found some instructions on a message board, and adapted them a bit.

I should point out that I haven't used a sewing machine since I was president of the quilting club in middle school (no joke!) but I was able to make these without too much trouble. Check out if there's a sewing machine available for use at a local fabric store or a crafty friend's house (I did a combination of both).

Step 0 (optional): sever the weird hip restraint belt that the changing pad came with, and the straps for securing by screwing into the dresser. The latter was a no-go because we're using a really nice dresser from my family that we didn't want to screw holes in, the latter seems superfluous given that we really will be keeping a hand on baby at all times, and not really functional without screwing the pad into the dresser anyway.

Step 1: Buy stuff.
- Fabric. Exactly how much you need depends on the size of the changing pad, but I think a bit over a yard should do it. (For my changing pad I needed a 32" by 32" square, and then two side pieces that were about 16" by 7".)
- Some thin elastic (1/4 inch or 3/8 inch wide, around 2 yards long).

Step 2: Gather stuff you probably already have.
You'll also need pins (kind that doesn't melt if you iron it helps), an iron, a measuring tape, sharp fabric-suitable scissors, and thread. You will also need a biggish piece of paper (16" long or so) or just tape two pieces of scrap paper together. You'll use the big piece of paper to trace the weird wonky shape that the changing pad makes when viewed on end, because this curve is critical to making the cover also contoured, to actually fit the shape of your changing pad.

Step 3: Follow my handy tutorial for making your own pattern based on the size of your contoured changing pad (they aren't actually standard but vary a bit!). Note that the steps are pretty much identical to the description in the discussion board, except one of their dimensions was off and also I found it hard to envision while reading, perhaps because I'm a sewing novice and a very visual learner.

The result is a much more attractive changing pad than the initial, uncovered option held together by clear packing tape. I made four, so it's also quite easy to clean up in the event of messes. I was able to purchase fabric to match our bedding at Ikea, so it's possible to get all matchy-match with this. Some people use water-resistant fabric, and stretchy terry is pretty standard, but I liked the matchiness, so I went with the material I had on hand. If we find we need more absorbancy than thin woven cotten has to offer, we'll just throw down a kitchen towel or an old-fashioned cloth diaper before we put down the cover.

If someone wanted to keep the restraining straps on, one could either cut holes in the slipcover or just shove the sheet over. We really cut off the restraining straps since our pad was not anchored to the table with screws, so we'll need to have a hand on the baby at all times while diaper changing anyway.