Every Spring seems to bring a new wave of babies into the lives of my friends, family and coworkers. It’s peculiar, but also a ton of fun. How can you not be smitten by a new bundle of joy; not to mention seeing the awe and bewilderment in the faces of the new mommies and daddies. I can’t explain why, but when someone I love enters into this new stage in their life, I can’t help but swell with pride and joy for them.
Perhaps this is why I love to sew and make baby stuff. Sure, my bibs look dang cute on their kids, but it is my way of giving a piece of my heart to this new child and these new parents as they all grow together as a family. I hand-pick fabrics that I know will speak to these Moms and the future diva/rockstar/football player/ballerina. It’s personal. And that’s why I’m reposting one of my favorite posts: Sweet Baby Bibs. Because I want to encourage you, too, to make something a little more personal. It’s not hard to do and it comes from the heart.
And I’m serious… these babies look so F*ing cute in handmade bibs. I can’t even get over it.
Here are some of my most recent bibs: given to a dear friend and colleague of mine for her first baby, Mia. Keri is one stylish Momma and I can’t wait for this baby to rock these bibs on her hip!
Look for fabric anywhere – fat quarters are perfect – you get exactly 2 bibs out of them!
Yes, that’s gold trim you see there. Do it.
Sweet Baby Bibs:
What you will need:
- Patterned fabric (preferably cotton – washes and wears better)
- Terry cloth by-the-yard (can get expensive- use a coupon or get on sale)
- Biased tape (I bought mine, but you can make your own)
- The Usual Suspects: Sewing machine, scissors, thread, etc.
1. Use a bib pattern to cut out the shape of a bib on your fabric using rotary cutters (if you don’t have rotary cutters, trace the pattern and cut with scissors). You can download a bib pattern easily from Pinterest or trace an old bib or sketch your own. To sketch your own, the easiest way is the fold a piece of paper in half the long way and drawn half a bib along the fold (this way both sides will be symmetrical) . Here, I used my mock-up to trace.
2. Because I’m making more than one bib, I doubled up my fabric and cut two bibs at once. I then did the same for my terry cloth. I bought one yard of terry cloth and cut it into squares to maximize the amount of bibs I could get out of it (I think I got about 12!) (my bibs are 9 inches wide by 13 inches long)
Beware: terry cloth makes a mess – just a warning. It will get annoying. Have a lint roller ready for when your project is done.
3. Topstitch your terry cloth bib and your fabric bib together.
Note: I traced the bib as one piece with a hole for the neck first. Then once I sewed all the edges I cut the middle of the top to separate. It made keeping track of my lines and pieces much easier as I topstitched.
4. Pin your bias tape and sew carefully around the entire edge of the bib.
5. Add velcro or snaps to the tabs.
6. Press and voila!
Now go forth and make amazing, super-baby worthy bibs. And send me pictures – because I love seeing your creations!
Cheers and Happy Baby Season!
Bridget, XOXO
