little bib tutorial.

bibs are just about my favorite baby gift on the planet. they’re fantastically cute and useful to boot, plus they can be stitched up in under an hour (or two, if you’re opting to add an embroidered felt patch).



to make this little bib, you’ll need:

15”w x13”h piece of fabric (for the front)

15”w x4.5”h piece of coordinating fabric (for the bottom strip)

16”w x18”h piece of backing fabric (flannel, minky, chenille, etc)

small piece of hook and loop tape (ie velcro), about 1x2"

optional: small rectangle of cream wool felt, embroidery floss, small rectangle of iron-on fusible web (such as heat'n bond lite), sewing needle, sharpie


[directions]

1. first off, you’ll need to draft a pattern for your bib. here’s a rough template of the pattern i’ve been using lately; it gives the bib a sweet retro bell-shape, but feel free to shape yours in a way that suits your fancy.




2. next, we’ll make the fabric panel for the front of the bib by joining the main piece of fabric to the coordinating bottom strip.



place these pieces right sides together, lining up the bottom edge of the main piece with the top edge of the coordinating piece. sew together.




3. open and press flat with an iron. topstitch across about an eighth of an inch from the seam.




4. fold your sewn piece in half lengthwise. pin pattern to fabric (taking care to line up the fold line) and cut out the front panel of the bib.




unpin and press flat.


5. (optional) if you wish to personalize the bib, use a sharpie to write the name on the fusible side of your fusible web piece. iron to adhere the web to the back of your wool felt. remove the wax paper from the back of the fused felt/web (your writing will now be reversed on the back) and hand stitch with embroidery floss.






5b. (double optional) this is a good time to catch a bit of a movie. i watched the second half of inception while stitching this little guy, and i was so busy counting how many dream levels we were in that it felt like the patch was finished in no time at all.


5c. (optional continued) trim the patch into a neat rectangle. iron to fuse the patch to the front of the bib, and machine stitch a couple times around to secure it in place.






6. bust out your chenille, or flannel, or whatever it is you’re using for the backing.

now here we reach a fork in the road. if you’re feeling meticulous, please proceed to step 7. (a choose-your-own-adventure tutorial! what fun!) if you’re the cheater sort, go to step 8. (in case you need incentive to come on over to the dark side, the cheater version has accompanying photos. those of you headed for step 7 get to be meticulous all on your own, sorry.)


7. option non-cheater: fold backing fabric in half lengthwise, pin pattern to fabric, and cut out the back panel. then align the front and back panels, right sides together, and pin in place. stitch together along the edges, leaving a 3 inch gap on one of the sides.


8. option cheater-pants: place the front panel on the backing fabric, right sides together, and pin in place.




stitch together along the outside edge, leaving a 3 inch gap on one of the sides.




cut out the backing, following the edges of the front panel.




9. if you are using chenille as your backing, step nine is where you brush off the fuzzies from your jeans. you may also want to vacuum your floor, your hair, and the walls, as well as mutter under your breath about people who write tutorials calling for chenille.




10. trim the bulk from your corners, and clip the seam allowances along any curves.


11. turn right side out, pulling the fabric through the gap. use a knitting needle or similar object to coax out your corners. press flat with an iron.


12. topstitch around the very edge of the bib, using a smaller seam allowance than you did in step 7 or 8. be sure to stitch your gap closed during this step.




13. add your hook and loop tape to the neck of the bib, sewing the loop to the front of the bib and the hook to the back of the bib on opposite sides:




and voila, you are finished.

back of the bib:




and the front:




drop me a note if you need more 'splainin, and please send me a link if you end up making one--i'd love to see!