Baby Bibs- Part 2 (Tutorial)

Let’s get started making these fun bibs…

Step 1.

Round up a bunch of T-Shirts. I am sure you or your husband or someone that you know has a bunch just lying around. If that is not the case then I suggest going to Old Navy. They have a great clearance section. Plus every once in a while they have $3 T-shirt Saturdays. I know because my husband has dragged me to a few. I also suggests going to Good Will or whatever Thrift store that you have in your area(if you don’t mind used). T-shirts are always $2 at my Good Will, plus on Saturday’s everything is 50% OFF- so $1 T-shirts every Saturday. Can't beat that price.

 

Step 2.

Trace your design. Now I just traced a bib that I already owned and that I knew fit my child well. I would suggest doing that too then you can make sure you have a bib that fits your baby. My guy is 9 months and on the bigger side. He is in the 97% for almost everything. My size bib might not be the best for your child. I am willing to upload my pattern if you are interested. The dimensions for my bibs are 11 1/2 inches long, 7 1/2 inches from the neck opening. 8 1/2 inches wide.

Tip! I would fold your stencil in half to make sure that it is completely symmetrical.

I recommend tracing with chalk. It is not permanent if you mess up. Also since you are cutting out around a design on a T-Shirt, you may want the design centered. This way you know whether the design is centered before you cut! I also recommend leaving the chalk outline it will come in handy later when you are sewing.

You can also cut the bib into any shape that you would like. As you saw before, my Gamer bib is square. I did that so I could incorporate more of the design and I love it! So you may have to work around you design if you can’t get it to fit exactly inside the perimeters of your stencil.

Step 3.

Cut out your bib. I suggest cutting out around the chalk line instead of cutting directly on the line. Then you will have a an extra edge while sewing. I cut two pieces of fabric. One with the design for the front. Then one without the design for the back of the bib.

Step 4.

Cut out your oilcloth. This is what I put in the middle of the bib. It keeps the drool from soaking through so baby stays nice and dry. I got this on clearance at Joann's, plus it was at the end of the bolt so I got an additional 50% off since it wasn’t exactly a yard. Score!

Step 5.

Pin together. You will want to put the oilcloth on the bottom. The T-Shirt design on the the middle. The blank T-Shirt (what you are using for the back of the bib) on top.

 

Step 6.

Sew. Sew all the way around except make sure to leave a little opening at the bottom so you can turn your bib right-side out. 

 

Tip! This is knit you are working with. Knit can be my worst enemy at times. It goes this way and that way and stretches. You have to be careful. That is why I suggested keeping the chalk outline on your bib. If you sew directly on the chalk outline you will get better results. First, it helps keep the bib symmetrical. Second, since this is knit   and it tends to move around during sewing, the chalk outline helps show where you should be versus where you actually are. I started off not using the chalk outline and look what happened. The knit was slipping all over the oilcloth even while pinned  down. This was my end result…

Whoops! It was late at night. I obviously wasn’t paying much attention.

Step 7.

Cut off any extra edges. You don’t want to leave too much or it will make the bib bulky.

Step 8.

Turn bib right-side out and Iron.   

Step 9.

Pin the bottom opening together and sew shut. Now depending on how obvious the stitch is you can just sew the opening closed or you can top stitch the edge of the entire bib. Also, if you sew a top stitch around the edge of the entire bib, it will lay more flat. I forgot a velcro picture but just place one piece of velcro on the top left front side of bib. Then place the other half of your velcro closure to the top right back side of bib.

Step 10.

Add velcro and Wear!

I forgot a velcro picture but just place one piece of velcro on the top left front side of bib. Then place the other half of your velcro closure to the top right back side of bib. Velcro usually comes with a sticky backing, but I usually sew the velcro on for extra stability.

 

Any questions? Feel free to comment if you do.

Now what do you do with the rest of the T-Shirt that you haven’t used yet? Stay tuned! I’ll let you know what I did, tomorrow.