Quick and Simple Baby Bibs

A couple of weeks ago, this girl started to drool.  At first it was just a little here and there, but eventually it became enough that her clothes were getting pretty wet.  Then, last week she had a couple of really cranky days.  She was constantly gnawing on her hands and had a slight temperature of 99.3 when I checked.  The drool situation got worse too.

Could she be teething already?  Bubba started the drooling about the same age, but he drooled like a machine for months before any teeth came in.  I checked her mouth and didn't see or feel anything.  Either way, the drooling needed to be addressed.

Did I mention she also learned how to blow raspberries this week with all that drool?

Time for mama to make some bibs.

I sketched out a basic bib shape.  I used one we already had to be sure the neck was going to be the right size.  I didn't want it to be so big that it covered her cute outfits.  I scanned the pattern and put it on Scribd so you can make one (or a dozen) for yourself if you like!  All you need is a piece of regular cotton, a piece of cotton flannel, and some Velcro.

Print and cut out the pattern, pin it to some cotton quilting fabric that is folded in half, and cut it out.  I repeated the process with a piece of flannel too, so I ended up with two pieces.

Next, I pinned the right sides together.

Then I sewed all the way around 1/4 inch from the edge, going slowly on the curves and leaving a two inch opening on one side.  I made sure to backstitch at the beginning and end too.

Next I clipped my curves so it would lie flat when I turned it inside out...

Then turned it inside out and pressed it flat.

I then topstiched around the edges.  This closed the opening where I turned the bib and also makes it look more finished.  I just lined up the edge of the fabric with the edge of my presser foot and put my needle to the far right position.  I did NOT backstitch at the beginning and end here.

Instead, I pulled my thread to one side and secured it with a square knot.  After you snip off the extra thread you can barely tell it's there!

Finally, I cut a one inch length of 5/8" Velcro and sewed it to the top.  Piece of cake!  These are done so fast and with so little fabric.  I spent $25 on fabric and Velcro yesterday.  I ended up making 11 bibs in the past 24 hours, so that's roughly $2 per bib, AND I have a ton of fabric left over.  Seriously, I could make another 20 bibs I think.  Whoops.

So much cuter than anything I can buy!  If I had been feeling fancier, I could have embroidered something on there or put some shape using Steam A Seam, but I'm lazy.  Bonus though - this one coordinates with the baby leg warmers I made her last week from a pair of socks!  She likes to sit and admire them. I found the tutorial here, via Pinterest.  So easy, and they come out really cute too.

When you consider that baby leg warmers can run up to $12 a pair, how can you resist making your own?