Tuesday, March 31, 2009

Craft of the day: Basic bib tutorial

Ok, so I whipped up this simple bib in less than 30 min. Seriously. A great project for beginners. This would make a great addition to a baby gift!

So, I used soft fleece for the backing and Amy Butler's Lotus Tree Peony in Ivory fabric.

1. You first want to start out by tracing a bib you have laying around. Draw on the wrong side of the fabric. The great thing about working with fleece and cotton is that the fleece sticks to the cotton, so once you've cut out the cotton, simply lay it on top of the fleece as your pattern.

2. You can either pin (not really necessary with fleece and cotton) the right sides together, so that the wrong sides are facing out, or lay them together.

3. Begin sewing a 1/4 inch inseam at the bottom of the bib at the halfway mark (I did not which only complicated things, but you can start wherever you want).



4. Make sure you leave a space about 4 inches long to enable you to turn the bib inside out.

***tip- cut off any extra fabric outside of the seam, then cut the fabric around the curve.

5. Turn the bib right side out.



***tip- use a boning knife to ensure sharp, clean edges

6. Pin in the opening so that the edge is flush with the rest of the bib.



7. Top stitch as close to the edge as possible to seal the space. Top stitch around the entire bib (outside and around the neck).



8. To close the bib you can use a button, velcro, or a snap. Since we're going with the theme of easy...I used velcro. I like the adhesive velcro so that I can position the velcro to make sure it works and then I don't have to pin it either.



9. Sew on velcro. You can use a zig-zag stitch (the bane of my existence these days) or a straight stitch. Viola.



Oh and I made the velcro long so that it would be adjustable.

If you use this guide please link back to this post. I would love to see any of the bibs you make!

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6 comments:

Lia Dominique Andress said...

You are out of control with all these projects!!!! Lol. They have been beautiful. I def need to get my sewing machine fixed! Please don't stop :0

Beyond Blessed in GA said...

Its beautiful!! I made several just like that when DD was 3 months (she was a spitter) and they STILL fit her (she's almost 2) and are still a favorite! Matilda will surely get lots of use out of them!!

Beautiful work!

Beyond Blessed in GA said...

BTW, if you like snaps, you can buy a snap press inexpensively at walmart or joannes for the back closure. They will hold up longer than the velcro, and dont attack the rest of your laundry!

Lesley said...

I have been wanting a snap press! Yes the velcro can wreak havoc! Thanks angela!

Lesley said...

Lia,

Yes I think I have a problem!

Claire Kiefer said...

So cute! Post a pic of Matilda in it please!