Shirt Bibs
September 19, 2010
Remember when I made the Shirt Skirts I said keep the rest of the shirt for 2 other projects? Well, this is one of them!
I knew Chloe would start solids soon and none of the bibs we have are big enough to properly cover her. Wanting to be as resourceful as possible, I decided to use the remaining neck part of the shirt to make huge baby-covering bibs!
I was excited to try my large, absorbent bib on my sweet new-to-food Chloe. I think it’s safe to say, it was a success!!
She sucks her thumb between bites, so her hands get plenty dirty. The bib was even long enough to cover her dress from her messy hands!
I liked the outcome so much I made more!
Some had an extra layer of flannel on the back for absorbability, some didn’t.
The elastic neck allows for further clothes-saving coverage.
Now they’re stacked up in the kitchen waiting for the next meal time!
And I was thrilled to discover they’re even big enough to be effective against toddler mess!
The process was easy! Each bib took me less than 30 minutes to make.
Lay out top part of the shirt flat.
Cut approximately 2″ from each side of the neck hole. I used no rulers, everything is eyeballed and estimated. Keep the sleeves!
Open the shirt and cut a few inches below the neck on the back. Or leave the full length if you’d like!
Lay on top of flannel (or fleece or cotton if you prefer) and cut around the edge of the bib.
Now you’ve got a front and a back the same size.
Flip them over so the flannel is on top.
Press down so you can see/feel the neck line of the shirt.
Using a pen, trace around the outer sewn edge of the neck opening.
Cut out the middle part. If you want to be extra resourceful, use this for the applique on the front.
I chose a different flannel print for my applique.
Sew the flannel to the shirt around the neck hole, using the existing edge for a guide.
Then stitch around the outer edge of the bib to secure the front and back to each other.
Then find the existing seam in the ribbed neck. Use your seam ripper to open it up.
Thread elastic through the neck using it as a casing. I used 12.5″ of .5″ elastic.
Stitch the ends of the elastic together and pull into the neck. If you’re particular, hand stitch the opening closed. I’m too lazy for that, though!
Then find a cute little model, and start feeding!
Posted in Uncategorized
September 20th, 2010 at 8:38 PM
CLEVER!!!! My mom made some similar to this so they couldn’t be yanked off… but DUH – love the tshirt idea!!
September 20th, 2010 at 9:56 PM
Those came out so cute. Chloe looks adorable in them too. Give the girls kisses for me!
September 21st, 2010 at 2:45 PM
OMG those are too cute!!
September 22nd, 2010 at 5:55 PM
What a precious model you found for your bibs!! Love ‘em.
September 22nd, 2010 at 10:39 PM
I LOVE how these turned out! I’ve been working on a way to make these exact bibs! My favorite bibs are the ones that go over the head. they stay on and catch the most food! I tried cutting out the tee and then adding iron on vinyl to the front to make it easy to wipe clean, but it didn’t work because, duh, vinyl doesn’t stretch! Love the idea of backing it with flannel! Thanks for the easy tute! Now I can crank out a few dozen of these!
April 22nd, 2011 at 7:17 PM
Thanks for an idea, you sparked at thought from a angle I hadn’t given thoguht to yet. Now lets see if I can do something with it.
May 21st, 2011 at 8:17 PM
Beneficial info and excellent design you got here! I want to thank you for sharing your ideas and putting the time into the stuff you publish! Great work!
June 14th, 2011 at 6:32 PM
[...] I use the neck part to make the Shirt Bibs, and I use the sleeves to make shorts or bloomers. I haven’t posted a tutorial on this, but I [...]
June 14th, 2011 at 11:14 PM
Thank you so much for this cute idea! It looks like just what I need to make homemade bibs for my (adult) brother who is a stroke victim and drools a lot. I will attempt to use your pattern in a larger version…don’t think I will need to add elastic in the neckline, tho? The iron-on vinyl idea (from Allison) sounds like the answer to keeping him dry, also.
July 13th, 2011 at 10:36 PM
Love it! I featured this project on my blog and it was so easy and cute! I plan on making many more!
Thanks for the idea!
a new blogger from… http://gluegunsanddryerlint.blogspot.com/
August 11th, 2011 at 7:30 PM
Wow love these! you are so creative! two questions for ya tho ….. Where do you get your applilique pictures (what do you trace, what kind of pattern) and second what kind of machine do you use to do your serging ? I don’t have a machine with that option and it always disapoints me when I work on something I love then I wash it and it freys or looks messy :/
Anyway thanks for sharing all of your great ideas
February 21st, 2012 at 9:58 AM
I was wondering if you still had the tutorial on the vest onesie?