Washcloth Bibs
July 13, 2011
When I was pregnant with Sofie, I traveled to see an old friend from high school. She gave me several gifts while I was there, but one of the things was these bibs made from washcloths and handkerchiefs. “These are a novel idea” I thought. But shamefully, I didn’t use them. Sofie is the neatest eater I’ve ever met. I could dress the kid head-to-toe in white, give her chocolate cake, and she’d still be spotless at the end of her sugar binge. It’s mindblowing.
But then came Chloe. She’s definitely the messy kid and we’re pretty convinced she doesn’t approve of a meal unless bits of it are shoved in every nook and cranny on her body and properly smeared into her clothes. I was stripping her down to her diaper to eat, but that gets awkward at restaurants and in public places. So I remembered the bibs my dear friend had given me and they were a lifesaver!! She made me 3 and I was going through them faster than I could wash them. So what’s a girl to do? Make more, of course!!
I didn’t have any handkerchiefs, but I did have plenty of scraps of fabric to choose from and I grabbed cheapy washcloths from Walmart for like $2 each.
It only took me a few minutes to whip up each bib, and trust me, they’re AMAZING gifts!
As soon as I got done sewing, I tried them out on Chloe for snack time. We were having watermelon and she was happy to oblige me in a little photo shoot while she ate!
Look at those delicious cheeks!!
The edges tie nicely around the neck, preventing the typical yank-my-bib-off behavior we all know and love.
You might think a washcloth isn’t good coverage for a kid, but you can see it’s actually quite large on them, and leaves plenty of room to grow!
So, you want to make your own? Fantastic!
All you need is a washcloth and a piece of fabric 18″ to 19″ square. It doesn’t have to be any exact size, something around that range will work.
Take your fabric and fold it in half, right sides together, on the diagonal.
Sew down the two open sides,
leaving a hole a few inches long to turn it through. Seam allowance doesn’t really matter, whatever you prefer, but I used 1/4″.
Turn it right side out, poke out the corners, and iron flat.
Place the fabric on the washcloth, making sure the point is centered. Pin in place.
Sew down the 2 sides, attaching the fabric to the washcloth.
Then sew across the top of the washcloth to finish off the bib.
Quick, easy, and totally useful! And perfect for feeding those hungry little honey’s in your life!
Posted in
July 13th, 2011 at 1:59 PM
SO adorable! And quite a few of my friends are having children these days, so I’ll be whipping up a bunch of these! Thank you!
July 13th, 2011 at 3:27 PM
I love this design! It’s super cute and so, so useful! Thanks tons, I’ll be linking.
July 13th, 2011 at 4:49 PM
We like to make bibs with decorative fingertip towels, too. We make them for all sorts of seasons and holidays. Not only do they cover better than the bibs you buy in stores, they are thicker which equals better clothing protection and the terry cloth washes well which means the bibs aren’t all stained and nasty looking like store bought bibs.
Kat
July 13th, 2011 at 4:55 PM
Aw, awesome!! I’m so glad you got some use out of them eventually! haha
And you know what’s so funny is my plan for next week’s post on Notes She Wrote was going to be to do a tutorial on how to make these! Looks like I might just link over to you. This tutorial is fabulous as always!!
Miss you, girl!
July 13th, 2011 at 8:27 PM
Great post! Love your site…just wish I had all this talent.
July 14th, 2011 at 10:29 AM
Ah I love it. Always have problems my 16 month olds daddy taught her to take her bibs off. She won’t be able to get this one off! And I love the butterfly dress, Lil wears hers a couple times a week. =)
July 14th, 2011 at 8:54 PM
omg. I saw these before somewhere and I loved them and now I found this tutorial. I’m having a baby boy in a few weeks and I think these will look super cute!
Thank you very much for the tutorial!
July 15th, 2011 at 4:59 PM
Those are awesome! Such great bibs with NO velcro or snaps! What a terrific way to blow through some of that fabric stash!
July 15th, 2011 at 5:00 PM
Those are awesome. So cute and no fasteners to sew on!
July 19th, 2011 at 1:02 AM
SUPER cute!!
July 26th, 2011 at 7:21 PM
This is so ingenious! I will totally, totally be making some of these! Thanks for sharing!
July 30th, 2011 at 9:44 PM
Just found this site tonight and loving it. I usually make bibs as gifts and I LOVE this one. TFS!
August 5th, 2011 at 8:35 PM
Finally a sewing project that I think I can manage!!! I’m very excited to try this. So happy to have found your blog!
September 22nd, 2011 at 12:47 PM
These are too cute. I just had to make a couple for my twin girls. They will not keep a bib on. They couldn’t get these off haha! Thank you for sharing how to make them. I love all your stuff!!!
December 15th, 2011 at 1:11 PM
Hi,
You are amazing! sharing these creations and helping others to make them for their own kids (and in my case my neice as well since I don’t have a girl!), Very kind of you!
I used to be terrified of doing anything with a sewing machine (I got a D in sewing back in highschool – enough said!) but because your tutorials are so well laid out it gave me the courage to try things and I’m stoked that I can make things for my wee family now, so thank you so much for that! (I’m all the way from New Zealand too, and some of my friends love your site too!)
February 25th, 2012 at 2:36 PM
Thank you for such a wonderful tutorial! I’ve made these for a friend for her son’s 1st birthday and I just whipped out five more this morning for my 6 month old…. she’s started eating solids and is just plain messy! Can’t wait to use these on her!
Thanks again!
March 16th, 2012 at 9:32 PM
Thanks SO much for this tutorial! I’m a returning seamstress, so I wanted a quick, easy but practical gift for a dear friend – this fit the bill EXACTLY – I love the name of your blog because I want to “sew like my mom” – I don’t have her gift – just her persistence – thanks again.
June 24th, 2012 at 9:19 PM
I love your site and your tutorials. I just used this tutorial and blogged about it here: http://fourboysandanlgirl.blogspot.ca/2012/06/deadlines.html . Good luck with the party prep. I am doing the same for my two big boys on the 7th. Eek!
March 13th, 2013 at 6:49 PM
this is by far the easiest one I have come across…thanks…