Let me introduce to you the two kinds of bibs we use, for a little bit more versatility than only store-bought. You can make these from old towels or scraps of fabric. Or maybe even as an accessory for a fancy dress you made! I will include raw patterns, so you can just use those if you like.
Now, first up are a few bibs I made that are supposed to catch the drool one of my kids produces. My oldest one dubbed his brother drool-monster witch is a name that quite suits him. I made these 2 sided, so it is easier to match them with his outfit, when I like. You can find the links to the patterns at the bottom of this blog.
Take note, the buttons are also on two sides of the fabric. I think in this instance the buttons are a important part of the color combinations of the bibs. And while making them I could take out my box of funny buttons… This doesn’t happen often. Be careful, because they both have to fit though the same hole so you need to chose ones that are of a similar size. I do not need to warn about buttons that are attached too loosely to the fabric, right!? If you don’t like using buttons I recommend using Velcro. It might be easier to adjust the pattern to have a bigger part in the back of the neck, as you can imagine.
I had a pair of old funny trousers, that I refurbished into a bib too. As pants they were horrible, as a bib it works much better, now. These pants even had lining, so I used that for the back part of the bib.
Now, the next kind of sleeved bibs I I didn’t make, they were made for us. These are easy with food. The sleeves are exactly tight enough for the shirt or sweater to stay inside the bib, most of the time. So they can eat by themselves, hopefully making it more difficult to make a mess of themselves… No guaranteed success, though.
They were made with old towels, and you can get as creative as you like with the bindings/finishing. I can also imagine a bib made in a one colour fabric with only the bindings as a contrast!
They come in two sizes, and maybe you could even make them longer if you like to use with painting and other creative ways to spend your kids time. Find the links to the patterns at the bottom of this blog.
Now, you can decorate this as you like, these are just a few ideas. Obviously, if you have an application from an old shirt or something, just go with that, or maybe a sweater that you are thinking of trowing away…
These are my favorite ones, as they match but they are not the same. As you can see these represent also the two different sizes, although I am sure it is difficult to see from the picture what size they really are. I used the smallest one for when they first started to eat on their own. The bigger one comes after that. My 3 year old would still fit in the biggest one, but I would have to make a bigger size, if I was really to give her the room she needs, now.
Hopefully you can put an old towel to good use through this, or make pretty ones combining new and old fabrics together…. It is often enough that I have no bibs left because they have all been used. If I make more I will post them up here too.
Here are the patterns, print them at A4, and you should be able to work out the patterns from there.
The drool-bib pattern here.
The small sleeved-pattern here.
The big sleeved-pattern here.
If you use any of the sleeved patterns, take also a look at this file, for explanations of the patterns. The pattern had to be fitted on an A4, so both will need to be drawn to complete them.
