As a nod to Zen's thread about making your own stuff...

[Marisa6826]

Anybody ever try and make their own bibs? I hate the cheapo thin bibs they have everywhere. I lucked out and got some really thick bibs (one side terry, one side chenille) at BRU, but they've been sold out ever since.

I'm thinking it wouldn't be THAT hard to whip out the sewing machine, hook up with some nice bright towels from Home Goods or TJ Maxx and go to town.

Any experiences???

-m

Good God - I'm turning into Martha again...

[Momof3Labs]

My grandmother used to make bibs with fingertip or hand towels! She made them two ways:

Cut a hole in the towel, towards one end, and edge with a stretchy material (like cuffs on a t-shirt). These bibs were pull-over style.

Or,

Fold over one end, a few inches from the end of the towel, and add ties. She may have done something to shape the neck, too, I don't remember.

You can add fabric appliques, if you want to make them baby-like. These bibs were so nice and thick, very absorbent!

I wish that I had pictures of these to show you; hope that you can picture them!!

[sparkeze]

You could buy a pattern too - I got one from www.sewbaby.com, although I haven't gotten around to ever making any.

I would think that you could cut the towel into the shape you wanted, probably zig-zag or serge the edges since toweling sheds a lot, then bind the edges with cotton knit ribbing. You could sew on some velcro or add a snap. I'm not an expert sewer by any stretch of the imagination though! :) But if you really don't care how they look and just want them to be thick and absorbant you could even cut up an old sweatshirt and use the soft side out.

[AngelaS]

Yep, I've made a bunch of bibs! I like the fingertip towel ones. I have a HARD time making the hole the right size tho. I hate it when they gap and dh hates it when they're hard to put on!

I also made a bunch from an old bath towel. I just cut them to be bib sized, cut out a circle for the neck, serged all the way around and added velcro. They work great, are really absorbant and I have so many, I never run out! :D

[khakismom]

I'm very lucky in that all the bibs I use were made by my MIL. I send her kitchen dishtowels that I like (otherwise she will pick out some horrendous ones), and a few weeks later, voila, I have a new stack of bibs. I love that I can use them to just wipe her face with it after she's done eating and then throw it in the wash. MIL cuts a hole a few inches down and sews in a soft collar (like you would find on a T-shirt). Then I just pull it over DD's head like a shirt. They were huge on her as a baby, but are perfect now that she's a toddler, and were great when she was first learning to eat solids. HTH! Good luck! :)

...Maureen

Mom to
Kathleen 3/22/01
Ellen EDD 6/5/03

[22tango]

Here's a pic of how to do it from the people at Martha Stewart: http://www.marthastewart.com/page.jhtml?type=content&id=channel1513

[Marisa6826]

Hadn't thought about putting the hole in the middle. I don't particularly like the ones that you have to pull over the head... I'm thinking more the velcro type.

Still deciding on whether or not to break out the sewing machine...

thanks

-m

[stella]

Those Martha bibs are gorgeous!!