Bring on the Food! And the Thanksgiving Bib

I've been wanting to make some bibs for Boo, and Thanksgiving was a good incentive to actually get it done.  I like this style of bib because 1) it's big, 2) it doesn't have a velcro closure (Boo's hair is getting really long, and gets in the way of the velcro), and 3) ... I don't know, but I think lists should have at least three items.

Anyways...

This is a classic craft; my mom and my MIL both have some of these hanging around for grandkids to use. So I pulled one out to use as a pattern, and with a little help from my MIL, Boo soon had a new Thanksgiving bib.

{You need:

a hand towel--I got a whole stack of them at Sam's for a great price.

some ribbing

general sewing supplies

optional:  fabric for appliqué and Wonder-Under}

I traced the opening in the bib, and got a 3 3/4" x 7 1/2" oval.  Like so.

I wrote some notes on it, so I wouldn't forget.  As you can see from the sketch, I cut out the opening 17" from the bottom of the bib.  Put it wherever you think is best; the bib doesn't need to be this long, but it does cover Boo's whole lap, which is nice.  But if you made it shorter, you could cut off the extra to use for another project...

Then I cut out the ribbing, a 2 1/2" x 16 1/2" strip.  You want the circle of ribbing (once you sew the ends together, of course) to stretch to fit over your head.  (This is because kid's heads are proportionally very large, but if the ribbing fits over your head, it'll fit over theirs.)  

Next, I sewed the ribbing's short ends together, right sides together, using a zig-zag stitch.  (You need you use stretch stitch of some kind.  You could also just use your serger, if you have one.)  Then I folded the ribbing so the seam is on the inside and it's looking like a t-shirt collar.  (Note:  a ballpoint needle is best for this step, since a regular needle sometimes makes holes in the knit ribbing.)

I marked four equidistant points on the ribbing, with the seam being one point.  I also marked four equidistant points on the hole I'd cut in the towel.  

Then I matched up (and pinned) the points on the ribbing with the points on the towel.  The reason for this is that the circle of ribbing and the hole are not the same size--you need to stretch the ribbing as you sew. 

Then I sewed the ribbing onto the towel using a zig-zag stitch.  (For some reason, it's fine to use a regular needle to sew the ribbing onto the towel.  I don't know why.)  I then went around and zig-zagged around the raw edges, just to keep things from fraying.  It's not necessary, but I think it's nicer that way.

Now the bib is done!  I could have stopped there, but how much fun would that be?  So I embellished it a little...

I used Wonder-Under for these appliqués.  I'll give you a summarized version of how to use it, since the instructions are always on the package.

First, trace the (reversed) design on the paper side of the Wonder-Under.

Then roughly cut it out and arrange the pieces on the wrong side of the fabric, then iron it on, paper side up.  Then cut on the lines.

Pull off the paper backing and arrange the design on the towel  (right side of fabric up, for course).  Iron it on.  

The Wonder-Under will hold the appliqués in place, but you still need to stitch them down.  I decided to just use a straight stitch to outline my pieces.  I like the effect--it makes me think about tracing little hands for their turkey drawings.  :)  And any imperfections in my stitching just adds to the effect.  (Not needing to be perfect--always a good thing.)  And the Wonder-Under should keep the fabric from fraying much, maybe at all, so I feel confident that leaving all the edges raw will not be a problem.

So I got Boo's Thanksgiving bib done it time!  Wahoo!  

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!