Chunky Monkey Baby Bib

Ta da!  Here it is, the Chunky Monkey Baby Bib!  If you read my last post, then you've been gleefully sitting on the edge of your chair, biting the tips of your curled fingers with anticipation, knowing this was coming.  Yes?  No?  I've been working on this for what seems like forever, because I kept getting interrupted.  In fact, I've been done with the bibs themselves for almost a week now, but just haven't found time to post about them.  I'm currently working on creating the instructions and pattern in PDF form to share with you.  No telling how long that'll take.  You might not want to wait on the edge of your seat for it, is what I'm saying.  (Update!  I've completed the free pattern and instructions - here's the post!)

So anyways, this bib was born out of necessity, as so many craft projects are.  I was very fortunate to have been given lots of bibs for Lila by my mom and friends, so I didn't have to think about them for the longest time.  But then, she started growing, as babies are wont to do, and she basically outgrew a lot of them.  Let me tell you, what you want in a bib is coverage, and if you don't have that, you're in trouble.  Especially if you dress your baby in pretty handmade dresses and shirts.  So it was time to either go buy some bigger bibs, or make some of my own.  As it happens, my awesome crafting friend out in California, Pele, sent me some sweet little bibs for Lila a few months ago (you can see them below), and that inspired me to hit the sewing machine and make some of my own.  

These babies have seen a lot of use.  

Here you can see the size difference.  Pele's bibs are a good size, I'd say a nice medium fit, not for newborns, not for two year-olds.  Do two-year-olds use bibs?  Funny that I don't know.  Anyways, I went BIG on these bibs, especially around the shoulders.  

And I'm completely crazy, so I took the time to applique designer fabrics on each one.  Yes.  A product whose sole function is to be spat up on.  A product that will be thrown in a crumpled heap into the dirty laundry pile, and washed in hot water repeatedly.  

And I even took the time to apply bias tape, even all the way around those hairpin curves.  But I do so very much like the look of these bibs.  By the way, the terry cloth fronts came from a hooded baby towel.  I was also given lots of those, and had like ten on hand.  Lila doesn't need ten towels.  I don't even need ten towels.  So a couple of the hand-me-down's from cousins have found a new life.  

It was a lot of fun to pick out the shapes and fabrics for the applique.  

You have your happy star, your green apple, your musical note, your hot air balloon, your teddy bear.  That teddy bear turned out electric.  He's like a disco teddy bear from the 70's or something.  He's clearly dancing, which is why he's at a funny angle.  It's not because I wasn't paying attention while appliqueing him, and he ended up tilted to one side.  No.  He's dancing.

And here are the back sides.  I just used whatever sturdy, somewhat coordinating fabric I could find in my stash.  I suppose these are reversible, so if one side gets all stained up you could then switch to using the other side.  

And here we see the bib in its native environment, under the head and around the shoulders of a human child.  

It looks good on you Lila.  Real good.

Notice the lovely shoulder coverage, and the elegant draping down the front.  

Mmmm, gobble gobble gobble.  Let the feeding frenzy begin...

Success!  Dirty bib, clean shirt.  Happy baby, happy mommy.  :)  

Best Wishes,

Teresa