Free Pattern: Chunky Monkey Baby Bib

At long last!  The free pattern and instructions for making your very own Chunky Monkey Baby Bibs have arrived!  These cuties are fun to look at and quick to sew up, and would make a great handmade gift for a baby shower.  What's different about the Chunky Monkey Baby Bib is the WIDE shoulder coverage to protect those cute baby outfits, and the STRONG Velcro closure so your little monster can't tear it off in the middle of a meal. (What - doesn't your baby do that?  No?  It's just my sweet Lila?  Sigh.)  All you have to do is click on this link to get your free pattern and instructions.  (The link will take you to a printable copy of the pattern in Google Docs, so no need for PDF software.  Yay for that!) 

In the pattern you'll find several variations for the bib - the Chunky Monkey size, as seen above and in this post, and the Less Chunky size, for smaller babies just starting to eat solids.  You'll also find instructions for sewing them with or without bias tape.  Plus, as a special TV bonus, I've included the applique shapes I used so you can try them out too if you like!  

A few notes: when printing, please set margins to zero, or as close to zero as you can get.  Also make sure you aren't scaling the image size at all - it should be at 100% when you print.  If it's smaller, so will be your bibs.  If you need a refresher on how to sew with bias tape, or want to learn, go here.  

If you'd like to sew the hot air balloon applique, you can use the circle shape I've included for the balloon.  Then use a zigzag stitch to create the basket shape underneath, and connect the basket to the balloon with a straight stitch, as you see below:

Try to do a better job than I did!  See that wonky basket?  Not well engineered.  By the way, this was the first Chunky Monkey Bib I made, and I thought I'd just speed things along.  I decided to sew the bias tape all in one step by placing it around the bib and sewing close to the edge, catching the back at the same time all in one step.  It turned out okay, but I didn't like the look.  So on the others I did it the "right" way. But if you were wanting to knock out five or ten bibs quickly, you could go ahead and cheat like that.  They wouldn't probably be gift-worthy, but for your own little rugrat, why not?  That's how they sew the store-bought ones.  Just sayin'.  

Okay, I'm totally excited for you to try out the pattern, so let me know when you do!!  If you have any issues with your printer or other questions, email me at teresamarie1979 (at) gmail (dot) com, or ask in the comments.  And when you finish your bib, leave a comment below and let me know how they turned out!

Best Wishes,

Teresa