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Thursday 21 October 2010

In search of the perfect bib

Runciblegirl has started eating real food, three times a day, and I spend a lot of time contemplating her bibs, noticing how very few are actually fit for purpose. Some are just too small and dainty to be useful, some are so thin that the slightest dribble soaks straight through, and others are so waterproof that they channel rivulets of pureed veg on to her bottom half. A few are very good in action, but either i) have velcro closures which hunt down and destroy my tights in the washing machine, or ii) are now covered in disturbing (mostly orange) stains.

Two options: I can accept the food-on-clothes situation and dress her to match her meals (that would mean a mostly orange wardrobe) or I can look for better bibs.

Or better still, make some...

Blue-print for the perfect bib

It must be:

Bigger than you might expect 
Absorbent, not waterproof 
Patterned to disguise the inevitable carrot stains.
Snap fastening 

And, ideally, made out of fabric that I already own...



Here's what I came up with:





The front and back are made from and old cotton shirt, with a layer of towelling sandwiched in between, bias binding around the edges, and a press-on snap. They do their job perfectly (hooray!). But - though they look quick to put together, each one probably took almost an hour, what with cutting, pinning, zigzagging the edges, binding the edges...


So, one more criterion for perfection:

Quick to construct.

I'll be giving that some thought for next time.





Thanks for looking - I'd love to hear any comments or suggestions you might have.



2 comments:

  1. Hello,

    I just found your blog, very interesting. Nice to see the new outfits and more discussion on how they were made.
    Just wanted to mention that we found the bibs which go over the head with elasticated neck quite good. I do understand the frustration with many of the bibs. Most of the ones we have are either too small or too big or uncomfy. We have recently bought two bibs from Boots which just go over the head, with elastic around the neck, and they seem to work quite well. The problem is that I am not sure how to replicate them, the elasticated bit is very soft. Any advice?

    Take care,
    Asel.

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  2. Hello Asel -

    lovely to see you here! I'm still experimenting with the blog so hadn't told anyone about it in real life, but so glad you have found me anyway. I'll think about the elastication issue and get back to you... I bought some super-soft elastic recently specifically for baby projects, maybe this is its moment.

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