Quick & Easy Drooly Bib Sewing Tutorial

 I know this is a different kind of construction, but these photos were in with the others and I thought I may as well get around to posting them! Here's an idea to make some quick bibs in an afternoon.

When the baby got to drooling excessively, I went to Joann's and bought an interesting flannel yardage with a sort of "grid" on it. Sorry I cannot give the measurements now (it's been a while) but a nice sized rectangle cut out of it covered all of the front of the baby. I'm guessing this was at least 8" across the bottom, and maybe 12" or more up the sides. Come to think of it, you could just about use a piece of printer paper as a pattern. I was going by the grid on the fabric. Whatever size you make it, cut two rectangles.

(Since I made a stack of these, I had as many rectangles as I could get out of the yardage.)

Find an appropriately sized round object to trace around, and do that centered, about 1.5 to 2" down from the top on one of the rectangles. Make sure your round object is big enough to allow some slack, because the circle will be pulled in a bit when the bib is fastened. Sorry I don't have a diameter but every baby's neck will be different! If you were to make it as a gift I would err on the generous side.

Trace it on the INSIDE/WRONG side of the fabric. 

Start sewing around the edges, right sides together with your drawing on top. Begin on the side (you will be leaving a 3" or so gap for turning in one side).

 Make sure to turn down from the top and go around that circle! You can see at the top that I left a good gap where I turned down to sew around the circle.

You can do curves on the corners if you like instead of pivoting. I did some of both. Whichever you choose, trim the corners to reduce bulk for turning. Clip down into the circle, trim the neck hole and clip into the seam allowance a bit for turning.

Turn inside out. Gently poke out all the corners with scissors or a wooden stuffing tool. Smooth and press with an iron. You could top stitch around it if you like, folding in and stitching down the opening as you go. Or just hand-stitch the opening closed. 

Now add some velcro to the top two inner "flaps" and fasten. This is why you want to be a bit generous with that circle. 

I made about a dozen of these, which was an appropriate amount for changing out several times a day.

Another Busy Bitty Baby Blanket

Here's another busy blanket. This time I found that knotting some of the ribbon at the middle made a more interesting texture. I also found some shoelace to add to this one, which I hope will be good and chewy.

Quick Sew Busy Baby Bitty Blanket Tutorial

Here is a fun sewing project to make for older babies that can hold something on their own, and it uses up those little leftover bits of trim in your sewing stash! This little blanket would make a nice baby gift, or a quick project for mother's moment off to do something creative and make something for her own baby. It is so easy, I do not think it will end up in the unfinished project pile!


The Busy Baby Bitty Blanket (or should it be the bitty baby busy blanket? Or the bitty busy baby blanket?) has a lot of texture for baby to grab and nibble on. It is small enough so that the baby can carry it on his own.

I for one dislike throwing away that last 6-8 inches of trim from a project. It usually ends up in a box for doll clothing that never gets made. I used some of these leftover trims, but for color coordination's sake I did dig into some newer trim:)

I was careful to choose only trims that would not harm baby, nothing with ravel-y edges or bits that could have threads pulled out, small pieces or plastic-y stuff. I decided against using elastic-- that extra 6"  of waistband elastic will have to go into another project someday.

Each trim was cut to about 4-6" long.
The fabric is two 10" squares of soft flannel. I rounded the corners a bit on each one.

Taking the trims, loop each one and put the raw edges on the raw edge of one of the flannel squares. The flannel square should be right-side-up. I basted the trims about an inch or more apart from each other. If you want to go over each trim again with a zig-zag, or back-stitch for extra security, go ahead-- the blanket will be stitched 2 more times so I didn't worry too much about it.

Here is what it looks like basted.

Trim up the edges, and put the other square down over it all, right sides together, making sure the trims are safely inside!

Stitch around, leaving an opening for turning. Turn, press, and stitch the opening closed.

Top-stitch around the edges to keep them flat and secure. You do not have to quilt it, but I had a little bit of contrasting color thread left on a spool, so I did a few rows of quilting on the inside of the blanket to use it up. 

One of the "trims" was home-made using a scrap of the flannel, by folding it and top-stitching with a decorative stitch. I thought maybe it would be textured and "tasty."

Fingerloop braiding made an appearance next to the ric-rac. 

Besides ribbons, bias tape, twill tape, seam tape, and even piping were utilized!

Since I did not pre-wash the trims, I washed the blanket in warm water. Caution: do not absent-mindedly throw in anything with Velcro when you wash this. Trims to not like Velcro. Ribbon especially gets into fights with velcro.

I am happy to report that this blanket has now been baby-tested and approved. Maybe it should be called the Bitty Busy Baby Bitey Blanket. Or the Busy Baby Bitty Bitey Bloggy Blanket!
(actually I'm not sure what they are called...)