Finally! The project that has taken me all month to finish! So today I've got a kind of different transformation for you. It's the one I've called "interesting," yet very practical for many people. So how is this cute little one related to today's post?
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| Little cutie! |
I'm sure I got many of you here from Facebook eagerly anticipating an announcement of sorts. Now before you go planning baby showers, I'm going to clear the air: no, I'm not *expecting*.
So what the heck does that picture of the baby have to do with anything?
Well, a few weeks back I was musing about how women's busts tend to be natural magnets for spilled food and toothpaste. It's extra lame when you are all dressed and ready to go and you notice a stain on your blouse from breakfast. It's even worse when you have no time to change or clean up.
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| Sexy spill? |
Pause. Ok, seriously? This is the most awkward spilled-food photo ever. How would you caption this photo? Please, let me know in the comments section at the end of this post!
I digress. Anyway, soon after that discussion, I received a request from my grandmother to make.........
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.......wait for it......
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...............an adult bib. Yes. An adult bib.
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| I <3 my grandma |
Now, before you go laughing, think about it. Bibs aren't just for babies. Many people find them useful as they age and they may get arthritis or lose some coordination and may be more prone to food spillage. Similarly, many people with disabilities, various medical conditions, or who have come out of surgery find larger-sized bibs helpful in their rehabilitation. They're great for toddlers during arts and crafts time. I've also heard they are helpful for pregnant women as growing tummies are like a target for spilled food. There is actually an industry for making adult bibs, but they tend to be very bland and boring, and custom bibs can run quite expensive.
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| Bland |
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| Boring |
Now, if you knew my grandmother, you'd know that she is just as bright and flashy in her style as I am (probably even more so!). So I decided to try my hand at making a slightly more fashionable adult bib (well, as fashionable as they can be!). Let's see how this works....
I wanted to buy as little as possible and utilize what I already had. I recently went through my closet to get rid of a bunch of clothes. Some of the items in the donate pile had wild and crazy patterns that I thought my grandma would like. You may recognize some fabrics, as they are recycled from earlier projects. I then went to the 99 Cent Only store and scoured the kitchen/bathroom section and picked up some towels and a clear shower curtain.
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| So many patterns! |
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| Shower curtain |
There are many styles of adult bibs, so I drew up a few ideas and made 5 of them, with each slightly different than the others. First, let's start with the simplest bib.
Bib #1:
1) I began with a light purple towel. I folded up a few inches from the bottom to create a crumb pocket at the bottom of the bib, and sewed the sides of the crumb pocket. I also sewed a straight line up the crumb pocket so it wouldn't gap so much.
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| Crumb pocket |
2) Next, I folded the towel in half long-ways and grabbed a 10-inch plate placing it about 9 inches down from the top on the folded side of the towel. I traced it out with pins and cut out the semi-circle space to make a neck hole (the plate may be placed lower if the person has a larger neck).
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| 10-inch plate |
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| New neck hole |
3) Then I folded and pinned around the neck hole I had just cut, and did a fake-serge around the edges to keep it from fraying.
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| Pinned and ready to fake-serge |
4) Finally, I squared off the pointy corners around the neck hole and sewed velcro at the cut edges of the neck hole.
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| Velcro closure |
I think this bib turned out pretty well in its simplicity. It is long enough to rest on the lap of the person wearing it to protect from lap spills. It can be thrown in the wash like a regular towel. It also wraps completely around the neck for full coverage and uses velcro for easy, convenient closure.
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| After: Bib #1 |
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| After: Bib #1 |
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Bib #2:
1) The next bib was slightly more intricate. I used a light blue towel and created a crumb pocket the same way as with bib #1.
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| Folding the crumb pocket |
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| Sewing the crumb pocket |
2) Next, I folded and sewed the top corners, cutting off the excess.
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| Cornered |
3) I took a piece of contrasting dark blue material saved from this project, folded it over the top of the bib, and sewed it on.
4) Next, I tried out a fancy-schmancy embroidery stitch on my machine to outline the entire bib in contrasting light and dark colors.
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| Fancy Design |
5) I then cut, sewed, and ironed a long strip of dark blue material, sewing one end on the top side of the bib.
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| Super strip! |
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| Sewing on the neck strap |
6) Then I sewed velcro onto the other side of the dark blue strip and the other side of the top of the bib. I put the scratchy side on the strap since it faces out so it wouldn't snag the wearer's clothes.
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| Velcro on the neck strap |
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| Velcro on the inside of the bib |
With a convenient side closure, I had my second towel-bib that is a little more detailed and still machine washable.
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| After: Bib #2 |
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| After: Bib #2 |
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Bibs #3, 4, & 5:
For the next 3 bibs I took it in a different direction. The steps are mostly the same with a few small changes between them.
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| Before disassembling |
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| Before disassembling |
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| After disassembling and re-sewing |
2) Since the materials were all different sizes, I laid all of the materials on top of one another, pinned, and cut all of the materials into equal rectangles.
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| Stacking fabrics |
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| Cut same size rectangles |
3) I wanted to make these bibs reversable, so I laid 2 sheets of coordinating fabric face to face, pinned, and sewed them around the edges leaving a small hole un-sewn.
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| Inside out pinned fabric |
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| Sewn shut except for a small hole |
4) I pulled the rest of the material through the hole so the material was right-side in, and sewed the hole closed.
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| Pulled the material through |
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| Sew the hole closed |
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| Reversible material |
5) Then I tucked the top corners in and sewed them down.
6) I folded the shower curtain in half long-ways, laid the 3 bibs out to make sure they fit, and cut the shower curtain into thirds.
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| Enough plastic |
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| Cut into thirds |
7) With slight variation in the following steps, I placed the bibs between the plastic and folded a crumb pocket on each side.
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| Folding the crumb pockets |
8) I carefully clipped the edges so as not to rip the plastic, and sewed both on and around the edges of the material in the plastic, cutting off the excess plastic.
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| Sewing the plastic onto the material |
9) I pinned and sewed color-coordinating thin ribbon around the edges for better structure and because it looked better than the raw plastic.
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| Pinning and sewing ribbon |
10) 1a) For the first of these bibs I sewed on 2 clear rings at the top of the bib and strung some golden beads through them that could be hung on both sides.
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| Clear ring |
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| Beaded necklace |
1b) Then I sewed a short strip of material around the each loop.
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| Sewing another strip |
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| Sewed around the loop |
1c) Then I sewed velcro at the edges of the 2 strips to close the bib around the neck.
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2a) For the second one I used the waist sashes taken from the original dress and sewed them on as halter neck straps to tie in a bow.
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| Sash ties |
2b) I sewed 2 strips of thinner off-white beads on both sides at the neckline.
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3a) For the third I also used the waist straps from the original skirt and sewed them on as straps.
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| More sash ties |
3b) I sewed 2 separate beaded necklaces of coordinating colors to either side of the bib.
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| Beaded necklace |
I like the idea of a plastic-covered bib because it means any spillage can be simply wiped or rinsed away. Ideally I could have used some patterned vinyl material and it would have been a lot simpler, but like I said before, I wanted to utilize what I already had.
I like that I was able to feature all the patterns and colors that made the bibs less boring. The beads not only add a bit of flair, since they are also plastic, they can be rinsed just like the rest of the plastic bib cover.
Here are the final results of these 3 bibs:
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| After: Bib #3 |
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| After: Bib #3 (I forgot to pull the necklace over) |
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| After: Bib #4 |
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| After: Bib #4 |
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| After: Bib #5 |
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| After: Bib #5 (The dark blue didn't show so well) |
They look big in the photos, but my grandmother is larger than I am, so they should fit her well.
Now she'll be ready for dinner, brushing her teeth, or whatever other messy things she gets her hands on. And since 3 of the bibs are reversible, it's like having 6! Add the 2 towel-bibs and my grandma should have a new bib for every day of the week with one more just in case! I'll try to see if I can get a picture with her wearing one for a future post : )
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| Homemade thin crust pizza and salad. Ready for the mess! |
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| Brushy brushy! |
So now I hope you see that bibs aren't just for babies, and can really be valuable for many adults. Plus, they don't have to be bland and embarrassing, but can be a fun fashion statement!
After a month of interruptions and working on this project, I'm sure glad to be done with this project. I'm excited to start my new job in a few days, so I really didn't want to have any projects lingering.
I hope you found this post interesting. If nothing else, at least you know these exist in case they can be useful for you or anyone you know.
Until next time, blessings : )
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