Thursday, January 26, 2012

Waterproof Bib

 I purchased this waterproof bib for Madelyn awhile back. The brand is called Tidy Turtle, and it's the best bib I've ever used. They're kind of hard to find, I bought this one at Fred Meyer, but have never been able to find another one. I just tried looking it up online, and it looks like you can buy it on Amazon now for $9.99. Awhile back I would have ordered one, but just recently my husband asked me,
"Why don't you just make one?"


Why not?

Joann's just recently started selling PUL fabric, which is a waterproof, wipe able fabric that is usually used in making diapers. It was on sale, and I ended up getting the end of the bolt, so I have about a yard that I got for under $10. I'm going to be able to make a bunch of bibs with all that fabric, I will probably be making some for all our friends who are having girls this year.

The materials I used for this project included:

PUL fabric
Paper to trace out bib pattern
Extra wide double fold bias tape in contrasting/matching color to fabric
Snaps
A tool to attach the snaps (I bought a pliers kit, with my 50% coupon, worked pretty well)

First off, I traced the existing bib on some extra-long paper (it was too small for normal 8 1/2 x 11).


The bottom part of the bib has an ingenious pocket that catches all the crumbs. It's doubled over, so the pattern can be seen from the inside of the pocket. I made sure my pattern did that too.


The old bib with my new pattern right next to it.

Once I got the patterns cut out, I traced them onto the fabric and cut it out. One tip with working with PUL fabric is that you have to be careful with making pin holes. Once you make a hole, it's there forever, so you don't want to pin the pattern to the fabric before cutting it out.  


Before putting the pieces together, I folded the pocket portion of the bib in half and ironed it. You can iron ONLY on the fabric, or printed, side of PUL fabric. If you iron on the back, it will probably stick to your iron. When ironing it in half, the two pieces ended up laminating themselves together, which was kind of unexpected, but worked out okay.

I then placed the pocket onto the main body of the bib, and started pinning the bias tape around the outside. This was the longest and most time-consuming part. I went around the outside first, then cut the tape, then used a new piece to go around the inside. 


After a quick trip through the sewing machine, I used the pliers to attach the snaps onto the upper corners. My husband was supervising, and I will admit I would have put the snaps on backwards if he wasn't watching me :)


 Close-up view of the snaps. Once I figured out the pliers, it worked pretty well.

All-in-all, a pretty quick and rewarding project. I think factoring in the supplies I used (not counting the pliers) this bib ended up costing me maybe $3? Not too shabby :) I will definitely be making more!!


7 comments:

  1. You could start your own business from home! I'm sure things like this would sell! You're making me want to get a sewing machine now too! I didn't realize they had PUL fabric at Joanns! I kind of want to try and make my own cloth diapers now and then I could just buy the inserts for them... hmmmmm. :)

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  2. This is super great! I got some adorable PUL on clearance and I've been scouring the net for some projects that let the cute patterns show (so many projects just use a plain PUL as a liner), and this one fits the bill. Can't wait to make some waterproof bibs!

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    1. Thanks, glad you like it! Hope it works out well for you. I still use this bib, it's in my purse for restaurant eating, now being used by my second little girl :)

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  3. Did you just leave the plastic side of the fabric exposed to the back?? Or is there some type of backing as well? I noticed you said that you just used PUL. I have been researching and some people are using 3 layers of cotton, absorbent flannel and then PUL. Just wondering what your thoughts are. Is it ok to just have the one layer with the pocket? I have no children so I have never been able to test them out personally. Thank You!!!

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    1. I just left it plain on the back. I guess you could do all the layers, but that would make the bib really thick. I like to keep things simple, and the one layer with the pocket worked great. I was really wanting something that could be quickly wiped down and waterproof. Something with absorbent flannel would have to be washed completely after every use. The PUL can just be wiped down with a wipe and stuffed back in the diaper bag. At least that's what I do with it. Just used this bib on my daughter last night, it's held up well for 4 years.

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  4. Thanks for showing the step by step instructions on how to make the bibs. Your design is adorable.

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