My First Sewing Project In Years...

I got a sewing machine for Christmas last year and I'm now finally using it. This is my first sewing project since middle school, I'll be turning 35 this year. That is a long time to not sew anything.

I decided to make an LSU bib for one of my pregnant ladies as a going away gift. There's a little rivalry going on between her and the hubby, so why not add more fuel to the fire. Evil. I know. 

I decided to use this lovely pattern that I found on Pinterest by Danielle Wilson on her blog at http://mysparkle.blogspot.com.au It's a very easy pattern to follow. Use one fabric for one side, a coordinating pattern for the other, make a little quilting sandwich...well you get the idea. I, on the other hand, decided to be bit more complicated with it and used four different patterns of fabric. You know, make it a little different. 

No LSU fabric here. Just LSU colors.

I went to Joanne's (heaven) and got  my supplies. I bought four fabric quarters, white double fold bias tape, all purpose thread in coordinating colors, quilting batting, and some embroidery floss (which I bought at Walmart.) You can use what ever fabric you want and make it as girly or boyish as you need it to be. My friend doesn't know the sex of the baby yet and this was just a good way to get around that. She loves (or the hubby) loves LSU, so I chose these colors.

Gotta sew those strips together.

First, I had to sew all the strips together before I could even begin cutting out the pattern. I guess complicated is my middle name, so I had to make it challenging. These are 2" wide, but you can make them how ever thick you want them. I think, the seam allowance was 1/4". Is seam allowance even the correct term? Anyway, make sure that when the sewing is over and done with, that it's enough to cover your pattern. Cut both sets of fabric and the batting and on to the next phase.

I don't follow college football, but it's a nice color combo.

Now, put the batting in between those loverly pieces of fabric and pin. Please, pin better than I did. I suck at pinning. If you're going to do any embroidery by hand, do it before pinning and sewing it together.

This isn't the best picture, but at least the pinning is a little bit better.

You can see here how I sewed it together. It's not perfect, but this is my first bib. I contrasted the colors by putting one color one spool holder and placing the opposite color on the bobbin. 

Why was I humming Brian McKnight's Back At One when I was when putting this together? 

This is the part in her tutorial that took me a day to process after I read it. I'm a visual person. YouTube is my best friend when it came to learning to crochet, threading my sewing machine, changing the starter on my car, etc. So, I broke it down and took some pretty pictures for those of you that are like me when it comes to these kinds of things. You'll be starting on the outside of the bib. The collar area is done last.

Step 1:  Open up the double fold bias tape and pin the unfinished edge to the outside edge of the bib. You'll be using tons of pins. 

Step 2:  Sew one the crease all the way around the bib. I know you're wondering why. I didn't get it either. Then I had my light bulb moment with the next step.

Step 3:  Flip the double fold bias tape over the unfinished edge of the bib. The unfinished part of the tape should fold inside itself.

Step 4:  Pin and sew as close to the inside edge as you possibly can.

The left side shows how close the stitches need to be. The right side shows where the reverse stitching was used.

Repeat steps when you work on the bib collar. Remember to make it long enough to tie in the back. I believe I measured the tape anywhere from 26-28 inches. Also, when you do the last step, sew from one end of the tape to the other. Use the reverse on those first few stitches at the beginning and the last few on the end. You don't want the stitching to come undone.

TAAAADAAAHHHH!!!!

There you have it! Some bibs for that little one in your life. Unique, easy enough to make, and not much money. I think I spent $10 all together. I still have enough left over to make more. I just need to buy more bias tape.

I'd like to thank Danielle Wilson for her tutorial. Even though it's from 2009, it was simple enough for me to do it and the model is just too cute. 

I hope you enjoyed this post. Next one will be about the baby blanket that goes with these bibs. Until next time!