No Sew Upcycled Bandana Bibs

I love bandana bibs on little boys. Super cute and functional... catches the droll while the babies look cool. I'm such a poet! There are endless cute accessories for baby girls, but the boys don't get many options. Here's one way they can sport some flare. You can, of course, make bandana bibs for girls as well.

Bandana bibs are pretty hard to find in kids shops, save pages and pages of them on Etsy. I could plunk down the cash for a couple of super-duper cute Etsy versions, but then with shipping costs it hardly feels worth it. I could sew one, but I'm still wary of pulling out my brand spanking new sewing machine from last Christmas, for fear that the time it takes to orient myself with its wonders will exceed my brief respites during Collin's naps each day and then, since our house isn't very big, it would mean using the kitchen table to sew (which isn't exactly out of the way or easy to "close off" when the little tornado wakes up). If anyone is willing to come help me overcome said fear, and teach me a few things, I'd be ever-so-thankful! Am I boring you yet? Let's get down to business.

I saw a tutorial a few weeks ago for these bibs using yardage of cotton jersey fabric, but I'm about to make it a little more fun and definitely more affordable by sending you on a mission to your nearest Salvation Army. Buy yourself a handful of extra large, men's t-shirts or polos with appealing patterns or colors. Make sure you are buying shirts that will not fray (cotton polos and t-shirts with some stretch work best). The rest of the supplies you'll need are below:

First, after washing and drying the shirt, spread and smooth it out on a flat surface.

Pick a section of the shirt and cut an 11 inch square (I used chalk and a measuring tape to mark my lines). Depending on your child's age and neck circumference, you might want to go up or down for the size of the square. My son is almost a year old, of slender build and 11 inches worked well. If you are wise with your planning, you may get up to three bibs out of each shirt, depending on the shirt size.

Next fold your square diagonally so that the ends meet up. You might need to do some touch up trimming to even out the sides at this point.

Buy yourself a pack of size 16 snap fasteners. Hobby Lobby carries a brand called Sew·Ology and JoAnn's carries the Dritz brand. If you don't already own one, I recommend buying an easy attacher kit (I bought the Dritz brand kit at JoAnn's).  Grab a hammer and follow the attaching instructions on the back of the easy attacher box. It's pretty simple, just make sure you pound the snaps in hard so they won't come off. It helps to hammer on something like a phone book for shock absorption.

You might choose to round the front corner of the bib off a bit, but it's up to you.

That's it! It's truly that simple. I made five in several colors and patterns. I think I have enough shirt fabric left over to be able to make one or two more bandanas per shirt. These will be perfect for the fall!

Here are a few shots of Collin modeling one of his new bibs. I have a hard time getting him to sit still, so you get to see the side and back views of the bib as well.

Lately, he's all about growling and giving us this crinkled nose face. We call it "the tiger." Where does this child come from?!  :) 

This rocking chair was a Goodwill find :)

Love my sweet boy.