My New Favorite Project

What better thing to do on a rainy spring weekend than a sewing project?

I had a couple different projects in mind; one was kid’s quilts, which I’ve made in the past. The quilts (and a small plush toy) end up with kids who need to be removed from a bad domestic situation, here in Minnesota.

Another project was making very simple girl’s dresses, which then get donated to an organization called Little Dresses for Africa. These dresses are taken along on missionary trips and are given to little girls there.

I had also recently seen some bibs for elderly patients online, and I really liked the idea of designing some that would look a little bit more like a blouse or shirt front and a little less like a bib. Maybe help an older person retain just a bit more dignity at a time in life when it’s sometimes hard to come by. Besides, I just love old people.

I emailed my friend, who works at a nursing home with elderly and Alzheimers patients, in the small town where I grew up, and she said they’d love to have some donated bibs.

I made a simple pattern; basically a rectangle shape big enough to cover a front body, with a Velcro back neck closure. I kept the lower corners square, instead of rounding them off, and added a little topstitched collar at the front neck, as well as a pocket, in keeping with the shirt look. No buttons, or ribbons, as these will need to be laundered a lot, and I didn’t want to add anything on that might come off in time.

I really only had fabric on hand for woman’s bibs, but I did pattern a pointed collar for the men’s version, and I’ll make some of those as soon as I get a chance to get out and pick up fabric that would be suitable for the men’s bibs. I will also make a smaller pocket on those, again more in keeping with the look of a shirt.

I got 11 of these done this weekend. They’re easy to put together, and take about 1 yard of fabric each. Hopefully I’ll have time to get a bunch more done before I go up north and drop off the first batch. Very fun project. (I'm not all excited about calling these things 'bibs', it seems kind of demeaning. I'll keep working on a better name...)