Cuteness alert! These fast and easy baby bibs are pretty and practical. The front is made from Jelly Roll strips. The back is absorbent terry cloth. And it’s all held together with an easy binding that turns into tails to tie the bib in place. Download our free Baby’s First Christmas gift tags below to create an adorable holiday bundle. 

A free pattern is offered below for the pretty curved pear shape of the bib. Make sure you print two copies to assemble into the full pattern.

The bib design finishes at approximately 9” high x 9¾” (at the widest point near the bottom) with 12” long ties at the back. This is larger than a standard infant bib, so it will last until babies are a little older… and a little messier with their food!

We used the same color of terry cloth for the backs of both of our sample bibs as well as the same Jelly Roll strip for the center piece on both. This is a cute way to coordinate the bibs if you are making more than one for a gift.

Packaged binding makes it fast to assemble the bibs. We simply slipped the binding over the raw edges and edgestitched in place. You could also unfold the binding and stitch in place in two steps – more like a traditional quilt binding. If you are new to this technique, check out our complete tutorial on binding quilts and throws.

Bundle several bibs with some mealtime treats and tools as an awesome gift idea. A standard Jelly Roll contains forty 2½” x 42” strips, and terry cloth is often 58/60” wide. With one Jelly Roll and just a few yards of terry cloth you could become a bib-making machine!

A baby’s first Christmas is always a special time. Download our free printable Baby’s First Christmas Gift Tags to celebrate the event.

Although we are emphasizing a holiday theme, this bib could be made in any set of colors and motifs to work year ’round.

The gift tag set is available here as a .PDF file. Click the image below to download. Print on heavier paper for best results. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, which is a free program. We’ve minimized the file size, but please be patient with the download process. In addition, make sure you have the latest version of Acrobat Reader DC, and the latest version of your printer driver. Adobe does always recommend a re-start of your computer with any update. If you are experiencing printing issues, you can also try the Print as Image option in your printer’s browser window. This option is often under the Advanced tab. You can also save the downloaded PDF to your computer and print from there.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Sewing Machine and standard presser foot
• Quarter Inch Seam foot; optional but nice for piecing the front Jelly Roll strips

Fabric and Other Supplies

NOTE: Quantities shown are for ONE bib.

• FIVE Jelly Roll strips; if you are not using Jelly Roll strips, you will need five strips that are 2½” wide by at least 10” long
• ⅜ yard of 44”+ wide cotton terry cloth
• ONE package (3 yards) of extra wide double fold bias binding; each bib uses about 1¾ yards of binding – we used Wrights Bias Binding in white
• ⅜ yard of 20”+ wide lightweight fusible interfacing; we used Pellon Shape Flex
• All purpose thread to match fabric and binding
• See-through ruler
• Fabric pen or pencil
• Iron and ironing board
• Scissors or rotary cutter and mat
• Seam gauge
• Seam ripper
• Straight pins

Getting Started and Pattern Download

1. Download and print out TWO copies of the Baby Bib pattern.
   IMPORTANT: This pattern piece is ONE 8½” x 11″ sheet. You must print the PDF at 100%. DO NOT SCALE to fit the page. There is a guide rule on the sheet to insure your printout is to scale.
2. Cut out the patterns along the solid line. Flip over one piece so it is wrong side up, then butt together the two pieces at the center. Do not overlap. Tape together to form the complete bib pattern.
   
3. Using the pattern, CUT ONE from the terry cloth for the back of the bib.
   
4. Select five Jelly Roll strips (or similar) for the bib front.
   
5. Find a dominant motif as the center point of each strip. Mark the center of this motif with a pin.
   
6. Measure 5” to the left of center and 5” to the right of center, marking both of these point. Then, cut away the excess at the outermost marks, trimming down each nicely centered strip to 10”. This gives you just a little wiggle room to cut your pattern. If you’re worried about your trimming accuracy, go with 12” strips instead, measuring 6” to the left and right of center.
   

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

Create the bib front panel

1. Place the two top strips right sides together. If you are working with directional prints as we were, make sure you are aligning the bottom of the first strip with the top of the second strip. Pin in place and stitch together with a ¼” seam allowance. We used our Janome Quarter Inch Seam foot for all the seams.
   
2. Continue in this same manner to stitch together all five strips.
   
3. When complete, you’ve created a full rectangle from which you can cut the bib front.
   
4. Press each seam allowance together and down towards the bottom of the panel.
   
5. Flip the pressed panel so it is right side up.
6. Re-attach a standard presser foot and thread the machine with thread to best match the fabric in the top and bobbin. We used a natural white thread for all our construction stitching and topstitching. Slightly lengthen the stitch.
7. Edgestitch ⅛” below each seam, securing the seam allowance and adding a pretty stitch detail to the front panel.
   
8. From the lightweight interfacing, cut ONE panel to match the size of the assembled front panel.
9. Place the interfacing panel against the wrong side of the assembled front panel. Following manufacturer’s instructions, fuse in place.
   

Assemble and bind to finish

1. Place the assembled and fused panel right side up and flat on your cutting surface. Find the bib pattern. Place the pattern on the panel, aligning the center of the pattern with the center motif points of the strips. Pin in place and cut out the front of the bib.
    
2. When cut, the bib has a pretty curved pear shape.
   
3. Place the front and back bib pieces wrong sides together. Pin the layers together through the center.
   
4. From the packaged binding, cut a length to go along the upper curve of the neck. You want the length to extend beyond the fabric a bit on either end. We cut an approximate 8” length.
5. Slip the binding over the raw edge of the curve. With packaged binding, one fold is ever so slightly larger than the other. Place the larger fold against the back of the bib. Pin in place.
   
6. Re-set the stitch length to normal. If necessary, re-thread the machine with thread to best match the binding in the top and bobbin.
7. Edgestitch the binding in place. Go slowly and carefully to insure you are catching both the front and the back of the binding in this one seam.
8. When the stitching is complete, trim the excess binding flush with the edge of the fabric.
   NOTE: Yes, that means you are cutting away any locking stitch you made. This is okay because both ends of this section of binding will be secured within the main perimeter binding.
   
9. Find the remaining length of binding. Start with about a 13” free section at the head, then slip the binding over the raw edges of the bib and continue pinning all around. At the opposite side, measure outward for a matching 13” tail of binding. This pattern has several curves; don’t be afraid to use a lot of pins in order to keep the binding smooth and even all around.
   
10. Tuck in the raw ends of the binding tails about ¼” and pin in place.
11. Edgestitch across the end of one tail, down the tail, around the perimeter of the bib, back up the opposite tail, and across that opposite tail’s end to finish. As before, go slowly and carefully to keep your seam straight and to insure you are catching both sides in this one continuous seam.
    
12. Press well from the front when finished. Remember to press the binding tails as well.
    

Project Design: Alicia Thommas
Sample Creation and Instructional Outline: Leah Wand