my latest undertaking

C's cousin is due in April and I decided I would make some gifts. 

This would be my first attempt at baby bibs, as most everything in the

sewing department is new to me.  In January, K and I had three-2 hour lessons
on how to use/care our machine from the Husqvarna-Viking lady and the rest
has been "self-taught" through these fabulous online tutorials.

Without them, I'd truly be lost.

I found this great tutorial over at Sew, Mama, Sew! courtesy of Made By Rae. 

~Note: this is my version based off of Rae's, so it varies from hers and I'll tell you the things I learned from altering it and how I'll do things differently on the next go round.
*Caution:  this is NOT a tutorial.  It's just a little bird's eye view into my world at the moment.
I'm really not qualified for any tutorials yet!

Here's my go at it...

First off, I didn't have any chenille, terrycloth, or minkee.  Anxious to start, I decided to go with some regular 'ol fabric on the front - brown polka dot, and back - bright green, sandwiched in between - a layer of leftover white felt I had lying around.  I know, I know.  It's not ideal but I had it on hand and well, I was gonna use it, dag on it!  And so I did.



I cut out the pattern and fabric using Rae's dimensions.

At this point, I decided to change things up a bit.

Instead of sewing snaps on, I decided to attach pearl snaps using a  

plier kit by Prym Creative.  I picked these up at Wal-Mart, see pricing below.

Since, I'm using these snaps, next, I made the decision to try some bias tape

along the edges.  Something else I've never tried but, I'm gonna give it my best.

With all that being said, I will be sewing these right sides out.

If the thought of snaps scares the pants off you,

read this marvelous tutorial from sew4home.

Snaps are really easy once you try a few practice runs.

Here's the first little pearl snap installed.  Cute, isn't she?

Per C's suggestion, I also decided to move the snaps on the front (polka dot fabric)

in 1.75 inches, instead of one inch to create more of a puckering effect on the pocket.

Next time, on the pocket area, I will "bell out" the fabric to account

for the gap on the edges of the pocket shown above.  The snaps on the back

stayed the same as Rae's, being one inch from the bottom and each side.

Here's my almost finished project.  I'll be picking up some bias tape tomorrow,

so I'll post photos of the final project later this week.

Or.

If it doesn't turn out well, I'll cheat you with some of the next bib, sewed to perfection.

Nah, I'll show you anyway, just so you can see what lessons I've learned.

A breakdown of my spending...

brown polka dot fabric, remnant bin - $3.81

bright green fabric, remnant bin - $0.31

pliers kit - $9.97

2 pkgs. of 12 pearl snaps, totaling 24 - $2.97 each.

Total = $20.03

Sounds like a lot but, I have more fabric and supplies left over.

So, you know me, I'll be looking for more projects.

And, C has already requested bibs as a gift for a friend.