Wilson's (almost) Irish Twins: Project #2: Quilted Bibs

Monday, January 14, 2013

Project #2: Quilted Bibs

My second sewing project for our new little girl - quilted bibs. I think you can say I might be nesting.

These two are my favorite. I can't wait to see our little one
wearing them.

My husband thinks I am a bit obsessed. I think I am just excited. Either way, I am having a ton of fun learning to sew and I am loving these quilted bibs I made this weekend.

I wanted to figure out how to do buttonholes. I had never done one before and figured that bibs would be a great practical way to practice.

For the bibs, I followed an easy tutorial over at Sew She Sews that includes a free pattern printable. The tutorial is super beginner friendly. I had no issues getting the bibs sewn and ready for my buttons.

I am not sure why, but sewing buttonholes has always intimated me. I just figured it would be this complex process. IT'S NOT.

The two important steps that I kept forgetting or screwing
up while practicing my buttonholes were to either pushing
the buttonhole lever back or I would forget to hold my
needle thread in the beginning.

My sewing machine basically does it all by itself. There is no measuring or major adjustments to figure out. I just attach my button to the back of my buttonhole foot and my machine knows how large to make the buttonhole.

It did take me a few tries to figure out how to do it though. I think I was trying to make it more complicated than it was. I am still getting use to the dials on my machine, so I use my manual often to make sure that everything is set to what it should be.

This was the last hole that I did and I barely needed to
check my manual to know how to do it.

I found this old post by Puking Pastilles that gave a buttonhole step-by-step tutorial on a Brother sewing machine. Her tutorial had great photos for each step that helped me to visualize what my manual was trying to tell me.

I can't believe that I was able to make 5 bibs so easily. The first one took me about 2 hours because of the buttonhole, but the rest took me about 45 minutes each. Each one got easier and easier to do. Sewing really is all about practice and repetition.

Each bib has flaws, but each one looks fabulous. They are not perfect, but I love them and can't wait for our daughter to wear them. She is going to look adorable.