Dribble Bibs

Little Hands needed dribble bibs, and I wasn't happy with the low absorbency of the commercially available bibs. This pattern was a very simple trace-and-create job. Fussing with the bias tape all around those corners, however, was not simple. I made three bibs for Little Hands and one for another baby, but ended my plans to future bibs. Now that I have a few geeky bibs for my little 'un, I'd rather devote my time towards other projects than this one.

Supply List

• Tissue paper from my stash. I believe it was purchased from a long time ago.
Carter's bib to trace. I like Carter's design because it fastens on the side rather than behind the head.
• Print fabric Robert Kaufman Robot Factory by Caleb Gray from Fabric.com (Though I noticed this week that the robot print is now available at The Common Thread, but the circuit print remains unavailable locally.)
• The absorbant is 11oz Microfiber Terry from Fabric.com
• The bias tape was made from fabric purchased at Quilter's Folly. Unfortunately, I have no idea what the fabric prints are.
• The touch tape and loop fabric for fastening came from Kids in the Garden

Method for Sewists

1. Trace a bib on tissue paper. I tweaked the design to be a bit larger.
2. Cut out two layers of pretty fabric; make certain they're opposites! And one layer of absorbent liner. My terry cloth really makes this to be extremely absorbent, but it also makes for a bulkier bib. Little Hands has not complained about the bulk, and I like the extra absorbency.
3. Prepare bias tape. I used only a 1/4 yard of fabric with 1.5" strips and had plenty for two bibs. Of course, your yardage will vary depending on the circumference of the bib pattern you use.
4. Cut hook tape and loop fabric to size. Stitch hook to the neck loop end of one piece of fabric. Stitch loop to the bib body of the other piece of fabric. This step is really why I even bother writing out these directions. On my first attempt I forgot to attach the side of the hook and loop that isn't attached by the bias tape.
5. Layer fabrics and attach bias tape.

A Pan Organizer

This (recreated) utter mess is what my pans cabinet looked like before this project. The cabinet is in a great location, but I own too many pans for the small space. Unfortunately, all my other cabinets were too far away or even smaller, and the kitchen design isn't conducive to hanging the pans from the ceiling or a wall.

The solution I liked best was the Maple Racks from the Container Store. Those racks what they use to organize their in-store products. I already utilize the similar 4-Sort Dividers to organize my baking pans.

Sadly, those maple sorters aren't the correct dimensions for my cabinets, pan heights, and quantity of pans.

Happily, the construction is pretty obvious: wood + holes + dowels.

This is the solution which DH and I designed. It isn't as elegant as the store-bought version, but it does the job better. I measured the cabinet. DH went to Home Depot, selected the wood, and had them cut it to size. (We lack the equipment to cut it ourselves.) I then measured the height from counter-to-handle-arch of each pan. Using those measurements, I marked where I wanted each dowel to be located; you can still see those penciled notes on the wood itself. DH drilled holes through the first board, cut the dowels to height, stuck 'em in, et voila.

Our original intent was to use nails and glue to affix the two boards and all the dowels into a solid form. Then I might have painted it.

The reality is that this project was started when I was 9 months pregnant and couldn't stand the pan disarray anymore. The supplies were purchased then, but they sat in the garage until Little Hands was 2 months old. At that time, I was frustrated enough with the project to move it forward, but I was too exhausted to add in the finishing steps. I'll admit I now don't have much intent on prettying up the rack because it's functional and it's hidden in a cabinet anyway.

Ta-daaaa. This is how my cabinet looks now. It's wonderful to not have to get on the floor and dig to find a particular pan. It's also wonderful to not have to figure out how to shove a pan into the cabinet without it scratching another or falling out.

Want to implement this idea in your own kitchen? Don't forget to pin it!