Anyone sew?

[daughtersrus]

I have a question.

I'm trying to make bibs out of a beach towel (my youngest DD is handicapped and too big for store bought bibs).

In the past, I've always used bias tape to edge the bib. I'm wondering if there is an easier way to do this. I'm not an expert sewer so it gets a bit difficult for me around the curved part of the neck.

My machine is a basic machine, not a serger. I'm making them double sided (the beach towel was not very thick) so not only do I need to edge them, but I need to sew the two pieces together. If I ran a zig-zag stitch close to the edge, would that keep the towels from unraveling?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[Pamlur]

I have always used a zig-zag close to the edge of fabric to prevent raveling. I personally would assume it would work on a towel, too.

 

[busyshrew]

I think it depends a bit on the thickness of the towel and the setting of your zigzag. If you've got a "tight" zigzag, combined with a really thick sturdy towel, then you'd be okay. But if you're using thin toweling, I'd stick to the bias tape. If you're finding it tricky, maybe try moving up to a thicker size of bias tape and switch to a standard zigzag stitch instead of a running stitch, that might help?

 

[AlleyKat]

I have a question.

I'm trying to make bibs out of a beach towel (my youngest DD is handicapped and too big for store bought bibs).

In the past, I've always used bias tape to edge the bib. I'm wondering if there is an easier way to do this. I'm not an expert sewer so it gets a bit difficult for me around the curved part of the neck.

My machine is a basic machine, not a serger. I'm making them double sided (the beach towel was not very thick) so not only do I need to edge them, but I need to sew the two pieces together. If I ran a zig-zag stitch close to the edge, would that keep the towels from unraveling?

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.

Pin the pieces together with the right sides facing each other. Choose a stitch, then sew around the edges at whatever seam width you desire, leaving about 2 inches of the seam open to push the finished bib through.

After you've pushed the fabric through the opening, pin the 2" opening together, making sure the fabric is turned, consistent with the existing seam.

Make sure you've pinned the bibs' ties (ribbon) in place before sewing. They should be inside of the pieces while you are sewing, with just an inch or two of what will be contained in the bib showing.
It's best to pin the ties onto the right side of the material so you know there's no chance of them getting accidentally sewn in the seam.

To make them look a bit more "finished", you may want to go around the outside edge with a straight stitch.

PM me if you have questions.

 

[daughtersrus]

Pin the pieces together with the right sides facing each other. Choose a stitch, then sew around the edges at whatever seam width you desire, leaving about 2 inches of the seam open to push the finished bib through.

After you've pushed the fabric through the opening, pin the 2" opening together, making sure the fabric is turned, consistent with the existing seam.

Make sure you've pinned the bibs' ties (ribbon) in place before sewing. They should be inside of the pieces while you are sewing, with just an inch or two of what will be contained in the bib showing.
It's best to pin the ties onto the right side of the material so you know there's no chance of them getting accidentally sewn in the seam.

To make them look a bit more "finished", you may want to go around the outside edge with a straight stitch.

PM me if you have questions.

Thanks!

Why didn't I think of that.
I guess it's because this is the first time that I'm making them double sided. I've always used thick bath towels before. We're going to Hawaii in a few weeks for DD's Make-A-Wish trip so we wanted her to have some tropical prints and found a great printed towel at Kohl's.

I'm not using ties (they get stuck in her hair) but I'm going to try big snaps instead. Last time I used velcro and that didn't work too well.

I'll be working on them this weekend so I may take you up on the offer if I need help!

Thanks again!

 

[NotUrsula]

If you want to stop the raw edges of the towel from raveling before it is bound, and you don't want to take the time to zig-zag it, you could always coat it with Fray-Chek.

Have you tried fleece binding? I find that it is less trouble around curved edges because it stretches easily, and it's comfy for bibs, too. However, if you prefer cotton bias binding, there are a couple of tricks: 1) You can pre-press it in a curve form, wetting it first and steaming it into shape. It doesn't have to match the curve angle exactly, but if it already has a curve it will ease more readily. or ... 2) You can sew it on while it's wet. Bias tape stretches a lot more when wet than dry. For this technique you would sew on the binding while wet, then press it dry after stitching it.

 

[Sorsha]

Pin the pieces together with the right sides facing each other. Choose a stitch, then sew around the edges at whatever seam width you desire, leaving about 2 inches of the seam open to push the finished bib through.

After you've pushed the fabric through the opening, pin the 2" opening together, making sure the fabric is turned, consistent with the existing seam.

Make sure you've pinned the bibs' ties (ribbon) in place before sewing. They should be inside of the pieces while you are sewing, with just an inch or two of what will be contained in the bib showing.
It's best to pin the ties onto the right side of the material so you know there's no chance of them getting accidentally sewn in the seam.

To make them look a bit more "finished", you may want to go around the outside edge with a straight stitch.

PM me if you have questions.

This.

Before you turn your bib right-side out, be sure to clip your curves (see attached photo) - this makes it much less bulky when you have turned it and you are trying to make everything lay flat. Then, once everything is turned and you have closed up the 2 inch openeing that you pulled everything through, press it very flat with an iron and make a nice topstitch seam, all around the edge, to hold everything nice and flat. Feel with your fingers and you will be able to feel inside the edge where your seam is that you just turned inside. Make sure everything is laying flat and neat before you press/stitch it down.

 

[scrapquitler]

Remember those baby bibs that looked like a towel with a hole cut in the middle? You could just pull the bib over the baby's head, no ties, no velcro, no snaps? When my daughter was little I used the same idea with a beach towel to make her a cover up. I think something like that would be perfect as a bib for your situation. I googled a found instructions, sorry, no pictures... You need a towel and little bit of ribbing in a coordinating color.

Here's the instructions I found:
*

I've made them - no pattern needed. I measured the circumference of the child's head. Marked on the towel where I wanted to cut the hole (approx 1/3 from one end). Laid the towel out and with a marking pencil drew the hole (a plate makes a good template).
I used ribbing to finish the edges. Cut the length of the ribbing 2/3 the measurement of the circumference. I like about 1" of finished ribbing, so I cut it 2 1/2" to allow for a 1/4" seam. Mark the hole in quarters with a pin. Stitch the ends of the ribbing together, and fold it so it is double. Divide into quarters and mark with a pin (I put the ribbing seam in the back). Pin the ribbing to the hole matching the cut side and match the pins. Stretch the ribbing to fit the hole as you sew it to the towel. After that I like to press the seam down (toward the towel) and topstitch about 1/4" to keep it in place.

The instructions came from this website: http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/sewing/msg0310064411919.html?6

 

[daughtersrus]

Remember those baby bibs that looked like a towel with a hole cut in the middle? You could just pull the bib over the baby's head, no ties, no velcro, no snaps? When my daughter was little I used the same idea with a beach towel to make her a cover up. I think something like that would be perfect as a bib for your situation. I googled a found instructions, sorry, no pictures... You need a towel and little bit of ribbing in a coordinating color.

Here's the instructions I found:
*

I've made them - no pattern needed. I measured the circumference of the child's head. Marked on the towel where I wanted to cut the hole (approx 1/3 from one end). Laid the towel out and with a marking pencil drew the hole (a plate makes a good template).
I used ribbing to finish the edges. Cut the length of the ribbing 2/3 the measurement of the circumference. I like about 1" of finished ribbing, so I cut it 2 1/2" to allow for a 1/4" seam. Mark the hole in quarters with a pin. Stitch the ends of the ribbing together, and fold it so it is double. Divide into quarters and mark with a pin (I put the ribbing seam in the back). Pin the ribbing to the hole matching the cut side and match the pins. Stretch the ribbing to fit the hole as you sew it to the towel. After that I like to press the seam down (toward the towel) and topstitch about 1/4" to keep it in place.

The instructions came from this website: http://www.thathomesite.com/forums/load/sewing/msg0310064411919.html?6

Thanks for the suggestion but for us, this just isn't an option. DD is not a baby so her head is pretty big. She also wears glasses and hearing aids so it's difficult to get things over her head without taking it all off.

Also, we would still have to edge the outer edges of the bib where it was cut. (we're making several bibs from one big beach towel)