Hi Sewing friends! A little while ago I sewed up some fun colorful pullover toddler bibs for my 2 year old and promised a tutorial to show you how I made them. Since my tutorial is not hosted on Fabric.com anymore I'm sharing it here for you today!  

This style of baby bib has become a staple in my household. It goes on easily, is tough for my toddler to pull off, and provides great coverage for all those messy toddler meals. I recently sewed these up in several fun prints with things on them that he recognizes. It has been so fun to let him choose which one he wants to wear as he's been learning to talk.

Want to learn how to make these Pullover Toddler Bibs?

This Tutorial is a variation on my original Pullover Towel Bib Tutorial found HERE.

How to make a Pullover Toddler Bib

Finished dimensions: 9'' x 13'' with a 5 1/2 '' neck opening
Fits toddler with a head circumference of 20 inches or smaller

Materials List:

Make 3 bibs using these amounts

• 1/3 yd Print fabric, quilting cotton
• 1/3 yd Minky cuddle fabric
• 1/4 yd knit ribbing
• Small bowl or circle template with a 5’’ diameter.
• Marking pen
• Coordinating thread

Cutting List:

• Cut 1 rectangle 10’’ X 14’’ from the print fabric
• Cut 1 rectangle 10’’ X 14’’ from the Minky fabric
• Cut 1 strip 2 1/2" X 14" from the knit ribbing, if you have very stretchy ribbing you may need to shorten this length

How to Sew the Pullover Toddler Bib

1. With right sides together lay the print fabric on top of the Minky fabric. The Minky tends to shift easily so press the 2 pieces together and smooth them out with your hands until it all lays flat. If the Minky doesn’t line up perfectly don’t worry too much. Place pins in the middle of the four sides to hold the Minky fabric in place. Place the circle template or bowl in a corner and trace around it using the marking pen to create a curved corner. Repeat for each corner.

2. Cut along the traced line to trim the corners and sew around all the edges with a 3/8’’ seam allowance.

3. Clip notches into the seam allowance of each curve being careful to not clip into the stitches.

4. Draw a circle for the neck hole using the circle template or bowl. Position it in the center and about 1 1/2’’ from the top edge. Trace around the circle using a marking pen.  

5. Cut out the neck hole along the marked line cutting through both fabrics carefully.

6. Turn the bib right side out through the opening. Using a warm iron, press the seams flat. If the iron is too hot the “dots” in the Minky fabric will flatten and disappear. To be safe just press along the edges of the bib from the printed fabric side only.

7. Topstitch around the edges of the bib about 1/4’’ away from the seam with a coordinating thread.

Trim any Minky fabric that doesn’t match up in the neck opening.

8. Fold the ribbing strip in half lengthwise. (There isn’t usually a ‘right’ side to ribbing). Sew the short ends together with a 1/4’’ seam allowance. At this point you can check to make sure the ribbing fits over your baby’s head if you’d like. Most ribbing has great stretch and recovery but if yours doesn’t you may need to cut your ribbing strip longer. If you don't have a baby on hand, if the ribbing stretches as a little bigger than the cut neck opening, then it will be just fine.

9. Finger press the seam open and fold it in half widthwise so the seam is on the inside.

10. Divide the ribbing into quarters and place a pin at each point.

11. Divide the neck opening into 4 quarters as well by folding it in half each way and marking the fold with a pin or marking pen.

12. Match up the markings with the ribbing seam at the top and pin them with all raw edges together.  Stretch the ribbing to meet the neck hole and pin as needed.  It should look something like this.

13. Sew the ribbing onto the neck hole with a 1/4’’ seam allowance.  Stretch the ribbing as you go to match up the raw edges.

14. Finish the seam using a wide zigzag stitch or serger to minimize fraying.

15. That’s it! Hold it up and admire your work. It’s okay if it’s not perfect, it was made with love and will do the job. This will be so well loved, you won't want to make just one.

If you make some I would love to see, just tag me on Instagram @bluesusanmakes #pullovertoddlerbib, or send me an email.

You can find examples of a few more Pullover Toddler Bibs HERE

You can also make these out of hand towels, check out the full tutorial here!

Happy Sewing!