Bandana bibs - fabric opinions please

[Ilovemyshoppingtrolley]

I'm looking into making bandana bibs possibly to sell, my initial thought was to use up my oddments of cotton fabric so the layer would be as follows ;
patterned cotton - waterproof fabric - plain cotton fabric.

Having a think about it, I am concerned that the patterned fabric will crease when washed but unable to iron it due to the waterproof material inside ( I have tested ironing it and it melted inside)

Would it concern you to put an un ironed bandana bib on a baby/toddler?

I am tempted to order some different material but that sort of defeats the object at using up my scraps.

h and one last thing - would you prefer poppers or velcro as a fastening?

Thank you muchly

Hi, it wouldn't bother me if they could nit be ironed. They go through them quickly so it seems pointless. I would also prefer poppers as velcro loses its sticking after a while.

My main concern would be that doesn't sound very absorbant. When I make dribble bibs, I use a layer of Terry towelling.

I don't buy bibs that use Velcro, they always stick to things in the wash.

If the crumpling bothers you, why don't you use Jersey, which creases less than cotton?

I do not iron them! I agree they don't sound very absorbant.

You don't iron bibs. They don't want to be water repellent, they want to be absorbent. Look for towel type fabrics.

I think all our best ones were cotton or jersey cotton with the backing either toweling or fleece. Popper fastening. The velcro ones, as PPs have pointed out, just used to fall off after a few washes. And the plastic backed ones were soggy.

My baby started teething at 2 weeks. Popper fastening wouldn’t have worked for him as he was below the 5th centile. And the point of bibs for us, is that they are absorbant. Quick drying is a bonus. See Bibado’s double layer bibs for the type that really work for us.

For weaning bibs we love Bibado’s weaning bibs. They are long sleeved and totally adjustable from 6 months to 2-3 years old. They are washable and waterproof / water repellent.

I prefer velcro because you don’t need to think about getting them free of it in an emergency - you just pull it off.

Ironing bibs?! Mine had terry ones that did up with a popper. There are literally gazillions out there already.

Bandana bibs aren't for mealtimes, they are generally for dribble or sicky babies, so they absolutely need to be absorbant on top of the waterproof layer. Otherwise the liquid will soak them immediately and spread around the edges to the clothing. The whole point is that you can change the bib much more regularly/easily than the baby's whole clothing so it keeps them comfortable.

Thanks everyone, been a long time since my DC were babies. I've listened to your advice and just spent a fortune on jersey fabric and terry towelling! (bang goes my resolution not to buy any more fabric until I have used up most of my stash!)

Ironing bibs?!

I don’t iron full stop.

I like poppers, velcro us horrid. Sticks to everything in the wash.

I prefer poppers too, especially ones that have two poppers on one side so you can make them smaller to fit small necks, velcro sticks to everything in the wash. I have bandanna style bibs from H&M that crease on washing but I don't bother ironing them as they are never on him for long enough for it to matter. Absorbency is key as I want to save myself changing his tops multiple times a day.

I've just ordered a popper set - now all I have to wait for is the fabric!

I make these as baby gifts for people who aren’t close enough to get a quilt.

I use quilting cotton/terry usually.

I have canvassed opinion and there is no consensus re: poppers vs. Velcro. So I mix and match it. I do normally put on two male poppers to give different size options...