Knit Bibs

I am one of those people who makes the majority of the gifts she gives. Hopefully this practice doesn’t strike fear into the hearts of my family and friends. There is a chance they think “oh no, not another handmade present” when I arrive at a party. So far no one has mentioned it, so I’m going to keep up the practice until I learn otherwise.

This shall be the summer of baby showers for friends—friends having first children, long-awaited children, and second and third children. Lately I’ve been knitting baby gifts--I love the texture and comfort of soft cotton for babies. Even better are gifts that are both cute and serve a practical purpose. These bibs are the perfect project—they don’t take long to knit and the pattern is versatile. I’ve added more stripes to the pattern and buttons to the straps to make the bib able to grow with the baby.

Striped Bib Pattern

It is important to use 100% cotton yarn for these. Cotton is more absorbent than acrylic, washes really well, and feels better against the skin (for both the baby and the knitter). The color may fade over time, but that will add to the charm of the bibs—these are meant to be used and used often. 

Be bold with colors. Have fun. Bibs should be fun.

Materials

-  cotton, worsted-weight yarn in two colors

-  size 6 or 7 needles (whichever I have available at the time)

-  5/8” wide button (I like to use a contrasting color)

-  embroidery floss

-  tapestry needle

-  scissors

Method

Gauge doesn’t really matter for this project.

• Cast on (CO) 45 stitches.
• Knit all rows until you have 6 or 8 garter ridges (that’s 12-16 rows of knitting).
• Cut the yarn (or carry the color up the side of your knitting). Add the second color and knit until     you’re happy with the stripe width (I generally like the stripe to be at least 1 ½” wide), then cut the yarn and start again with the first color.
• Knit until you have 32-36 total garter stitch ridges (64-72 knit rows).
• Next row (to begin the straps): Knit 10 stitches, Bind Off (BO) the next 15, Knit 10.
• Keep the first 10 stitches on your needle, we’ll get to those later. Knit the last 10 stitches until your strap is 6 inches long, or even a bit longer. Bind off.
• With the other 10 stitches on your needle, knit until it is approximately 1” shorter than the first strap.
• To make a buttonhole: Knit 4, BO 2, Knit 4.
• Next row: Knit 4, CO 2, Knit 4.
• Continue knitting all rows until the strap is the same length as the first. Bind off. Weave in ends.
• Add a button to the strap opposite the buttonhole.

Happy knitting!