Tag: clothing

The Creative Corner · Vintage Needlework · Vintage Sewing

Embroider a Baby Bib

VintageJenny
Illustration of two white baby bibs on a blue and yellow background. Each is decorated with flower embroidery. Image dates from 1940s-50s.
Baby bib designs for embroidery

Bibs keep babies tidy. They go in and out of fashion, but a stack of baby bibs was a must-have to any vintage household with a baby in it. Some were for utilitarian use, and they got thrown into the laundry hamper after one messy meal. Others were designed for decoration, and matched or complemented the baby’s wardrobe. You can embroider a baby bib that falls in between these extremes. Make one to match a special outfit. Or create a couple special warm weather bibs for that baby in your life.

Lots of vintage bib patterns exist, because the bib became a staple of the layette. While looking through a stack of old patterns, I came across these two that I just had to share. They’re from an undated layette pattern set, probably from the 1940s or at the latest, early 1950s. I thought they were darling and I wanted to pass them along in case anyone could use them.

To Embroider the Baby Bibs

These patterns measure about 8 1/8 to 8 1/4 inches from side to side, and 8 to 8 1/4 inches from back to belly. They should print well on US size letter paper.

To embroider the bibs:

  • Two 10 x 10 inch pieces of white or pastel fabric, light to medium weight like quilting cotton, batiste, or muslin. You can also use 1/4 yard of any of the fabrics.
  • 1 yard of bias tape to coordinate or match your base fabric. This will edge the neck and form the ties.
  • Embroidery floss in your choice of colors.
  • Embroidery hoop to hold your fabric taut.
  • Sharp embroidery needle – not a cross stitch tapestry needle. This one needs to have a sharp point to go through the fabric.

Use these stitches:

  • French knots or satin stitch for the dots.
  • Satin stitch or lazy daisy stitch for the flowers.
  • Outline or stem stitch for the lines.
  • Buttonhole stitch for the edges.
  • Rambler Rose stitch for the roses. (See below for illustration).
Illustrat8ion for completing a Rambler Rose stitch in embroidery.
This is a rose stitch.

Colors You Will Need

Really, you can use any colors you want. Traditionally these were embroidered in light, wispy, pastel colors. But as you can see from the first picture, the original artist colored them with bright reds, yellows, and blues. Is this because it matched their pattern envelope brand colors? We will never know.

The pattern itself does suggest some colors:

  • Work entirely in one color. This is great for a more formal bib, or one where you want it to match a particular outfit without question.
  • Flowers: pink or blue, or any pastel color on white. Or white on any pastel fabric color.
  • Centers: light yellow or white.
  • Leaves and stems: light green.
  • Ribbons and dots: pink, white, or blue, depending on colors used for flowers. You can match them or contrast.

If you need ideas for embroidery stitches, or instructions on how to do the stitches suggested, I created a whole set of blog posts with vintage embroidery lessons. It’s called Lessons In Embroidery.

Creating the Bibs

Here are the steps to putting one of these bibs together.

  1. Print out the design you want to use. The original bib measures about 8 x 8 inches or 8 1/4 by 8 1/4 inches. Either is fine. I printed the image at 45% to 46% to match the size.
  2. Transfer the design to your fabric. You can trace it, use fabric carbon paper, prick the lines with pins and rub powder over them, whatever you like.
  3. Embroider the main design.
  4. Use a buttonhole stitch to go around the scalloped outside edge of the bib. This finishes it off.
  5. Cut out the bib carefully. Be sure not to catch your buttonhole stitches. Cut along the cutting line at the neck. You’ll have about a 3/8 inch seam line.
  6. Fold your bias tape in half. Attach the middle point to the middle front of the bib neckline and pin it around. Sew the bias tape onto the bib, either by hand or machine. Fold it over and hem the tape to the back of the bib. Sew the long edges of the bias tape straps together so they don’t unfold. You can sew the ends of the tape, or not. It’s cut on the bias. It won’t unravel.

The Patterns

Here are the patterns you will need to create the bibs.

Photo of a bib pattern for download.
Baby bib number 1 with a sweet bow and bunches of flowers.

And here is the second design.

Photo of a bib pattern to download.
Baby bib number 2, with roses and scrolls.

The thin line around the outside of the bib shows where to place the buttonhole edging.

Where to Go from Here

If you enjoyed this project, you might also like some of the projects in Lessons in Embroidery. Here’s Lesson 2, all about various straight line stitches. This is the information that hooked me on vintage embroidery stitches, many years ago. Check it out. Lessons in Embroidery: Outline Stitches

The Creative Corner · Vintage Fashion · Vintage Sewing

Capsule Wardrobe Concept

VintageJenny

For quite awhile I’ve been intrigued by the capsule wardrobe concept. Not because it’s such a new idea, but because it isn’t. The capsule wardrobe arose from necessity rather than fashion.

The term Capsule Wardrobe first appeared in the late 1930s and resurfaced in London during the 70s. A London boutique owner hit on it as a marketing term, and it took off for a second time. Here’s the Wikipedia article about it, in case you’re interested.

Original Capsule Wardrobe

The concept behind the original capsule wardrobe was simple. Two skirts, three blouses, one jacket, perhaps a pair of shorts for summertime, and you’re ready for a season of clothing. It reduced clothing planning to the bare minimum. It saved closet space. And most important of all, it saved money over purchasing readymade clothing that did not match.

Pattern envelope from the 1960s showing a possible coordinated capsule wardrobe. Six women pose in a variation of dresses, tops and skirts, with and without coats or jackets.
Although it’s not in the greatest condition, this 1965 pattern envelope shows the 1940s idea of the capsule wardrobe.

The Great Depression was in full swing in 1938 and finding the money for new seasonal clothes proved difficult if not impossible. Fabric was expensive, and in the Forties due to the war effort, somewhat scarce. Clothing costs soared after WWI, and had dropped again by 1923, but not to the prices consumers had seen in the 1910s. Families could see that clothing was becoming more and more expensive. And once the Depression hit, money to buy that clothing might be nearly nonexistent. What was a family to do?

The answer was to plan a seasonal capsule wardrobe. Several pieces of clothing made from one long piece of fabric saved on fabric usage, for one thing. Any leftover scraps of the material could be fashioned into a matching hat or purse, a definite plus. Leftover blouse material could line the hat, the purse, or be fashioned into matching handkerchiefs if enough existed. 

Using It Today

Why does the original concept interest us today? For one thing, it’s much smaller than the set of clothing used for the term now. A sample 2020s capsule wardrobe might list three pair of shoes, two skirts, two pair of trousers/pants, one pair of blue jeans, several tops, a dressy blouse or two, one to two dresses, a dressy dress, and one to two purses. That’s not a capsule wardrobe. It’s a full wardrobe created with some planning, what we used to call Wardrobe Planning or a Trousseau.

If you enjoy a specific time in the historic past, you might want a small wardrobe you can wear. A small capsule wardrobe fills that need without breaking the bank or your storage space. But only if you keep it to the bare minimum. 

Take Six Pieces

Of course, if you create a five or six piece capsule wardrobe and decide you want to wear these clothes all the time, you can always increase your pieces. Add a vintage winter coat and perhaps a vintage pair of slacks or bloomers. Pedal pushers were the knee-length capris of the Fifties and Sixties and they’re darling. I remember wearing a pedal pusher outfit of my grandmother’s as a preteen, and feeling beautiful in it.

Pick a time you like, and begin to build an ideal small wardrobe. Take two bottoms, three tops, and something that pulls it all together like a sweater or a jacket. Perhaps a white knitted shawl will work, depending on your time period. If you live in a warm climate your extra piece might be made of sheer fabric. Or it might be physically small, like a bolero vest.

Back to the Sixties

In the photo above, the 1965 home dressmaker could create an entire wardrobe from this one pattern. Let’s say she purchases this pattern and a ton of fabric in four coordinating colors. She buys a blue print, blue solid, yellow print, and a yellow solid. From the blue solid she makes a full dress and a long coat. From the blue print she makes a blouse and skirt. The yellow print gives her a blouse. From the yellow solid she makes a jacket, skirt, and blouse. Now she has three blouses, two skirts, a full dress, and a long blue coat that she can wear with anything. For a bit of extra glamour you could add an extra long coat in yellow, but it’s not necessary. One coat is plenty for a season, especially with a suit jacket that goes over a skirt and blouse.

Whatever you do, pick classic, timeless pieces that you love. If you don’t love it you won’t wear it. The whole point of the vintage capsule wardrobe concept is to allow you to dip into time-period fashion as much or as little as you like. 

Next time, we’ll talk about creating a simple 1910s Capsule Wardrobe.