totally drool worthy

if you invite me to a baby shower now, you will be sure to receive at least one "Bapron." 

a friend of mine is expecting and i wanted to make something cute. so i came across the pattern at Craftiness is not Optional for a baby bib/apron: a "bapron." i set out to find some cute fabric and came across this super soft dotted fleece. originally i was thinking a small stripe, but i think the dots on the tutorial sunk into my subconscious and i ended up buying dots!

front

back

i love love love this pattern. and on my rating scale that's the most "loves" you get. that's like 5 stars. 

a couple notes… i decided to just use store bought bias tape to save time, but… if you pick a light colored bias tape and your fabric is darker… and you're a bit OCD, then you might run into a little issue. the way they fold bias tape in (i used extra wide double fold) the two folded sides do not meet up exactly in the center. there's a tiny gap. which is perfectly good in some cases, but in this case that means i could kinda see through that part of the bias tape and the darker fabric showed through. i didn't like it. i wanted a nice solid yellow (this is "lemon ice") all the way around the edges. so i went back to the iron and ironed the folded edges in just a touch more so that they met up exactly in the middle and there was no show through. kind of annoying. but much happier in the end.

more on ironing and bias tape…it helped a ton to realize the shape of the curve you will be putting your bias tape around, concave or convex. (if you have trouble remembering which is which, concave curves inward like a cave.) so the armholes and neckline are concave. the bottom edge is convex. iron your bias tape for each of these areas into the curved shape (concave or convex) that matches the area the bias tape will be applied too. i read this somewhere. and i'm glad i somehow remembered it at a time when it was very helpful!

also i didn't have any fray check, so i just stitched back and forth on the end of the tie before knotting it. i used the same fabric for the front and the back, but you could use different fabrics. it's pretty much reversible, both sides are finished. in between the 2 layers of fabric, i used some medium weight interfacing. it's such a great pattern. very smart. i love how the bias tape overlaps to leave everything looking very finished. my husband said "you could buy that in a store." which is a huge compliment.

oh one more thing, go very slow on the parts where you're going over 2 pieces of bias tape on the corners. i just used the hand crank on the side on those parts. it's a lot of layers to go through. but just do it slowly and you'll be golden. i also figured out a trick for lining up the bias tape with my machine's foot so that i got a nice even line of stitching close to the edge. it might be "duh" to most of you. but if anyone is curious or doesn't know how to get an nice even line of stitching close to the edge i can take a photo of how i lined it up. I did get a close up shot, so you can admire the nice lines of stitching.

are you drooling over this pattern yet?  well, pretty soon a baby will be drooling all over it. literally. oh and did i mention it's a free pattern? should i have started the post with that info? check it out: Craftiness is not Optional

and if you're not into baby stuff, i'll get back to doing my usual selfish sewing soon. ok a few more baby posts. and then some christmas gifts. and then back to myself. and no, i have not fixed the neckline of my knit top yet. i haven't even ripped it out yet. it's just hanging there glaring at me while i sew cute little baby things.