Aden and Anais Copy Cat Muslin Bibs

Thanks so much for your congratulations on my announcement last week! We are so thrilled to be welcoming our son in (hopefully) just under a month! 

In typical third trimester fashion, I have been nesting like crazy. Having the summer off gave me some extra time to work on some fun baby DIY projects. One that I had so much fun with are these patterned muslin bibs. 

It didn't take long to hear about the brand Aden and Anais after learning that I was pregnant. Everyone seems to love their products. They specialize in bibs and swaddle blankets using their ultra-soft muslin fabric. The fabric is an almost gauze-like open weave and perfect for absorbing spit-up. 

Here are some pictures from their website: 

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It also didn't take long to figure out that to order the supply that I would need, I'd be paying an arm and a leg! So when I spotted these plain white muslin bibs at Buy Buy Baby for a much cheaper price, I jumped at the opportunity to make my own. 

They also have these apron-style bibs that are very similar to Aden and Anais's "burpy" bib.

The bibs are made using the same organic muslin cotton that Aden and Anais uses. The classic style comes in packs of five for $20 but using a 20% off coupon, I was able to get them for $16. That's about $3 a bib versus Aden and Anais's $6. 

I also loved getting to pick my own colors and patterns! I stuck with more muted boy-friendly colors and shapes, but I think it would be so much fun to experiment with some brighter colors or floral patterns for a baby girl. 

Materials:

Green Sprout Plain White Bibs

Acrylic Paint

Textile Medium

Foam Paint Brush

Painter's Tape

White Potatoes (to use as stamps)

Assorted Basic Shape Print-Outs

X-Acto Knife

Let's start with the striped bibs. I started by laying out all my materials on the kitchen counter. 

Next, I used my painter's tape to start my stencil.

Using my ruler as a guide, I spaced the tape lines exactly one inch apart.

When I got to the label, I taped it out of the way (as shown below).

Then I used small strips of paint to tape off the outer bias of the bib. This gave me a cleaner overall finished look, in my opinion. 

One by one, I taped up all of my bibs. 

Then, following the directions of my textile medium, I mixed my acrylic paint and medium. The medium just softens the acrylic paint so that it dries softer. Without the medium, you'd end up with a  crunchy finished design. Using a medium ensures that, with each wash, your design will get softer and softer. 

Working carefully, I started in the center of the fabric and worked the paint towards the edge. 

After letting the bibs dry for about 20 minutes, you can start carefully peeling off the tape. 

Ta-da! Aren't those stripes so fun?!

I loved peeling the tape off each bib to reveal the fun, striped design. Each one turned out so cute! 

P.S.: You might worry that your paint is going to seep through to the back layer of the bib, but I did not  have this happen with any of my bibs. Here's the back-side of one after painting to show you.

If stripes are not your thing, then try using potatoes to make your own custom stamps! I loved these simple stars for mine.

Start by cutting a potato in half. 

With the designs you've previously printed out (think simple, straight-lined designs for best results), trace the pattern on to the potato. I just used a sharpie to help me with this. 

Using an X-Acto knife (or other sharp knife), cut away the negative space around your design. 

For best results of stamping, I found it best to paint the stamp with the foam brush as opposed to actually dipping it in the paint. This will give you a more uniform, light coat of paint. 

Then you just start stamping! It's best to reapply paint with the brush after each stamp.

Again, I used painter's tape to protect the bias edge of the bib.

For the classic-style bibs, I made a little apron to keep the edges neat. 

Here's another stamp that I didn't end up using. I found that the designs I made with straight lines were better looking and decided to use those instead. 

I love the way these star-printed bibs turned out! 

After painting, you'll want to carefully follow the instructions of your textile medium. Mine called for a quick heat-setting of the paint using a hot iron. It also suggested waiting a full 7 days before washing, so I followed those instructions as well. I found that the more times I washed the bibs, the softer the paint became. 

I can't wait to try out these bibs on baby boy! He's got a nice collection now to keep him stylin' and spit-up free for quite a while. (: 

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