Big Kid Bibs

Sewing is an intense experience for me. I don't do it often. I don't usually know what I'm doing. I didn't follow a pattern, just used the old bibs and my own ideas. I spent three hours thinking, cutting, and sewing these this morning. My arms and hands are still fatigued.
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I have a daughter (not the one pictured below) who has Down Syndrome and Autism. Most of the time we put a bib on her for meals. For years, I've used the big old bibs my mom gave me that she bought for my grandpa. They were white terry cloth with a vinyl backing. Now they're stained orange from tomato sauce and age and they're falling apart-- embarrassing and ugly. My daughter needed new, big-kid bibs.
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Color mattered most. It had to be bright, multi-colored fabric with a lot of red to hide the sauce. I made two apple bibs with pockets, one with red on back and one with navy. I made two bibs with the black-patterned fabric, added the red fabric for length and put yellow fabric on back. I used red and black thread. My younger daughter likes the swirly pattern on the back of the black, but normally this won't show. (You would not believe how hard it was to get her to model this for me. And the faces she made! It's not cool to wear a bib when you're ten.)

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I put low-loft batting between the front and back fabrics. I made a button hole on one side of the top and sewed a velcro cable tie to the other side. I didn't want to have to mess with string ties, but I wanted it to be very secure. Instead of worrying about turning and hemming, I sewed everything wrong sides together and notched the edges. The edges will fray with time and will make a nice fringe.