Stays mainly on the plain

I'm feeling very DIY lately, which for me is fairly crazy, since crafty and/or manually talented I am not. I have lots of ideas, sure, but never the technical skills to make them work out very well. But home ownership and motherhood are pushing me in this direction lately and what with the lack of an out of the home job, who am I to argue? So, here is one of my current projects (we are in the VERY early stages of development here, so don't get too excited or anything):

Bigger, Better Baby Bibs

The inadequate selection of bibs out there is appalling! First of all, many are small to the point of being ridiculous, like tiny little decorative neck napkins, as if anyone needed those. Second, many are not waterproof which, frankly, is just silly, particularly for an unskilled but enthusiastic water drinker like my J. Third, those that are waterproof are generally made of some thin, useless material over some emplasticated stuff that doesn't really hold up in the wash and, I ask you, who ever thought a bib that was virtually unwashable was a good idea?? Fourth, most bibs, what with their pathetic lack of absorption, seem to be designed for non-eaters, when that seems to me to be the moment when bibs become more than essential but the difference between spending hundreds of dollars on new wardrobes every month and keeping your kid in his or her clothes for at least as long as he or she fits into them. Fifth, velcro, unless VERY heavy duty, is not match for an enraged 8 month old with surprising motor skills, so something needs to be done about that.

In short (??), there has to be a better way. I have scoured the web and found lots of attempts at better products but all seem to have the same sorts of flaws, as far as I can tell, For example, someone makes full body, smock-like bibs...out of non-waterproof cotton. Or someone else makes molded or soft plastic bibs, which look cute and all but don't absorb anything, and if they have some sort of trough at the bottom, as some do, that just strikes me as a small puddle of mess my child would LOVE to exploit, something I don't need. Or there are "adult" bibs which are sterile and ugly and, while large, are also not particularly absorbent. SHEESH! So, I am on a mission to make what I want: large, absorbent, waterproof, machine washable, durable bibs. Right now, I am using this woman's idea as a model for the basic look and "improving" upon the design by adding a waterproof backing, perhaps made out of recycled plastic shopping bags (because who says this can't be an environmentally friendly project while we're at it) or vinyl place mats (I found some on huge markdown in a clearance bin somewhere). I've tracked down the knit collars, gotten some dish/hand towels to start with, and am well on my way to learning how to make plastic "fabric" from all these useless shopping bags I have lying around. So, perhaps this project will, in fact, work out. I'll keep you posted. I will not, however, be appliqueing cute little turtles on things because, seriously, who are we kidding? I will never be THAT mom!