You can never have enough bibs. Between milk feeds, dribble and the first spoonfuls of mashed carrot, washing them is practically a full time job.

The Robot Bib is my contribution to the pile. It’s a blue baby bib with a cream and silver robot on the front, worked in a soft bamboo cotton blend that soaks up whatever comes its way.

The idea came from watching my best friend’s grandson eat spaghetti one strand at a time, with all the stiff concentration of a robot with a minor fault. By pudding, the floor looked like a Jackson Pollock. He looked delighted with himself.

The bib is knitted flat in one piece, from the bottom edge up. The robot is worked from a chart in simple intarsia, all straight lines and blocks, which makes it a lovely first intarsia project. If you’d rather keep things simpler, knit the cream face in intarsia and Swiss darn the silver details afterwards. The pattern includes written row-by-row chart instructions and a step-by-step Swiss darning guide.

Silver i-cord ties are worked straight onto the neck edge, so there is nothing to sew on. The outer edge is finished with a blue attached i-cord or, if you prefer a hook, a quick double crochet border.

Designed by Jane Burns, with 18 years of experience creating exclusive knitting and crochet patterns for babies and children.

Yarn King Cole Bamboo Cotton DK, 50% bamboo viscose, 50% cotton, 230m (252yds) per 100g ball. 1 ball each of Yarn A Blue (531), Yarn B Silver (522) and Yarn C Cream (538). Any DK cotton blend will work. Lion Brand Coboo is a good substitute in the US.

Needles A pair of 3.25mm (US 3) needles A set of 3.25mm (US 3) double-pointed needles A 3.5mm (US E/4) crochet hook, for the crochet edge only

Also needed Stitch holder, darning needle

Tension 24 sts x 34 rows = 10cm x 10cm (4in x 4in) in stocking stitch using 3.25mm (US 3) needles

Sizes One size

Finished size 18cm (7in) wide x 19cm (7.5in) long, not including the ties. Each tie measures 20cm (7.75in).

Skill level Confident beginner

A note on safety The ties go around baby’s neck, so please only use the bib while baby is supervised, and take it off before sleep. There’s more on knitting safely for babies on the blog.

This pattern is available free on the blog at janeburns.co.uk. The PDF version is available to purchase here on Ravelry, laid out cleanly for printing or saving to your device.

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