Opening

The point of a bandana bib is that it does not read as a bib. It sits like a neckerchief over the front of a top, so it stays on between feeds and through the walk to the shops instead of being taken off the moment the meal ends — which is when most of the dribble actually happens.

The front is printed or plain cotton. Behind it is a waterproof layer, and that is the part that does the work. It fastens with press studs at the back of the neck.

What you get

One bandana bib in the design you select. Sold singly, not as a multipack — the designs in the gallery are the range to choose from. Most people keep several in rotation, since a bib in use is a bib in the wash.

Product details

• Format: triangular bandana bib worn point-down at the front
• Fastening: press studs at the back of the neck
• Construction: cotton face with a waterproof backing layer
• Weight: approximately 30g
• Plain designs: White, Pink, Dusty Pink, Grey Blue, Light Blue, Mustard, Brick Red, Khaki, Pea Green
• Printed designs: Bear Face, Squirrel, Little Rainbow, Rainbow on White, Star and Moon, Stars, Lemon, Colour Dots, Pink Floral, Black Leopard

Fabric and safety

• Face: cotton, plain or printed
• Backing: waterproof layer
• Neck: press stud fastening

The backing is the whole difference between this and a folded muslin. A single-layer cotton bib absorbs until it is saturated and then passes damp straight through to whatever is underneath, which is why a wet muslin means a wet vest. A backed bib stops the transfer at the layer, so the front can be soaked while the top underneath stays dry.

Check the press studs when it arrives and every few washes after. A stud that has worked loose on any baby garment is a small part in the wrong place, and the neck fastening is the component that takes the most repeated stress on a bib.

Size guide

Fit notes

Two stud positions means it grows with a baby for a while rather than fitting one stage only. Use the outer setting once a polo neck or a jumper is going underneath, since a bib fastened over a thick collar sits tighter than the same setting over a vest.

It should sit close enough not to slide round the neck but loose enough to get a finger under. If a baby can pull the point up to their mouth, the neck is too slack.

Styling

The plain colourways are the practical buy — Khaki, Mustard, Grey Blue and Brick Red hide marks between washes far better than White does, which matters more on a bib than on anything else in the range. The printed ones are the gift buy, and Bear Face, Squirrel and Star and Moon sit alongside the comforters if you are putting a set together.

Care

Machine wash at 30°C on a gentle cycle with like colours. Dry flat or on a low tumble setting. Avoid a hot wash and a hot iron, and never iron the reverse — heat is what damages a waterproof backing layer, and once that layer has gone stiff or cracked the bib is a single-layer cotton one and stops doing its job.

What is not included

The bib is supplied on its own. Clothing, comforters, dummies, toys and anything else shown in the photographs are styling only, as is any second bib pictured alongside the one being shown.