Three of these 1908 patterns (the angular ones designed by Grace B. Cross) remind me of Ruby Short McKim’s 1930s Quaddy patterns, although I wonder if, by 1930, anyone would have thought it appropriate to suggest a cock fighting motif for children’s clothing.
A preference for bibs, like that for olives, is an acquired taste. I don’t know the child who instinctively loves a bib. Some stern mama will say: “What matters it whether the child likes it or not? It is right that he should wear it and that ends the matter.”
But why make duty more stern and uncompromising and unattractive than need be? There is no virtue in doing things the hardest and most disagreeable way. “Tis love that makes the world go round,” so why not make the baby love his bib by giving it to him — like the dreaded dose of medicine — with a sugarplum?
Now, who could resist “Wilhelmina Feeding Chickens”? Who could fail to be interested in the “Goose Chase” or excited over the “Cock Fight” or curious about the “Cats of Kilkenny”?
If your stamped bib, with red or blue cotton, your long-eyed needle, your thimble and scissors are all handy, you might feel inspired to stitch now and then. Then, if you yearn for more work, put a pretty finish around the edge of the bib. Feather stitch or cat-stitch the hem in color to match the outline, or even scallop the edge.
