the whiplash - finally!

It has been completed. It has been tested. It will soon be washed (since it was tested- yuck)! It was photographed.... and the verdict is... it works! My shirt is clean!

This is the Quilted Spit Up Smock I whiplashed for the February whip up- it was super fun! Here is the whole story- from sketches to completion.

Miss Lovely, my satisfied customer

Materials used: A torn, tattered, stained old flour sack towel that had just been sent to the rag stack, leftover flat cotton quilt batting, thread & pearl snaps.


Category entered: Household Waste

ReForm School? With a modified design, I'd love to do it.



What is a Quilted Spit Up Smock, you ask? It is a solution to the age-old issue of a baby wearing a bib, spitting up, and somehow defying all laws of physics, completely missing the bib and instead soaking you with watery cottage cheesey spit up. This smock is long enough to put over your shoulder when holding your babe, protecting your fine threads, and long enough to drape over the front of the Baby Bjorn (when carrying facing forward) so the babe isn't puking/staining/gnawing all over the carrier.

The smock snaps at the neck for quick on/off, and it is as long in the front as it is in the back for reversing when one side gets clobbered.

Side One
Side Two

Tatters, tears, holes & stains- in other words, the interesting parts- were cut out of the towel and pieced together. The perimeters of the holes & tears were stitched to stave off unravelling & provide a little stability, as well as to emphasize the beauty of these marks/imperfections. To me, they are an elegant record of function and utility.

Edges were also left raw; the cotton will fray at the edges through washings, and the flat cotton batting can be seen. I love that you can see exactly how the piece was constructed and what materials were used- sweet, unabashed honesty.

Detail of exposed edge & stitched tatterDetail of tatters & piecing

Detail of big tear & small hole.

Big tear was stabilized with aquick running stitch (by hand).

So there you have it! Miss Lovely didn't mind wearing it, it was convenient, it is soft, it is absorbent, it isn't so precious that I won't ever let her wear it, my shirt didn't get spit on, it was fun to make, I am proud of it, and maybe someday one of her babies will wear it. And best of all, I rescued a lovely old towel from the rag stack!

Thank you, whip up founders for starting this site & inspiring thoughful projects- you have given me pause to exercise my "real" brain in the midst of sometimes mind-numbing adventures in teething...

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