Vintage Quilt Jacket

Well hello friends! It’s been quite sometime since I posted on this space, but I’m back with a really fun make I couldn’t resist sharing!

Patchwork and quilted clothing seem to have become increasingly popular these days and I have caught the fever! After seeing so many beautiful cozy quilt jackets, I began searching for the ‘perfect’ quilt to use for my project. I have a lot of thoughts/feelings about this whole process so I will break down each step of the quilty-journey for you! :)

How I chose my quilt

First things first, I set an alert on Facebook Marketplace for the terms ‘quilt’ and ‘vintage quilt’. This way I received notifications for any local people were selling such items.

While I don’t personally quilt, as a seamstress I understand the amount of time and effort it takes to create a masterpiece like a quilt. It’s a commitment and a piece of art, truly! So I wanted to be careful about what quilt I selected. My parameters were that the blanket needed to be in-tact enough to be wearable, but not so pristine that it had more life left as a usable blanket.

I found a quilt on Marketplace pretty quickly and was excited to bring it home and get to work!

How I washed my quilt

Examining the quilt it was apparent that it was hand stitched (amazing!!) as well as a bit delicate in many spots. So hand washing in my bathtub was the best way to preserve the integrity of the blanket.

I filled the tub with cold water and a mild free-and-clear detergent then I gently placed the blanket in the water. I let it soak for about 10 minutes before using my hands to delicately swish it around in the water. Coming back every 10 minutes, I let the jacket ‘wash’ for about 30 mintutes total.

Wanting to avoid any sort of wringing, I gently squeezed out excess water after rinsing. I then laid out 3 towels and placed the blanket on them and rolled up the quilt in a long tube. This helped soak up most of the water (have you used this method? It’s the one I like to use when hand washing sweaters!). To finish the drying process, I placed the quilt out on my shaded porch and let the summer heat do the rest!

Pattern placement and cutting

The edging of this ‘Grandmother’s Garden’ quilt is so cute I knew I wanted to use it as the hem of the jacket and really make it a feature. This meant I had to be quite strategic with placing my pattern pieces. Thankfully the blanket was just big enough to allow it all to match up! Whew!

After a quick Instagram pole (thank you everyone!), I landed on the All Well Cardigan Coat by All Well Workshop. It’s a very simple, versatile, and hackable pattern, perfect for a project like this. I used the ‘long coat pre-quilted view’ and sewed up a size 2. It’s already a roomier style jacket, but I wanted to make sure I could layer under it all winter. (Search the hashtag for this pattern on Insta…there is endless inspiration!) I chose not to add any pockets at this point simply because I didn’t want to interrupt the adorable pattern of the hexagons.

Reinforcing

I tried to choose the most in-tact parts of the blanket for my garment, but inevitably there were some sections that needed reinforcing. After some thought I decided to use a very thin double sided stabilizer that has glue on both sides. I found this on Amazon (we were in quarantine at the time so I had to place an order!) and it worked very well. I would cut small bits and use long nose tweezers to place the stabilizer where it was needed, then iron it down with a press cloth between the iron and the quilt.

Another way I tried to reinforce the quilt was to shorten my stitch length on my machine and sew around every raw edge of the pattern pieces. Since this is a hand stitched quilt, I don’t want any undoing of all that precious work!

Binding

To bind the edges I went with several colors of bias binding. This was mainly b/c we were stuck at home and I didn’t have the option of purchasing all the same color. BUT, I actually LOVE this feature of the jacket. I think it makes it so fun and playful!

Continued Care

I like to think of this jacket as a living thing! It’s had many lives now and will need continued care as it ages even more! I will need to continue to reinforce bits of it as time goes on. I’ll have to always hand wash it (which is fine by me) and be mindful of it’s presence as I wear it. It’s definitely not a ‘set it and forget it’ type garment, but that’s what makes it so special to me!

Styling

I had fun dressing up my quilted jacket for these pictures, but I’m really looking forward to wearing it more casually after I give birth and can wear jeans again (oh jeans…how I miss you!). Layering for colder temps will be a fun challenge and I really think it will shine in the spotlight as spring approaches and I’m ready for fun happy colors but the weather is still a bit cold!

This make has really got my creative juices flowing! I had a blast making it! And I’m already brainstorming how to use the scraps that are left!

Would you wear a quilted coat? How would you style it? I’d love to hear!