Making a Coat Out of a Quilt

Back in November, before the recent hubbub about quilt clothes needing to die, I cut up my quilt to make a coat. And I kinda really love it. I’d had the quilt for a while, tucked in the closet with no real purpose (it’s not like I had a guest bedroom or cute display cabinet), so when we were starting to pack up the house to move out, I decided I would finally get to making a jacket out of it. That way I could take it with me as something I’d actually use on-the-road versus something I’d just store for later storage.

To me, that’s the crux of any of the argument about saving quilts from being re-purposed as clothing. If you’re going to use it and love it, heck even if you just like it, re-purposing sounds like a great idea. There are so very many quilts out there; we don’t need to save them all. Anyway…

The quilt was a throw size and almost worked perfectly. If I were to do it again, I would probably trace the pieces on first to make sure I had enough room (I had to piece a sleeve), but for taking about two minutes to make the decision and start cutting it turned out okay.

I used the Tamarack Jacket pattern from Grainline Studio that I’d picked up at KC Maker Studio in Mission KS, mostly because I knew the pattern would work with the thickness since it is quite literally a pattern for a quilted jacket. I’d also bought the PDF of the Hood, Collar and Patch Pocket additions. I’d highly suggest you do the same if you use the Tamarack. It’s painfully simple without the hood or collar. I did the single welt pockets in my jacket, but I hate that they show from the inside. Next jacket I’ll do the hood and the patch pockets.

I sewed my collar on slightly differently because I didn’t want the binding at my neck. I pinned the right side of the collar to the inside of the jacket and sewed in place. The edges had been serged from the start, so I just left them there, hidden under the collar, and understitched along the collar seam.

I will admit that my least favorite part was doing the binding around the collar because of all the inward and outward corners. And of course(!) I hit a seam on my fourth corner. That was a doozy to sew, let me tell ya.

It’s not perfect, but it’s good enough and completely wearable. I’ve washed and dried it twice and love the crinkle that came with it. The weight of the quilt is fabulous and makes a perfect lightweight jacket for exploring and everyday life.

Have you made any quilt clothing? Re-purposed a quilt for something else? I think there’s something lovely about walking around with a quilt on me and I’d like to make another and a tote bag, but first I’ve got to make another quilt since I packed up all the finishes. That’s next… after the wedding quilt and the baby quilt coming up.

Happy sewing!