My Quilted Jacket

Figure out who you are, then do it on purpose.

~Dolly Parton

Quilting

Finished in time for cooler weather. The flannel batting was very difficult to seam and makes the jacket cooler to wear. Or perhaps the open neck makes it cooler. I like the shawl collar and it wasn't that hard to sew. Horizontal lines are matched on the sleeves; I didn't worry about matching each block of the Chain.

I started by planning the front then matched the same location at the seams as I moved to the back and sleeves. It worked pretty well. 

My muslin was pinned higher than the final jacket buttons. So this final version hangs a bit further off the shoulders. Something to remember. Before sewing the parts together, I adjusted the collar seam at the back to get a slightly closer fit. 

The jacket is bound in the same fabric as the background. I didn't want it to show much. 

Quilting Specifics

Design: Shawl collared jacket

Quilt block: Triple Irish Chain 

Batting: cotton flannel

Thread: Superior blue cotton thread

Quilting: Walking foot

Approximate yardage: IDK but guess 9.5 yds 

(not counting the batting/flannel)

Previous posts:

1. Making the muslin

2. Sewing the top

3. Quilting and binding the jacket

4. Men's quilted jacket

Reading

The Things We Make by Bill Hammack explores how engineering builds on scientific and mathematical discoveries even when they aren't well defined. The opening chapter shows how mostly illiterate stonemasons built enormous medieval cathedrals using rules of thumb. Using topics such as photography, ceramics, steam, and faucets to show how engineers and tinkerers use observation to create new technologies. The book ends by emphasizing that the myth of  a "lone" inventor discourages technological advancement and innovations may not solve the problem the inventor expected. 

I hope you find time to read this engaging book but at least listen to half hour summary on YouTube.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Enjoy the day, Ann

Still Working on my Quilted Jacket

Whoever said life was about the journey and not the destination never had to look for a place to park.

~ Henry Grabar

Quilting

My sister finally visited me. Usually I visit her. What a wonderful week we had: butterfly pavilion, arboretum, choral recital, lots of meals with extended family… and the Quilt Festival. Lovely although smaller than previous years. We also worked on a shirt for her. Now she’s on her way home but we’re planning future visits. 

Before she arrived I worked on my jacket. Each pattern piece has it's own translucent paper template that allows me to align intersections better (not perfect.) Once the tops were sewn, I cut lining and flannel {instead of batting} for each piece from the blue.

Stitch in the ditch was the choice for the previous jacket; it showed off the prints better. Since this jacket is all solids, I grid quilted on the diagonal, going from point to point on the design. I did use a washable marker when the points were further apart. 

The cotton flannel filling was a big mistake. There were no problems quilting the separate pieces but it was very difficult to sew seams. Probably because it was too tightly woven. It's not even noticeably thinner than Mountain Mist batting. It does crinkle less but there are easier ways to achieve that effect.

Reading

Americans expect parking to be "convenient, available, and free"... in other words "perfect." We are only now facing the environmental consequences of paving so much land for automobiles. Henry Grabar explores current issues of urban parking and offers possible solutions in an engaging and humorous manner. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Quilt Jacket Progress

A grandmother pretends she doesn't know who you are on Halloween.

~Erma Bombeck

Quilting

Many, many pieces have been moved but it seems to be working out now. The design centers horizontally on the back although I'm thinking about exactly where that piece will fall vertically. To the right is the right front. It's lining up to "semi-match" at the side seam. 

With the right front pieces sewed, I can decide where to position the pattern piece. That big notch near the top left is where the shawl collar attaches to the shoulder. In order to avoid quilt design seams at the buttonholes, the pattern may be moved a bit more. Then I'll know exactly where to place the back vertically. Then on to the left front and sleeves. 

A second placemat is finished. I've been sewing on them while waiting at airports. It's a bit too crowded to sew on board any plane these days. 

FUR (Fabric Use Rate)

Finishing two more placemats used 1.5 yards so my running total 48.75 yards this year.

Reading

Killers of the Flower Moon 
by David Grann

A staff writer for The New Yorker, David Grann researches forgotten events... and writes excellent books about them. One is Killers of the Flower Moon which I didn't think was "forgotten." Growing up in Oklahoma, I occasionally heard of the murders of many Osage to steal their oil wealth. And Jimmy Stewart starred in The FBI Story which surely covered the case. How much more could there be? It turned out to be quite a lot. By conniving to place Osage under guardianship because they were deemed incapable of managing their own money, the government set them up to be manipulated and robbed by upstanding {white} men in their community. Then the murders started. Conspiracies and coverups continued until the nascent FBI entered the scene. Even when some of the evildoers were convicted, they were given short sentences {at a time when most murder convictions meant a death sentence.} David knows how to research and it shows. Plus, he writes a gripping story whose lessons shouldn't be forgotten again. 

On a happier note, let's all pretend we don't know who those little trick-or-treaters are next week.

Enjoy the day, Ann

A Quilted Jacket of My Own

Listen! the wind is rising,

and the air is wild with leaves.

We have had our summer evenings,

now for October eves!

~Humbert Wolfe

Finally! Some rain in southeast Texas. The whole area is exceptional - the highest/worst level of drought. A few weeks ago some rain fell east and west of us. It was hard not to be envious but the entire western Gulf needs moisture desperately. And, a cold front came through that dropped our temperatures {briefly} to the upper 70s {25 C for you logical people.} Still wearing shorts and sandals; typical for Houston.

Quilting

Before they are completely out of style, I'd like my own quilted jacket. Although it's unisex, I don't want to use the same pattern as my son. That makes it harder because I have to fit a new pattern. Also, raglan sleeves are the easiest to make with all these layers. 

Nevertheless I struggled on, fitting a shawl collar pattern. Again, the pattern was much larger than needed and I sized it down a couple of times. This might not be your result, especially if you live somewhere colder and wear a sweater or jacket under your coat. 

The entire time I was fitting the muslin, I also considered the fabric. Should it be a quilt block or random pieces? What colors do I usually wear? I decided to use this medium blue as a background but wanted browns and greens also.  Something nice and quiet. And... it's not working. I think the prints aren't right but neither are the colors. I actually made about eight attempts before giving up.

Next I decided to use solids. Here I've pulled every solid in my stash and winnowed it to these colors. There's not enough so a shopping trip is planned for next week. 

Reading

The Data Detective
by Tim Harford

British economic journalist Tim Harford's latest book discusses how we can all better understand statistics. While it's easy to dismiss all statistics {or at least those we don't like} as false, they are often "the only way of grasping much of what is going on around us." Dismissing these numbers out of hand can be as deadly as mindlessly believing them. This book present ten suggestions to improve our understanding - including "searching your feelings", considering who is missing, thinking about the presentation, and demanding transparency of the data. An informative and interesting book we all should read.

Tim's podcast Cautionary Tales has weekly discussions. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

The Quilted Coat Finish

Photo heavy post.

Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.

~J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

Quilted Coat

All that angst. Years of worry and insecurity for nothing. This was a piece of cake. As Barrie wrote, it wasn't work at all because there was nothing I'd rather have done.

Quilted coat, front view

Here's the side view. DS wanted the sleeves to turn up like this. He says it will keep his hands warm when he walks the dog. I say, that's what gloves are for. Still, his choice.

Quilted coat, side view

And the back. We’re celebrating the finish at a Mexican restaurant. Fish tacos for lunch! While taking the photos, two people complimented him on his coat. Imagine that. 

Quilted coat, back view

DH and DS think this is my typically colorful design. I think I was very restrained. Each piece was placed, photographed and replaced to keep it from being too loud {ok, that's relative} and scatter colors appropriately. I stuck with indigo, navy, and dark browns, many of which had nautical themes. There are a number of whales, fish, boats, etc. but I discarded several juvenile prints. I added a mustard and a few olives but discarded brighter yellows and greens... and replaced some of the whites with pale yellow and tan. This has wiped out my browns and my small stash of Japanese indigos. They couldn't have gone to a better project

Now for general information.  

Once the top layer was ready, I laid each section on batting and backing and cut those parts to match. At the front I chickened out and left a bit more room. Not sure why. 

DS wanted a puffier coat so he didn't like flannel. I thought about buying Thermore but because lots of Mountain Mist Blue Ribbon cotton batting is lying around, I used that. There's enough challenges in this jacket without trying a new batting. However, this batting shrinks about 3% so it had to be pre-washed. That meant it had to be quilted first. Planning for that shrinkage, I added an extra inch all the way around as you can see in the photo above. That’s two extra inches. 

After much consideration, I sewed the shoulder dart like the Tamarack jacket sews its large bust dart. Layering and quilting a part that will not lie flat seemed odd, but I think this method will be more comfortable to wear. Another plus is that there won’t be a seam to finish. On the negative side, I had to do this before washing the pieces. 

I pinned liberally, then sewed all three layers together around the perimeters at a quarter-inch {and zig-zagged for good luck.} The next step was quilting in the ditch because the prints are crazy enough but it may see hard future usage as well as machine washes. I wanted every seam stabilized.

I washed all six pieces on warm and machine dried to maximize shrinkage. {Might as well give it the roughest treatment now since someone may do that later.} And look how much it shrunk. Fortunately, there was sufficient room to recut. BTW I put three color catchers in the wash but no colors bled. 

Before putting the jacket together, I not only cut the center fronts to the pattern edge, I cut an additional 5/8" off that seam because it will be bound rather than turned into an allowance. He liked the extra length so I left that and just cleaned up the edge.

I sewed the sleeves to the front and back and used Muna and Broad's directions for flat seams to give extra strength. The front seam was pressed to the sleeve and the back sleeve seam was pressed to the back. This meant there was less of a stack when I sewed the side seams together. Then I sewed the sides and bound with Hong Kong seams. {My HK binding is 1.25" wide and the flat seam binding was 1.25 or 1.5" I forget which.} In the photo on the right, I'm loosely catching those seams to the jacket just to keep it neat.

Flat seam on the left;
sewing the side with Hong Kong seams on the right.
Notice how the flat seams nest.

Here's another view of the raglan sleeve seams. Remember how I simplified the blocks when I got to the seam allowances? Can you even tell it's not the "real" block? It made less bulk in the seams. {If you look really carefully, you might see the extra sewing line from the flat seam.}

Detail of raglan sleeve

Because there's no interfacing, I was hesitant to make buttonholes and instead made loops. I've done this before but made the loops a bit too large this time both in length and width.

The collar was quite a quandary. I definitely wanted one but knew there would be so many layers. I planned to use the Tamarack jacket method to bind all the way around after the collar was attached until I realized the top of the binding would be one way on the front but "the other side up" around the collar.  Martha Moore's method worked better for me. Basically, bind the jacket first then sew the collar "backwards." Put the top side of the collar against the inside of the back neck to machine stitch. Then hand stitch the underneath part of the collar to the outside of the neck. Martha is right; it's much neater {although it meant I had to unquilt the collar and re-quilt it after it was attached.}

There is a "wad" of layers where the collar and binding overlap but my machine handled it fine. And there would have been a wad with the other method. {My edge binding was cut 2.25" wide and sewn at 1/2". Single fold rather than the double fold I use on quilts. This binding was sewn with at a half-inch rather than the narrower binding I use on quilts.} 

Quilted coat - collar views

I didn't use patch pockets because I forgot to save enough material to match the pockets to the fronts. Instead I added them inside as a final step. I lined up the bottom with a horizontal quilting line on the outside and sewed that part by machine with the outside up so I could follow the previous quilting. Then I hand sewed the pocket sides invisibly... and told DS to be careful.

What Went Well

1. Making a muslin. Oh, I didn't want to and oh, I'm glad I made two.
2. Making a collar. I love them. 
3. DS wanted a jacket that looked like a quilt so a single block was a good choice. 
4. Taking lots of time to place each piece of fabric. 
5. Altering the blocks near seam allowances to reduce bulk in the seams. 

What Could be Improved/Changed

1. Flannel batting could be pre-washed, avoiding the "wash-each-piece-before-sewing-together" step. Or choose a batting that will not shrink such as Thermore.
2. Consider interfacing instead of batting for the collar depending on the look desired.
3. Quilt block seams should nest or use sashing to reduce the bulk. 
4. Make button loops smaller and tighter. 
5. Add side pockets. 

Quilting Specifics

Size: 42" chest 

Design: Raglan sleeved car coat

Economy-style block

Batting: Mountain Mist Cream Rose Cotton

Thread: Superior blue cotton thread

Quilting: Stitch in the ditch with walking foot

Approximate yardage: IDK but guess 9.5 yds

The lining, binding, and pockets took all of a 4-yard piece I had on hand. 

The inner bindings were another half yard.

Previous posts:

1. The pattern
2. The construction

Reading

Paramedic and author Kevin Hazzard wrote this engaging book about our first paramedics. In 70's Pittsburg, a group of undereducated Black men trained under an Austrian anesthesiologist to form the first emergency response team setting standards of emergency care world-wide. It was good to learn about a forgotten chapter in our history. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

Quilted Coat Construction

It's hard to beat a person who never gives up.

~Babe Ruth

Quilting

Channeling the Babe, I just keep moving forward with the jacket. Well, mainly forward. Lots of redos. The muslin fit DS decently. I think the body is a bit loose but he likes it that way. The sheet used for the muslin is so old he had to be very careful putting it on and off. The shoulder dart could be extended half an inch, the sleeves need another couple of inches, and the jacket will be shortened four inches. {Currently it hits a bit above his knees.}

He wants it to look like a quilt. {He specifically commented on my colorful work. [I'm wondering what he's thinking. Is he planning a career as a clown?} I have a stack of Japanese indigos I've never used. Some browns might help. 

The sleeve was two pieces. I pinned the front and back sleeve together and drew a new single sleeve with a dart at the shoulder. Ok, it's slightly curved but will still be easier than trying to piece two quilted sleeve parts together. {There's a photo below.} When combining two pieces, be sure to take the seam allowances off both parts. 

Once that chore was done I copied all six adjusted full pattern pieces on my own tracing paper, back, collar, and both fronts and sleeves. No "line up on this fold line" on any piece. No "turn it over and cut again."

 

To figure things out, blocks go right on the pattern pieces as I work. When placements are poorly located it's usually quickly visible... if I pay attention. This is definitely ad hoc and improvisational. Already there are too many white squares and the green won't cut it. The yellow may be okay. Lots more work to do. 

The blocks will get smaller as the pieces are sewn together. I'm not sure how many will be needed but I don't want a bunch of extra seams in the seam allowances. I have a plan for that problem.  See the sideways "flying goose" in the left set? It's a simplification of the design to reduce bulk in the seams. Most of the goose will be discarded when the pattern piece is cut. The missing design won't be noticed... at least, that's the idea.

The left and right sides of the center front are identical because the jacket overlaps there. These blocks will be lined up so the center of each is the center front of both sides of the jacket. 

Here's my alteration of the sleeve with a dart at the top. It will be covered by a block and then sewn together and trimmed afterwards. The current decision here is whether to align the sides or centers of the blocks along that overlapped seam. It probably will come down to whichever will uses fewer blocks. 

Raglan sleeve pattern piece

In this photo the front left, back, and right front are above. The left and right sleeves are below. Things are looking more coherent. Extra background triangles are arranged on the bottom right. 

The quilt block is basically a four-patch on point. The triangles are cut a bit larger than needed. I matched the seams and mades sure the triangle apex sits at the seam of the four-patch so they will form decent squares. A good press and then I can trim the block to size, making sure seam allowances at all the four-patch corners are correct. As blocks are sewed together, I put the pattern on top and check that things are where I want and reach the cutting edges. 

All the while, batting choices run through my mind. Cotton, silk, or polyester. QS reminds me that "cotton kills" in the cold but it's not terribly cold here. Poly might be best but I don't have any. Does this jacket even need batting? Or just some flannel?

Reading

In The Very Secret Society of Irregular Witches by Sangu Mandanna, Mika Moon lives an isolated life, moving every six months to hide her powers from regular people. One day, she begins posting online videos pretending to be a witch, which leads to the unexpected offer of a job teaching a trio of adolescent witches at Nowhere House. The story was much more fun than I expected. Well written, too. 

Enjoy the day, Ann

A Quilted Coat

Life is too short to wake up in the morning with regrets. So, love the people who treat you right, forgive the ones who don't, and believe that everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said it'd be easy, they just promised it would be worth it.

~Dr. Seuss

Quilting

Five years ago my younger son asked me to make him a quilted coat. I just looked at him. What? Well, it didn't need to be a coat; he'd like a poncho. What?? Assuming he was kidding, I politely ignored his request. Turns out he was serious. I'm terrified of this project but what the heck. Dr. Seuss' words encourage me to jump in and try. Now that we're in the same town I have a chance to make one that might even fit. What's the worst that could happen? If it doesn't work, I can convert it into that poncho.

I looked at quilt coats online. Most are for women... not quite what's required. I started a secret Pinterest board to corral all the ideas. How long or short? What type of sleeve? Collar or not? Buttons or open? Pockets inside or out? It turns out I've missed a slew of coat quilt-alongs but some people posted their work. More ideas.

Every time I served as program chair for a guild, I asked Rachel Clark to speak, a talented artist who makes and wears exciting {and amusing and poignant} clothes. Everyone always enjoyed wearing her designs on the runway of our shows. She has a great website and some time-tested patterns. I even have two of them still resting in my files. 

I read anything else I could find about the process. Martha Moore's Buried Diamond blog was a {new to me} discovery. Such a beautiful coat! While I've French seamed several times, I'd forgotten Hong Kong seams. That might be a handy trick. It won't work for a reversible jacket but his won't be. 

There are also videos on YouTube. The Tamarack Jacket sew along by Grainline Studio is fourteen episodes of information for their jacket but much could apply to many quilted jackets. Muna and Broad have videos for their Grainger jacket with excellent tutorials. 

I looked at coat patterns. Raglan sleeves would give him more room. Eventually this old pattern showed up. 

Yes, the fashion sketches look dated. Somehow it reminds me of the Brat Pack movies like St. Elmo’s Fire and Pretty in Pink. But the line drawing on the back has a straight body. The epaulets, pocket flaps, and belt loops will be ignored. 

I made a muslin from an old bedsheet based on DS' {darling son} chest measurements {and what the pattern says fit.} It was way too big. Way, way too big. So I made a second one two sizes smaller. This week he'll come over to try it on.

Reading

Catriona McPherson's other series are deeply psychological murders {too much for me} but this is a romp starring counselor Lexy Campbell who marries an LA dentist when he visits Scotland, moves to California, and soon divorces him. On her way out of the country she becomes embroiled in a murder. The situations are funny and sad by turns but the dialogue sparkles. 

Enjoy the day, Ann