Quilt Coat Preparation

I am going to make a quilt coat! I know, I am late to this particular party, but I managed to get a ticket for Lorena Uriarte‘s class at AQC (Australian Quilt Convention) for this Thursday and Friday, so I am getting things prepped!

First decision; whether to make it from an existing quilt, or to make new quilted panels for my coat….. That took a while to decide I can tell you!

Finding a quilt that was gorgeous enough that I would want to wear it wasn’t the problem, it was finding one I didn’t mind cutting up that was the tough bit!

So I decided to make my own quilted fabric by selecting yardage I had in my stash (ah, my wonderful stash comes to the rescue again!)

These stunning prints from Ruby Star Society called to me straight away! The hexie print is from Honey (and even though it has some orange in it, there is enough pink to counterbalance it I think!)

And the floral print is a double border print from Rise by Ruby Star Society too. I am hoping I can use it as the lining of my quilt coat. It could be a bit fiddly to get the borders in the same spot on the arms for example, but here’s crossing fingers!

I have chosen the Hovea Quilted Coat Pattern by Megan Nielson as it looked reasonably simple (no collar etc). As I am not a garment sewer by any means, this will be a challenge for me!

But of course there are options, so yet more decisions to be made! I am going for the mid length quilted coat second from the right…. but maybe a *tad* longer. And definitely longer arms so I can turn them over for a cuff so I can see the lining!

As you bind the interior seams it is double sided, so I am going to try and find a way to have pockets on the inside as well!

So, now to the pattern….. I did say I wasn’t a garment sewer, right?! The pattern overwhelmed me. OMG so many pages to print off and then sticky tape together!!

But I finally got there. Measured myself to work out what size I needed to cut out (never fun that bit!) and I will then cut it out of some toile/tracing fabric I purchased from Spotlight. I want to make sure there is enough room to move in it!

But before I do that, I need to get my fabrics quilted up and washed before Thursday!

I really should have attached some scrap fabrics to the top and bottom selvedges so I could quilt right up to the very edge of my fabric, but I didn’t think about that until I was all loaded up and ready to go (and running out of time!).

There was a piece of Bamboo batting that was the right size, so my quilt coat should have a nice soft drape to it, and not terribly thick which hopefully will help with fit.

And I chose a Paisley all over digital design which is multi directional, so I didn’t have to think about how my pieces will be cut out. And the joy of that hexie print is that too is multi directional! (finally a decision that made my life easier!!)

And I used a variegated Aurifil in 50 weight – a gorgeous pink variegated thread! It is looking awesome on the lining.

Next up is washing and drying to ensure that any shrinkage is out of the way before I start cutting pieces.

3 Colour Catchers popped in with the wash and they all came out clear! And it is looking fabulous!

And for another first…. I am going to throw this into the dryer! I have NEVER dried a quilt in the dryer before, but I am thinking that if this coat needs to be washed it may need to go in the dryer too, so I might as well get all the shrinking happening now before I cut pieces.

Oh My Goodness!! It is so crinkly!! And the bamboo batting has made it so soft, I am getting so excited to turn this into a quilt coat!!

Stay tuned for more when my class starts on Thursday!