Quilted clothing

[Janner]

Has anyone made any quilted clothing?

I would love to have a go, but don't know where to start. Could I use an
ordinary jacket pattern, for example and just up the size that I
normally wear?

I went to a quilt show yesterday, and other crafts, they did have a log
cabin jacket pattern for sale, but it was 40 euros, $54!! There was no
fabric included, just a pattern and instructions!

Was it me, I thought that was a little mean?

That amount of money for some paper and no wadding, fabric, buttons or
anything else!

Thanks

Janner
France

[lyn5]

On Oct 10, 10:26 am, Janner <jan.chamb...@removethisbit.gmail.com>
wrote:

I have made several jackets and it is quite easy..use your normal
size. You can start by using a sweat shirt as a base or lining and do
a flip and sew type pattern. Or make "fabric" of a block you like and
cut out pattern pieces. Lots of patterns out there. Have fun.
Lyn

[Roberta]

Does seem like a lot of money. You can get one of Judy Murrah's books
for less than that -Jacket Jazz series.IIRC she has about 5. Those
jackets are pretty wild, but fun to make and a good way to try out
textile techniques that you'd probably never use in a quilt.

You can surely use any simple jacket pattern. Avoid one with darts.
Kimono style, big flat rectangles, is very good. And yes, it wil
probably need to be a size larger, or even 2 if you use the method
below.

Judy's method involves cutting out all the pieces in flannel. Wash it
and dry hot first unless you never plan to launder your jacket. Then
she builds up the top directly onto the flannel until it is entirely
covered with patchwork.( It is possible to sew the shoulder and
armseye seams beforehand, depending on how much curve is in your
pattern.) Then re-cut to correct the size before finishing the side
seams.No other batting needed. Obviously it needs lining, but you'll
want something slippery to make it easy to wear over long sleeves.
Judy doesn't really quilt her jackets, she just births them through
the lining. But you could do some very careful quilting after that
step.
Roberta in D

[Polly Esther]

I was thinking you would want a *very* plain pattern for your jacket.
Finally remembered www.kiwksew.com They have a pattern number 3438 that
actually is for quilted fabric. View B looks like a good choice. Let me
suggest that you do what our Kate D calls a 'muslin'. You'd want to stitch
a practice jacket out of something fairly stiff or bulky to be sure you can
move once your work of art is finished. Never know when you might want to
hug somebody or put a hammerlock on them or something. Polly

"Roberta" <Roberta@Home> wrote in message
news:lc3ve4dflq6js8flb...@4ax.com...

[Denise in NH]

Janner, I make quilted jackets all the time, it's easy and you don't
need a pattern.

Buy a pull over sweatshirt a size or two larger than you would usually
take, not one with raglan sleeves.

Cut off the cuffs and waistband and discard. Cut off the two sleeves
and cut up the inner seam to lay them out flat. Cut the front off, then
cut it up the middle.
I usually shape the neckline into a slight V-neck.

You now have two front pieces, one back piece, and two sleeve pieces.

Now all you have to do is cover these 5 pieces with whatever you want.
I've used solid material and quilted in interesting designs, or crazy
quilt (stitch and flip), or take an existing quilt top and lay the
sweatshirt pieces on it and cut out the shapes, then quilt. The sky's
the limit.

When all five pieces are covered and quilted, you just sew them all back
together again. Then make a quilt binding and apply it around the whole
jacket's raw edges, including the sleeve wrists.

My girlfriend made a really pretty one using scraps of purples, greens,
small stipes, small pansies, etc. She cut random shapes of material and
stitched and flipped them onto the sweatshirt pieces, then used her
Janome 6500's many fancy stitches and crazy quilted around the pieces
with purple, gold and green thread. She gets tons of compliments at all
the quilt shows.

Denise

[IMS]

I'm finding this thread fascinating as I've always wanted to make
quilted clothing (jacket, vest, etc)...so I'm keeping a close eye on
the discussion :)

Denise, do you happen to have a picture of one of your creations that
you can share?

-Irene

On Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:22:11 -0400, Deni...@webtv.net (Denise in NH)
wrote:

[Julia in MN]

Yes. I made a bargello jacket in a class a couple years ago. We started
with a simple, basic jacket pattern -- McCall's I think; it was designed
for heavy or quilted fabrics. You probably want to use a simple pattern
without a lot of seams or detail -- no collar is easiest. Use a very
lightweight batting (I used Thermore in mine) or pre-washed flannel. We
cut our batting using the pattern pieces as a guide but leaving at least
an inch extra all the way around. Then used a "flip and sew" technique
to add the bargello strips. After that was done, we used the pattern
pieces to cut the pieces to the right size and stitched them together.
We cut and assembled the lining, inserted the lining into the jacket,
wrong sides together, basted the edges together and bound as you would a
quilt. Overall, it was pretty straightforward. You probably don't need a
larger-than-usual pattern if you do the quilting before cutting. Some
people used quilting cotton for lining their jackets. I prefer to use a
polyester lining fabric because it is easier to slip on over a shirt.

You can see my jacket part way down the page at
<http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/Quilts2006.html> I later used the
same basic technique to make another jacket, but used muslin for a base
instead of batting or flannel because I wanted a lightweight jacket for
warm weather. That one is at
<http://webpages.charter.net/jaccola/Quilts2007.html>

Julia in MN

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[Polly Esther]

Fascinating, Denise. How do you keep the sweatshirt fabric from stretching
and going all wonky? Polly

"Denise in NH" <Deni...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:5622-48E...@storefull-3131.bay.webtv.net...

[Donna in Idaho]

Some of the prettiest quilted jackets I've ever seen were made from
sweatshirts as Denise said. Have plans to make one that way - just haven't
yet. I've made several quilted jacekts from scratch. I've actually made
several jackets from sweatshirt, but didn't cover the whole jacket with
fabric. I put a quilt square on point on the back, and made patchwork
pockets for the front.

One suggestion if you do the sweat shirt method - If you're going to cover
the entire sweatshirt with patches, or whatever - sew the patches to what is
now the inside of the sweatshirt. When you sew it all back together, what
started out to be the outside of the sweat shirt will now be the inside
which is smoother than the fuzzier inside.

Donna in SW Idaho

"Denise in NH" <Deni...@webtv.net> wrote in message
news:5622-48E...@storefull-3131.bay.webtv.net...

[Carolyn McCarty]

This is a great thread! I've always wanted to make a quilted jacket but
never had the nerve before. Now I can't wait to try one.

--
Carolyn in The Old Pueblo

If it ain't broke, you're not trying. --Red Green
If it ain't broke, it ain't mine. --Carolyn McCarty

If at first you don't succeed, switch to power tools. --Red Green
If at first you don't succeed, get a bigger hammer. --Carolyn McCarty

"Janner" <jan.ch...@removethisbit.gmail.com> wrote in message
news:48ef7433$0$29825$426a...@news.free.fr...

[Julia in MN]

Unless you're using an old sweatshirt with a logo of some time and
stains on it :) (It doesn't have to be a new sweat shirt, you know)
If you use a new one, be sure to wash it first because they often shrink.

Julia in MN

[Janner]

Thanks for all the ideas. It certainly seems easier than I first thought.

Thanks again

Janner
France