4 Easy Ways to Wear a Quilt
No sewing skills necessary!
Handcrafted quilted jackets are so beautiful and trendy right now but can be pricey. If you aren’t ready for that investment or are intimidated to make your own but want something quilted in your wardrobe, take a look at the following three ideas I can’t stop thinking about!
Patchwork Pants
Sources from top left: Levi’s | Sense of Shelf | Unknown | Second Row: Still Here (Note: these are painted but are good inspiration for a DIY patchwork project) | B SIDES X BODE’s
There are so many ways to mend clothing and I am smitten with patchwork pants. With an old pair of pants and either orphan quilt blocks or scrap fabric put to work, this is a $0 upgrade to your pants and is certainly an article of interest in your wardrobe. Let these photos above be inspiration for a DIY project. If you aren’t up for a DIY project, these Levi’s or Still Here pants are great options.
Patchwork Pockets
Sources from left to right: Sewing Through Fog | Original Work | The Wool Hound
Turning scrap fabric or orphaned blocks into custom pockets on clothes or bags you already have will add a lot of personality with little effort. I made this vest (middle) and was so excited to add some multicolored log cabin blocks as pockets. It is so much happier than it was with plain pockets.
Appliqued Shirts
Sources top left: To Buy: All Roads | Psychic Outlaw | BlueMoonUniquesTX | Second Row: Le Souk Le Souk | To DIY: Suzy Quilts | The House That Lars Built
Taking a thrifted jean jacket or an old sweatshirt and adding an interesting quilt block would be a great way to get the quilted look for less. I haven’t seen it done yet but marrying the applique shirt and pocket ideas would make an ideal upgrade to a hooded sweatshirt with a marsupial pocket.
Extra Credit: Quilted Jackets
Sources from left to right: BUY: Belljar | Vacilando Studios | DIY: Suzy Quilts | Brooke Anderson
This is absolutely not the quickest, cheapest or easiest way to wear a quilt, but it certainly is the fullest coverage. If you are ready for a quilted jacket in your wardrobe, check out some of these makers. I finally pulled the trigger on the Tamarack Jacket Pattern from Grainline Studio to try my hand at making my own.
If you made it this far and want to hear more about where this all came from, here is the story:
Long story short, I had this gorgeous log cabin quilt that my grandmother made that I was borrowing from my parents. I just looked at it for a couple of years thinking about how to make it “work” in my house. I couldn’t figure it out. The colors were off and although I really loved the quilt, I didn’t have the energy to redecorate my entire home to give the quilt the honor it deserved. I just kept thinking that I loved the quilt so much I wanted to wear it. Before I started chopping it up in a fever dream I returned it in one piece to my parents.
I couldn’t help but remember this story I read Facebook years ago. On September 24 2019. “Untitled Nerd Network” shared the following Maurice Sendak quote, purportedly telling the story of an eager young fan so pleased he received a card from the author that he “ate” it:
Above an image of Sendak and a “wild thing” from Where The Wild Things Are, a quote read:
Once a little boy sent me a charming card with a little drawing on it. I loved it … I sent him a card and I drew a picture of a Wild Thing on it. I wrote, ‘Dear Jim: I loved your card’. Then I got a letter back from his mother and she said ‘Jim loved your card so much he ate it’. That to me was one of the highest compliments I’ve ever received. He didn’t care that it was an original Maurice Sendak drawing or anything. He saw it, he loved it, he ate it.
He saw it, he loved it, he ate it. I love some quilts so much I want to wear them. This is easier said than done and the thought of making a quilted jacket certainly is daunting, even for a more advanced seamstress. Patchwork pants, pockets and appliques are good beginner projects!