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Transcript:

Helen: We are recording today on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of the Coast Salish and Kwakwaka’wakw peoples, including Tsleil-Waututh, Squamish, Musqueam, and K’ómoks first nations.

Hello, and welcome to Love to Sew. I’m Helen, the designer behind Helen’s Closet Patterns.

Caroline: And I’m Caroline, the owner of Blackbird Fabrics.

Helen: We’re two sewing buds who love to sew our own clothes and want to encourage you on your sewing journey, too.

Caroline: Join us for today’s topic: Sewing Quilted Garments.

Helen: It’s another quilting episode. Oh, yeah!

Caroline: Someone’s excited.

Helen: Oh, I’m so excited. Hello, Caroline.

Caroline: Hello, Helen. How are you?

Helen: I’m doing well. How are you?

Caroline: I’m really good. I’m so good. Happy to see you. It’s sunny. It’s fall.

Helen: Yes. What more can you ask for?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Okay. Before we get into all the quilty goodness, we have a question from a listener. We got this one from Claudia. “Hello from Argentina! I love your show, and again, I am coming to you for an indie pattern recommendation. I want to sew an A-line skirt for me. I am a plus size woman; I generally sew between the sizes 24 to 34 depending on the brand. I have been looking with no happy results. Can you help me find the pattern I need? Thank you in advance! -Your most fervent listener from Argentina”

Caroline: Aw. Thanks for emailing us, Claudia. We love a fervent listener. A-line skirts are such a wardrobe staple. They don’t take a huge amount of fabric, and they look great dressed up or down. So we do have some indie patterns for A-line skirts that go into plus sizes that we’re gonna round up.

The Barkly Skirt by In the Folds is a great, simple A-line skirt. It has a panelled design and a choice of two lengths. There is a choice between pork chop pockets and slash pockets. And it goes up to a 72.5″ hip!

Helen: Yes, great size range from In the Folds. The Reed Skirt from Grainline Studio is a panelled A-line skirt with an optional button front. There are also options for patch pockets or slash pockets. And that one goes up to a 59″ hip.

Caroline: The Salida Skirt by True Bias is, kind of, a cross between A-line and trumpet. Uh, it flares out a bit at the knee. And it has a really cute yoke! And it goes up to a 61.5″ hip.
Helen: I have always wanted to make this pattern.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: It’s been on my make list for ages. So cute. I love it.

Caroline: It is so cute.

Helen: Another option is the Upton Dress & Skirt plus Expansion Pack – that’s a mouthful – by Cashmerette. The skirt option is simpler than the other options we’ve mentioned, but this pattern also has a bunch of mix and match options that make a ton of different dresses and skirts. So if you’re interested in some of those, it would be a great choice. Make sure to buy the full pattern option if you don’t already have the Upton Pattern. This one goes up to a 62 inch hip. Great value for money with this pack that they sell.

Caroline: Hope that helps, Claudia. We also have a quick question from Jan. “Hi gals, I’m a new listener and just listened to your pants pod. Does anyone have a metal button back that is hypoallergenic?”

Helen: Ooh. Thank you for asking this question, Jan. We hadn’t thought of this before, but of course, metal buttons and rivets touch your skin. We have found some buttons and rivets by the brand, Nickel Smart, on the website NoNickel.com, and we’ll link that up in our show notes for our metal sensitive listeners.

Caroline: Love it. Okay. Helen, are you excited for this topic?

Helen: Yes! I mean, garment sewing and quilting, like, what more can you ask for? As many of our listeners know, I’ve really fallen head over heels for quilting in the past year or so. So marrying two of my favourite things in an episode. Muah.

Caroline: Chef’s Kiss.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Tell me about your quilting experiences and, sort of, sewing quilted garments experiences specifically.

Helen: Yes. I mean, I’ve sewn a few quilted garments. I’ve made the Tamarack Jacket. Who hasn’t?

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And I’ve also made a quilted vest that I used a Cascade, uh, Jacket pattern and, kind of, hacked it into a vest. We can link those two up in the show notes. I mean, quilted garments aren’t something that generally sewists make a ton of unless you’re really, really into it. Um, or you’re selling those or something like that.

It’s, kind of, one of those things you make one or two of, maybe you have your one quilted jacket or you have a couple quilted jackets. But we’re gonna get into today, like, all the other garments that you make with quilted material, and I think it’s so inspiring and so cool.

And I’m actually working on a quilted jacket and vest pattern for Helen’s Closet right now. I am so pumped to share more. I’m obsessed with the construction that we’ve chosen for this jacket, and, of course, the quilting and all of the patchwork opportunities. I mean, just so pumped.

Caroline: Yay. I am so excited for this pattern, too. I already have fabrics earmarked for it.

Helen: Ooh, that’s exciting. I love to hear that. It’s probably gonna come out early new year, so like Jan/Feb. So not super soon. I apologise, but it’s coming your way.

Caroline: Oh, it’ll be worth the wait.

Helen: How about you? I know you love a good quilted garment.

Caroline: I do. It’s a love/hate relationship. I have a Tamarack Jacket, and I have a half of Muna and Broad Granger Coat that I…

Helen: A half.

Caroline: Yeah, have not finished. I love to wear quilted garments, hate to sew them.

Helen: Mm.

Caroline: So I will say the payoff is worth it, and, uh, I already am planning my next one, but I find it, kind of, a slog.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Like, it just takes a really long time. The seams are bulky. It never looks quite as clean as I want it to look and polished, and I, I don’t know why I get frustrated by quilted garment projects.

Helen: We need our hot tips.

Caroline: I need our hot tips today. I think that this episode is gonna inspire me to pick up that coat again that I’m working on, which has been sitting in my work in progress pile for maybe a year.

Helen: Mhm.

Caroline: So the time is right. I mean, we’re going into fall and winter.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Now is when I’m gonna wanna wear it. It’s almost there. I just have to, like, bind my seams and put snaps on it and add some patch pockets.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: I’m close. I’m excited. We’re gonna get there, right?

Helen: I have known this about you for a while because one of the first times we ever hung out and got together to sew, you were making the Tamarack Jacket and you were so mad the whole time. You’re like, why is it, why is it like this? I don’t understand what’s happening.

Caroline: Y’all know I like a quick project, okay? The long slog projects just I, I have a short attention span or something, and I just wanna wear the thing, so… But I love that Tamarack Jacket. I still have it. I still wear it.

Helen: Yes.

Caroline: So it’s worth it.

Helen: They are a, kind of, investment pieces because they do last for a really long time and they only get softer and cosier with wear.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Which is one of the beautiful things about them. It is an undertaking to make a quilted garment, but part of the fun of it is, sort of, revelling in the process. And I think that’s part of the fun of quilting in general. Like, you have to embrace every step. It takes longer to cut things out, and then you have to sew all those lines of stitching, and then, typically, you have to do a lot of binding on something like a quilted jacket. So you’re not gonna finish this project in a day.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. Unless, maybe, you’re using a pre-quilted fabric.

Helen: That’s true. Yes.

Caroline: Which we’re gonna talk about a little bit later.

Helen: Okay. Now that we shared our personal experiences, let’s clear up some basic questions about making quilted garments. First of all, do you need to be a quilter to sew a quilted garment?

Caroline: Absolutely not. I would venture to say you don’t need to be a quilter to sew a quilt cause anyone can be a quilter.

Helen: That’s true. You have to start somewhere.

Caroline: Exactly. You can totally do this. Quilted garment patterns are actually usually pretty simple by design. You can keep them super simple by buying pre-quilted fabric, or you can add as much complexity as you’d like by doing the quilting yourself and even designing your own patchwork.

Helen: Yes, not all quilted garments have patchwork. Often, it’s just, like, solid fabric, which is pretty easy peasy, and if you’ve sewn garments before, many of your skills are transferable to quilting and patchwork. We’ll definitely talk more about those techniques in this episode. But you can also check out our Quilting 101 episode with Bhiravi from Strawberry Creek Quilts for more details and resources about quilting, if you wanna come join the quilting club.

Caroline: Okay, Helen, how warm are quilted garments? Like, what season or climate are they good for?

Helen: Well, quilt coats can work for a range of temperatures. Your batting and fabric choices are going to determine how warm your finished garment is. The lightest quilt coat you can make would be just two layers of cotton fabric with no batting. That’s about as warm as a flannel shirt.

And then the warmest quilt coat you could make with wool batting and thinsulate would be just a step or two down from a parka, especially if you’re using, like, a really warm outer fabric, too, like a flannel or even a wool. You can, kind of, go all the way and make something really, really warm. But something to consider is that quilt coats are not great to wear in the wet weather.

Caroline: Mhm.

Helen: I know this from experience. They soak up water rather than shedding it off. It’s not a raincoat. If you do use a thin, waterproof layer for the outer portion of your jacket, uh, the quilting stitches can still let the water in. And if you have a big enough raincoat, you could layer it over the top, but that can get, kind of, bulky and uncomfortable. So something to consider. I mean, we live in a very rainy climate. Like, very rainy here in BC.

Caroline: Mhm.

Helen: And I still wear my quilted jacket all the time, and, you know, as long as it’s not pouring, as long as it’s not a deluge…

Caroline: Mhm.

Helen: …it’s fine cause it’s nice and thick, so it, kind of, keeps the water off, and it’s very washable. Like, I throw my quilted jacket in the wash all the time to clean it, and it’s super easy to clean versus some other jackets and coats are not so easy to clean. So I think that works in its favour, too.

Caroline: It almost gets better with washing cause it gets that, sort of, patina that a quilt gets where…

Helen: Yes!

Caroline: …the fabrics almost gets a little bit crinkly and feels more lived in, and it’ll just soften. I also wanted to mention, like, quilt coats, as we will talk about soon, are not the only kind of quilted garments you can have.

Helen: True.

Caroline: So you don’t have to wear them outside. You can have a vest, or you can have a pair of pants or even a dress, and it’ll be really, like, high fashion. Not necessarily, like, you know, a coat that you have to wear outside to keep you warm, so…

Helen: It’s definitely not your grandma’s fashion anymore. This is high fashion.

Caroline: This is high fashion.

Helen: This is trendy, so, you know, hop on board.

Caroline: Well, let’s talk about that. What kinds of garments work well with quilted fabric?

Helen: Well, number one of course is jackets. They’re everywhere now. There are cute little cropped ones. There are crossover ones. There are ones with buttons down the front. You can do long coat length ones. One of our favourite quilt jacket makers is Natalie Ebaugh. Her use of colour is so inspiring. And Psychic Outlaw is an indie brand that always has amazing, inspiring quilt jackets. So we’re gonna link both of them up in the show notes for the inspo. Gorge.

Caroline: Mhm. And vests are another garment that work great with quilted fabric. Sarah, who is @Sarah_Seams on Instagram, hacked an Ashton Top into a cropped vest and layered it over a dress. A thicker, sort of, gilet style vest over long sleeves would also be so cute.

Helen: Yes! I love a quilted vest. Tops can also be really great with quilted fabric. Alex, who’s @HastyStitches on Instagram, has made a couple of wonderful quilted bibs that she layers over tops and dresses. They’re, like, really short smocks, and they pull over the head and then tie up at the sides.

Also, the designer Cecilie Bahnsen makes amazing tops out of quilted fabric – I’m looking at one right now that’s an empire-waist spaghetti strap top with gathering under the bust. She also designs amazing quilted skirts and dresses – definitely check out her work for inspiration. You can, of course, also hack a woven pullover top into a quilted top – but you might want to size up in this case just to make sure you have enough ease and to make room for the thickness of the quilted fabric and anything you’re planning to layer under it as well.

Caroline: Okay. Can we circle back to the bibs for a second?

Helen: Yes. I love the bibs.

Caroline: I think they’re so cool. Like, not only do they look really cool and fashionable, but, like, function is high as well. Yeah. Like, I’m a person who always stains the front of my garments. So am I allowed to use the quilted bib as an actual bib?

Helen: Like, an actual dinner bib?

Caroline: Asking for myself.

Helen: Yeah. You could have some hanging in your dining room that you could give to guests, if they want.

Caroline: Is that acceptable?

Helen: I mean, if they look as good as these ones do, definitely.

Caroline: Okay, great. I need to coordinate my bibs with my outfits.

Helen: I love their use of, like, quilted details, appliqué, binding, the ties.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I mean all of it is, is phenomenal. Well done.

Caroline: It’s so cool. Okay. Quilted pants are maybe a little less common, but there are still some really cool and inspiring makes out there. Anna, from @Tartan_Tarlatan on Instagram, made a pair of gathered waist pants out of a pink and white patchwork Target quilt that she got second hand. They look super comfy. No wonder she wore them several times throughout Me Made May. Um, I was telling Helen before the show, they, kind of, look like lounge snow pants or like inside snow pants.

Helen: Yes!

Caroline: I’m really into them.

Helen: I love them! And using a pre-quilted fabric or quilt is a great way to, to save some time on the project.

Caroline: Yes!

Helen: These look so comfy. Imagine, it’s like wearing a, like, bed quilt all the time. Like…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: It doesn’t get more comfortable than that.

Caroline: I would love to take a nap in those.

Helen: Yes. Okay. Quilted skirts and dresses are another really cool option. Again, Cecilie Bahnsen does gathered skirts with edges that look like little lace cutouts. I think her batting must be very thin in order to gather it this way. Um, that’s something you have to, kind of, consider when you’re making these garments is how bulky is it gonna get.

Also, former guest Tabitha Sewer made an amazing mini skirt out of a thrifted, uh, quilted pillow case, uh, which we’ll link up in the show notes, too. So cute.

Caroline: Awesome. And quilted bags are always a great idea. They don’t usually need to be interfaced because quilt fabric already holds its shape well. And ready to wear and couture designers like Vera Bradley and Chanel have been doing quilted bags for ages, and I’m sure they go even further back than that.

Helen: Yes, I do love how it holds its shape for a bag, like even a nice tote bag is so nice when it has a bit of structure to it, and it doesn’t just collapse.

Caroline: Yes! Oh, yeah. I’ve seen some really cool, like, quilted, sort of, simple structured tote bags with, like, parallel lines of stitching in, like, a floral fabric.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: I think it looks so chic. So cute.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Okay. Let’s talk about the process of making a quilted garment. Before we start, I wanna clear something up about terminology. Quilting and patchwork are different things, So these terms are used interchangeably sometimes. But in this episode, we’re gonna be making a distinction between them.

Patchwork or piecing is connecting small pieces of fabric together to make a bigger piece of fabric. And quilting is when you make a sandwich of two fabrics, usually with some sort of batting in between, and then stitch them all together.

Helen: Yes, and when you quilt fabrics without doing any piecing, this is called whole cloth quilting. It’s the most common technique for quilted garments out there. Um, whole cloth quilts on a solid colour fabric really show off those stitching lines. They get that lovely crinkly look to them. Super pretty. Whole cloth quilt pieces are often a lot less work than patchwork quilt pieces for obvious reasons. And you can even buy pre-quilted fabric that’s, uh, like whole cloth, but has been quilted and really cut down your work.

Patchwork is kind of an optional step that you can take to level up your quilted garment. You can make an incredibly unique garment this way. You can combine lots of colours and prints, which is really fun, but it is more of an undertaking and definitely something that’s more geared towards intermediate sewists.

Caroline: Mhm. Yeah. And if you decide to do patchwork, your first step is gonna be piecing. You wanna make one patchwork piece for each pattern piece. And each patchwork piece should be about an inch bigger all around than each pattern piece. This is gonna leave room for shrinkage when you quilt, and you’ll trim it down to the exact pattern piece size later.

Full disclosure: I’ve definitely made this mistake and not read the instructions and then just cut out the pattern piece to size, and then I ended up with a smaller quilted piece, and it sucked. Don’t do what I did.

Helen: Yeah, that is like a, that’s disheartening for sure when you realise you’re like, wait, I was supposed to cut it bigger. Oh no!

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: I mean, often there is quite a bit of ease in quilted garment patterns, so it’s probably still gonna fit. Don’t panic. Just might be a little bit more snug.

Caroline: Yeah, it’s, it does still fit. It’s fine, but…

Helen: Yeah. Oh, yeah.

Caroline: …just not as oversized as I had, uh, intended. But yeah, don’t make the same mistake that I made. Read the instructions.

Helen: Okay. And additionally, when you’re piecing, you’re gonna wanna make sure to follow the grain lines of the pattern. If a pattern piece is tilted, don’t tilt the patchwork to match it. You wanna make sure that grain line matches the grain of your patchwork piece. This might mean that you have to add some extra pieces to one side of your patchwork or not the other.

You, kind of, need to, like, make your beautiful piece, and then maybe add some pieces around the exterior to make it big enough to cut the piece out of. And that’s okay. You’re gonna be like a little off script here if you’re doing this. And you’re gonna have to get creative, and it’s gonna be fun.

Caroline: Yeah, and you have so many options for what kind of patchwork to do. You can use traditional blocks, you can buy patterns from quilt designers, or you can design your own. And if you’re not sure where to start, we recommend a bunch of resources and modern quilt designers on our Quilting 101 episode.

Helen: Yes! And to get a visual for how your patchwork will look, you can lay your pieces out on a table and arrange them. This works best for pieces like equal squares or triangles that are really easy to rearrange and get into, like, a pleasing formation.

Another option is to colour in a mockup of your patchwork design with colored pencils or make a mockup in a photo editing program. I think, like, just squares or rectangles or half square triangles can be so beautiful, so simple, and you can use all your fabric scraps for this, too, which I think is just a really fun way to make a quilted garment.

Caroline: Mhm. And there are a couple of things to keep in mind if you’ve never done patchwork before. So first, quilt patterns and instructions use a quarter inch seam allowance instead of the standard five-eighths of an inch that garment patterns use. Helen, this is counterintuitive. And did it take awhile to get used to when you got into quilting?

Helen: It did. I had to work on my quarter inch seam, and that’s something that quilters talk about a lot is like getting that quarter inch seam, like, nail-, really nailing it, getting super comfortable with it. And then there’s also something called a scant quarter inch seam, where, like, once you, kind of, nail your quarter inch, then you’re like, okay, now I’m gonna work on nailing my scant quarter inch because you lose a little bit of fabric in the pressing and turning over. So, like, having that scant quarter inch will actually give you a more accurate finished piece. So, yes, it’s a whole, it’s a thing.

Caroline: Wow, okay.

Helen: Yeah. But it’s not hard to do. And if you sew garments regularly, you’re already pretty good at watching your seam allowances. Um, so you know exactly what that means and how, like, integral it is to the process, so you got this. Uh, it’s just a much smaller seam allowance, but hey, less trimming.

Caroline: Yeah, true.

Helen: The second thing to keep in mind is that most geometric quilt patterns do expect a high degree of accuracy. So you can often fudge things with garment sewing. We do have those larger seam allowances that we can, like, let out. Quilt blocks are meant to come out exactly the same, and accuracy really is key. So you’re gonna wanna get out your seam gauge or quilting ruler. You’re not gonna wanna skip the pressing, and there’s also a lot of trimming and sewing after you make shapes. You’re gonna wanna take them to your cutting table and make sure they’re actually squared up and the exact size that they’re supposed to be before you assemble them.

Caroline: Mhm. And quilters often use a smaller stitch length than garment sewers when they’re piecing. So two millimetres is a good length for piecing versus the two and a half to three millimetres we would usually use for garment sewing.

Helen: Yes, this is true, although I never do that. I try to avoid changing my stitch length because then I forget and I don’t change it back.

Caroline: Oh, yeah. There’s nothing worse than realising you, like, sewed a whole, I don’t know, long seam with a three and a half or four millimetre…

Helen: Right?

Caroline: …stitch length from when you were gathering or something.

Helen: It’s not the end of the world, too. It’s, like, you can just sew over it, but you’re like, oh, come on.

Caroline: Yeah. Come on.

Helen: Okay. And if you’re not doing any patchwork, the first step in your quilting garment process is going to be to cut out your pieces. You’re still gonna wanna cut them about an inch larger all the way around than the pattern pieces, and it does depend on the pattern. So read the instructions and see what they say to do, but it’s likely you’re gonna wanna add that extra bit around. And again, this is because when you quilt it, you’re adding all of those lines of quilting, and you’re slowly gonna shrink up the size of your fabric by doing so.

It also protects you from having to redo the quilting if your layers shift. So around the edges, you might notice that the batting and the top and the bottom are getting, kind of, shifted outta place. Doesn’t matter because you’re gonna trim it up to size in the end so you don’t have to worry about that.

So for each pattern piece, you’re gonna need to cut three pieces. You’re gonna have your top, your batting, and your backing. And those three together are called the quilt sandwich. Yum.

Caroline: Mm. But before you make your quilt sandwich, you’re gonna need to get a piece of pizza. No, I’m kidding. But before you make your quilt sandwich, you’re gonna need to mark your quilting lines. So we won’t go into specifics of the pros and cons of each marking tool here, but check out our Marking Tools episode if you want the scoop.

The general rule with quilting lines is to make them no more than four inches apart. Apart from that, there’s so much scope for imagination. You can do narrow matchstick quilting, which is a bunch of parallel lines. You can make diamond shapes, you can get a free motion foot and quilt beautiful, intricate curves and squiggles. There’s so many possibilities.

Helen: Yes, the world is truly your oyster here. And keep in mind that the closer your quilting lines are, the stiffer your finished pieces are gonna be and stiffer your finished garment is going to be. Further apart lines will make a more flexible piece. I learned this the hard way making a quilted vest. And I really love the way crosshatch quilting looks, you know, when you have the, uh, diagonal lines going in both directions, and you get those beautiful diamond shapes. And I did it, I think, like, five-eighths of an inch across the whole garment.

Caroline: Whoa.

Helen: And it’s beautiful. It looks so good, but it is so stiff, like, and I’ve watched it several times, and it’s just not softening in the same way that my, like horizontal lines quilted, Tamarack is softening, right? And this goes for quilts, too. People talk about whether you’re gonna quilt your, uh, finished quilt with, like, display quilting, which is beautiful, intricate, free motion gorgeousness or, like, practical quilting which is, like, a few lines here and there, just to hold it together, and then you’re actually gonna sleep with it.

Caroline: Mhm. Mhm.

Helen: And they’re different.

Caroline: Yeah. I got it. A quilting ruler is super helpful for spacing your quilting lines. You can line it up over the previous lines you’ve drawn to get the exact distance you want. A 6 x 24 inch ruler is a versatile size to start with.

Helen: Yes, get yourself at least one of these bad boys. And if you’re planning to stitch in the ditch, you don’t need to mark your lines. This is when you’re just gonna be quilting inside the seams of your patchwork. Um, and that can be a really nice way to preserve the appearance of your patchwork without having any additional lines. Looks really good. Little bit more challenging though. I really like just a simple horizontal or vertical line.

Caroline: Nice.

Helen: Simple is best, you know.

Caroline: Okay, so your next step is gonna be to baste your layers together. So pin basting is a popular method. Straight pins might work fine for small pieces, but for bigger pieces, safety pins will work a lot better, and you’re probably gonna be manoeuvring your pieces around a lot, turning them this way and that, rolling them up so that you can fit them into the crook of your machine. Straight pins fall out pretty easily when you’re doing that. Many quilters like curved safety pins because they’re easier to stick into the quilt sandwich and back out.

Helen: Yes. Love a curve safety pin. And the goal when you’re basting is to pin your quilt sandwich together without wrinkling or shifting your pieces so that everything stays in place. Be sure to press your fabrics first. Make sure everything’s really nice and flat.

Many pin basters will tape their backing fabric right side down to a flat surface, making sure it’s taut, not stretched. Then, they layer on the batting, smooth it out, and then, layer on the top right side up, and then, you have the sandwich set up and smooth, and you can begin to pin base from the centre, radiating out so you’re not getting any wrinkles. Make sure everything is flat. And then, you know, put a pin every two to four inches or so.

It can take a while, but, I mean, you’re not doing a full blanket. We’re doing, like, a jacket front or a pants back, so it’s not quite as intensive as doing a queen size quilt. And you’re probably gonna wanna put something down on your whatever cutting surface to protect it, unless it’s a work table that you don’t care about, because you don’t wanna be damaging the surface underneath with your pins and have that disheartening moment when you lift up your project and there’s a bunch of scratches in your hardwood table.

Caroline: Mhm. Totally. Yeah. I’ve pinned on the floor before, but it was, like, carpet, and then, I, like, realised that I pinned into my carpet.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: You wanna be mindful of the surface that you’re pinning on.

Helen: Yes. Well, that’s funny. It’s like you were making a rug instead of a quilt.

Caroline: Uh, yeah. Um, spray basting is another method to get your quilt sandwich together. Oh, my gosh. I’m getting hungry talking about sandwiches. There, there are commercial basing sprays you can buy, and we did find a recipe for a homemade basting spray by String and Story that looks interesting. We’ll link it up in the show notes.

The general process for spray basting is: lay your batting down first, then smooth your backing fabric over the top of. Lift up half your backing fabric and spray both the batting and the backing generously. Smooth the backing down over the batting. Repeat with the other half of the backing. Let it dry, flip it over, and repeat the steps with the top.

Spray basting takes a lot less effort than pin basing, but some quilters find it too messy. I could totally see that. You’re spraying, like, glue all over the place. How will you make sure you don’t get it everywhere?

Helen: Yes. I’ve tried both methods, and I think it is key to lay down some newsprint around your project. Like, take the precautions, wear an apron. You know, you just don’t wanna get this spray basting glue all over yourself and your work surface. It’s such a pain. But if you do take those precautions, it is a lot faster. And then it’s all sandwiched together, and there’s no pins everywhere. So it’s just easier to actually do your quilting lines, too, because there’s nothing in the way.

Now you can also hand baste your quilt. You can make that quilt sandwich the same way you do with the pin basing, and then you’re gonna sew through the layers with long stitches, like an inch long. You just need something to kind of tack it into place. You’re probably gonna wanna put something down again to protect your surface, and you can put a knot in one end of your thread so you don’t end up pulling your thread through. Like, imagine you start at one side and you just keep going. You’re pulling your thread out as you’re putting more stitches in.

Take the precautions. And this is a great time to use your leftover thread from other projects. The end of spool threads that you have lying around. im, a good use for those. And a four by four inch grid of basing stitches will keep everything in place. Hand basting is the most time consuming method, but it works really great. You don’t need any special equipment. And you’re doing these really long stitches. You don’t need to be precise. It’s actually very relaxing, so give it a try.

Caroline: Yes. Okay, so you’ve got your quilt sandwich marked and basted together, and now it is time to quilt.

Helen: Yes!

Caroline: Most of us. Yay. Most of us will want to quilt by machine, so we’ll start with info on that. A regular point needle will work well for quilting. The exception is if you’re using a knit fabric, like if you’re making something out of old t-shirts, for example. In that case, you’ll want a ballpoint needle so that you don’t split the yarns and snag the fabric. Apart from that, match the needle size to your thread. If you’re using a bold machine quilting thread as your top thread, you’re gonna need a larger than usual needle. And a size 90 needle is a good size for 50 weight quilting thread like Aurifil.

Helen: Yes. And speaking of Aurifil, it’s a favourite thread brand for quilters. This is a hundred percent cotton thread. It has a really nice, lovely sheen. It comes in great colours. We recommend using a thread made for machine quilting if you’re gonna do your quilting lines in a contrasting colour. It will be bold enough to see it this way. It’s gonna stand out a bit more. Uh, with that said, you don’t need special thread for quilting. All purpose thread will work fine and you will still be able to see the shapes that the stitches make. I often just use all purpose polyester thread for quilting garments and quilts, and it works great.

Caroline: Awesome. And adding a walking foot to your machine is a good idea when you’re quilting. This foot adds a set of feed dogs to the top of your machine so that the top and bottom of the quilt sandwich feed through at the same rate. It reduces shifting and wrinkling. Walking feet come in two varieties: high shank and low shank. So check which one your machine is before you buy one.

Helen: And your stitch length for quilting should be a little longer than for piecing. You can do that two and a half to three millimetres for the top stitching, and it looks really nice. The other thing we wanna talk about is where you start your quilting process and what direction you go in. So, generally, you wanna start quilting in the middle of your piece and then radiate out.

Starting from the centre and working out towards the edge keeps any fabric from being caught in the middle. It also keeps everything smooth and makes sure that shifting goes towards the edges of the piece. And here’s how I would do straight line quilting. I would start with a line in the centre, lock your stitching at the beginning and end, and clip your thread. Then, you go back to the end you started with, and do the line to the left of that one.

In other words, you’re stitching in the same direction as the first line. You can continue sewing the lines to the left of the last line you sewed until you have the first half of your project done. Then, you return to the centre, and you start quilting the lines to the right of the centre line again in the same direction.

The same direction thing is key because if you go in alternate directions, you can end up with roping of your fabric, those diagonal, kind of, drag lines cause you’re sewing in one way and then you’re sewing the other way. And in between those stitching lines, you start to get a little bit of torque in the fabric, and you get a little bit of those diagonal lines.

It is recommended, in some tutorials and patterns, to do the alternate lines, and it is more efficient because, of course, you get to the end of the line, you can just spin your piece around and you go right back and you’re kind of doing a zigzag, so it’s faster. There are some quilters who prefer stitching directions back and forth.

It’s up to the individual, and also, if you have a good machine, a good walking foot, all that kind of good stuff, you might not end up with any of those roping lines, so you might be fine. It’s up to the individual, of course, but we do find that switching directions creates those diagonal lines. So I like to stitch in one direction and generally you end up avoiding those lines.

Caroline: Mhm. Yeah. Great tip. And usually, you’ll start and stop your quilting lines inside the seam allowance. In that case, you don’t need to do anything special when you start and stop. And if you’re starting and or stopping a quilting line on the visible part of the garment, you might wanna adjust your technique.

Leah Day of the Free Motion Quilting Project has a good tutorial for how to do this. Basically, you stitch normally, but after you’re done with a line, you pull the top thread to the back, knot them, and bury the ends in the quilt. To bury them, you thread them through a needle, enter the fabric close to the knot, and pull it back a couple of inches away so that the ends are in the middle of the quilt sandwich, and then you clip the ends close to where you brought them back up.

Helen: Yeah, you can even, like once you tie a knot, you can, like, kind of, give it a tug and pop it into the inside of the fabric.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: And just popping it through the hole that you’ve created basically, so you can fully hide everything. It’s a bit time consuming, but yeah, in the case where you are outside the seam allowance, this is great. I do love that when you’re quilting you don’t have to back stitch.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Something really satisfying about it makes me feel like such a rebel. I’m like, I’m just gonna start, and I’m just gonna go, and then, I’m just gonna take it off the machine.

Caroline: I love that.

Helen: Okay, coming back to hand quilting, another really great method of quilting your quilt sandwich. As you can imagine, it does take longer than machine quilting, but you can’t get that beautiful organic look any other way. Bhiravi from Strawberry Creek Quilts prefers embroidery needles for hand quilting. We’ve also heard good things about needles called Quilting Betweens. Uh, you’ll probably want a thicker thread, like a size eight to 12, so you can see the stitching well. And, of course, this is the time to learn to use a thimble. It’s really gonna save your little fingies. You can use a hoop or frame to keep your fabric taut and in place as you stitch, or you can go without.

You’ll figure out your preferences as you work. Uh, we’ll link up a hand quilting tutorial from Bhiravi herself in our show notes. This is one of those situations, too, where I’ve heard people, you know, sitting on their couch or their, you know, their comfy chair, whatever, with, like, a pillow and hand stitching and you can accidentally hand stitch your quilt to your pillow, to your pants. Like, be cautious here when you’re going around the backside. But it is very relaxing, and it truly does look amazing. There’s a lot of great examples of hand quilting on Tamarack Jackets, if you follow that hashtag.

Caroline: Yeah. I love the idea of having, like, a quilt that I’m hand quilting while I’m, like, watching TV in the evenings, and, like, it sounds really idyllic and lovely and relaxing and meditative, but that would be great until I quilt it to the pants that I’m wearing.

Helen: Yeah. Truly.

Caroline: And then I will be cursing the quilt.

Helen: Oh, my gosh.

Caroline: Um, but I’ve seen some really beautiful hand quilted garments, um, too, that I feel like that’s such a nice look, and it’s, like, a smaller project than a whole big quilt, so…

Helen: Yeah, it does feel very doable. I don’t think it takes quite as long as we probably think it does, once you get going, get in a rhythm, you know.

Caroline: Yeah. Okay. So, it’s finally time to construct your garment. If you bought quilted fabric or a cutter quilt, you can skip right to this step. Hey, we never said quilting your own jacket was gonna be fast and easy, but it can be incredibly cool and gratifying. So first, you need to trim down your pieces. Once again, make sure the grain line matches the markings on the pattern pieces. For a really exact cut on a bulky quilting fabric, either use a rotary cutter or mark the outlines of the pieces before you cut with your scissors.

Helen: Yes, and quilted seams can get pretty bulky when you start assembling this beast. So trimming the seams to be a quarter inch before you finish them will help. Uh, this is one time where you can cut off a dart triangle after you sew it, for example, to reduce some bulk. Cut about a quarter inch away from the stitching and finish those raw edges. Basically, anywhere where you can get rid of bulk, you’re gonna wanna do that.

Caroline: Mhm. And for hems, you can either finish the edge and do a single fold hem, or you can just finish the edge with bias binding and be done with it.

Helen: And quilted garments relax and soften over time. So don’t worry too much if your seams seem really stiff and bulky at first. That’s natural. You know, you start getting your quilted garment together, you put it on and you’re, kind of, standing there like a paper doll because everything is a bit stiff, and you’re like, I don’t know about this. Don’t panic. It’s like making jeans out of raw denim. Like, this is not how it’s gonna be forever. You’re gonna get through this. You need to wash this garment.

Caroline: Oh, my gosh. Okay. And for seam finishes, you have several options. Bias bound seams are common. You can even make them lie flat on the inside of your garment. To do this, you sew one fold to the seam allowance, close to the seam, trim the seam down to a quarter inch, fold the rest of the bias tape around it, and pin it down flat to one side, and then, you just stitch along the edge of the bias tape to hold it down. We’re gonna link an article from the House Lars Built, so you can see how this looks.

Helen: Yeah, it’s, kind of, like a flat felled seam but with binding.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Hong Kong seams are another technique that works really well for quilted garments. For this one, you’re not gonna trim the seam allowance down that much. Each edge of the seam allowance is finished with bias tape, and then, that seam is pressed open. This is such a nice way to finish seams that might show, like the sleeve seam because then when you turn up the cuff of your jacket, for example, you can see those two lines of bias binding on the seam finish. Looks so good.

Caroline: Yeah, and I find it’s, like, slightly less bulky cause it, sort of, distributes that bulk into a wider area versus…

Helen: Totally.

Caroline: …taking the seam allowance and pressing it to one side. You can also just serge or do a narrow zigzag over the seam allowances, and if you’re using a jacket or coat pattern that isn’t designed for quilted fabric, it might be easier to do a separate lining than to redesign the garment to go without.

So Suzy of SuzyQuilts has done this with some of her quilted coats. In this case, you could make your quilted pieces with just batting and quilt top, and then, sew the lining in according to the directions of the pattern.

Helen: Ooh, that’s a nice way to get one of those, like, slippery bemberg linings inside a quilted coat.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: Okay, Caroline, I’m ready to talk about fabric.

Caroline: Yes!

Helen: I’m curious to hear your thoughts on what fabrics work really well for quilted garments.

Caroline: Oh, yeah. I mean, you have a lot of options. Obviously, quilting cotton is great for quilt tops, and there are so many colours and designs available that you can probably find exactly what you want. And this is where you can use a quilting cotton for your garment sewing.

Helen: Yes!

Caroline: So anyone who bought those when you were a beginner sewist, or maybe you just love quilting cottons, this is where you can use them. I think lighter weight cottons like cotton lawns or batistes work really well, too. Cotton shirting, anything that’s really light and airy.

Helen: Mhm.

Caroline: Linen quilts are so gorgeous. So this might be your opportunity to put scraps to use. Just keep in mind that linen is more shifty than quilting cotton. So if you’re planning to do patchwork, and you’re a beginner quilter, I would maybe try cotton over linen for your first project. But yeah, a quilted linen garment is Chef’s kiss.

Helen: Yes. It’s so true. I love that with quilted garments and jackets, in particular, people do tend to go for fun prints, a little bit bolder look, and you don’t have to do that on the exterior. If you want a classic jacket, you can do that nice solid colour on the exterior, and then, on the inside you get to have all the fun. I love when people choose, like, a bold quilting cotton, a fun print for the interior of the jacket.

Caroline: Mhm.

Helen: Um, just gonna make you smile, and there’s so many choices here.

Caroline: Yes! Oh, my gosh. So the fabric that I have earmarked for your future pattern is from our new block print, hand block printed collection.

Helen: Oh!

Caroline: There’s two that work together really well. So I wanna do, like, one side cause, you know, I can make it, maybe make it reversal, I wanna do one side with one of the block prints and then, the other side with a different one. So it’ll be reversible, and we just had an open shopping day at Blackbird and somebody showed up in a quilted Tamarack Jacket out of one of our block prints, and it was stunning. Like, those block prints are made for quilted garments.

Helen: How did they already do that? Was it a block print from previous?

Caroline: It was from a previous collection. Yeah. Like, what? Or else I would’ve been like, how do you do it so quickly? Because, yeah, it takes me a year.

Helen: Uh, I’m obsessed with your new block print. They’re so good.

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. We’ve got some really good ones. Yeah. Okay. So satin, satine, or velour could give your quilt coat a really luxurious look, so that is an option, too. I would say overall, the fabrics for your quilt top and backing should be light to medium weight. Any heavier, and they could make the finished quilt too difficult to handle and wear. Tightly woven fabrics will also make things easier since loosely woven fabrics can shift around a lot and make neat patchwork difficult.

Helen: Yes, I’ve made that error as well with quilted garments, choosing something really thick, uh, for the exterior and interior. I did a wool and cotton twill sandwiched garment, and it was just too much. Like, it ended up way too stiff to be comfortable. The batting is what’s gonna add that warmth there, so you don’t actually need to go to heavy with the interior and exterior fabrics. It’s a lot nicer to just use a cotton or linen and have it be nice and soft and cosy and warm.

Caroline: Yeah, totally.

Helen: Okay. For backing fabrics, the obvious choice is to use another light to medium weight cotton. As I said, I love a bold print here, so please choose one. It makes me happy, and then, for warmth and softness, a flannel is a nice choice as well. You can also, um, use a smooth lining, like a bemberg rayon. This would make it easy to slip it on over long sleeves, and of course, if you’re doing a separate lining, a smooth lining fabric would be the best choice, as we said previously, so… For more on lining fabrics, you can check out our Lining episode.

Caroline: Oh, yeah. We have a Lining episode. That’s awesome. Okay. The batting you choose will determine how warm your garment is, so you could just sew two lightweight fabrics together for a super light jacket that’s more like a flannel shirt. For something a little bit warmer, use flannel for your batting. There are polyester, cotton, and wool battings you can buy in all kinds of lofts. Loft means thickness.

So polyester will be the least warm, but the lightest in weight of all the battings. It dries more quickly than cotton or wool as well. A low loft poly batting is a good choice for a thinner quilted garment, like a gathered skirt. Cotton batting is popular among quilters. It’s warm and breathable with a nice weight, and it’s easy to wash and dry.

Helen: And then wool will be your warmest option. Keep in mind that it’s spot clean or hand wash only, so it can change, kind of, the wearability of your garment on the day to day if you wanna be able to throw it in the wash. And there’s blends out there, too. You can get lots of battings that are 80% cotton, 20% polyester that give you some other benefits as well. So do some research and pick something that’s gonna work for you.

And if you wanna make your quilted garments super warm, you can also add a layer of Thinsulate. This is a polyester quilted batting created specifically for adding warmth to outerwear and sleeping bags. You can sandwich it in between your batting and your backing fabric. Heather Lou from Closet Core has a great article about working with Thinsulate. Um, we’re gonna link that up in the show notes. Spoiler alert: don’t iron it… cause it melts.

Caroline: Nice. And the thicker you’re batting, the more your garment will close in on you. So if your pattern is designed for quilted fabric, there will be ease built into account for that. And if the batting you’re using is a lot thicker than the recommended batting, though, you might wanna size up to make room for it. And you also may wanna size up if you’re making a garment that isn’t designed for quilted fabric.

Helen: Yes. And you can also buy pre-quilted fabric. You can sometimes buy these by the yard at fabric stores. There’s some really nice looking ones out there. You could also use an already made quilt to make your quilted garments. And we do wanna mention that there is debate in the quilting and sewing world about quilts being cut up to be sewn into garments. There’s strong feelings on both sides of this. I mean, on the one hand, it is sad to see pristine quilts that people have put so much love and effort into just being cut up to make garments that maybe won’t fit or won’t last for a long time.

But on the other hand, sometimes the quilts that people use aren’t pristine. Maybe they have stains or holes or other damage, or they’ve been sitting in a thrift store waiting for somebody to come along and love them and be like, I’m gonna turn you into something beautiful and amazing. Um, transforming them into a garment is actually bringing them back into circulation and showing them that love and respect.

So, on the one hand, quilters do spend enormous amounts of time, energy, and love creating a quilt. And then, on the other hand, not everything can make its way into an archive or a museum, and quilts are made to be used. So I think if you don’t like the idea of cutting into a homemade quilt, that’s totally fair. You can consider upcycling new or second secondhand quilts that are made for the mass market. Or, of course, you can make your own quilted patchwork and use that for your project.

Caroline: Mhm. Yeah. And I wanna, kind of, circle back to the fabrics that are sold by the yard that are already pre-quilted for you. Sometimes they’re whole cloth, kind of, full width fabrics. Um, these are really cool. Like, there’s some really, really awesome options out there. Merchant and Mills, in particular, has a few really, really great options, and I wanted to give a little shout out to Maya.

Hi, Maya. Maya came to our open shopping day last week at Blackbird. And Maya was wearing an amazing Tamarack Jacket in a Merchant and Mills pre-quilted fabric, and she looked so good, and it looked, the garment itself looked so professional, and I was so impressed. It was one of the first times I’d seen that fabric in person. The quality is so nice, and I just think it’s a way to get that quilted garment look with maybe a little bit less time spent on the project and, um, the results are just totally ace. So Maya, you looked awesome, and I was very inspired by your make.

Helen: I loved hearing the story you told me about meeting Maya because she’s a listener of our show and a big fan and uh, I just love when young sewists approach us and let us know they listen to the show. It makes me so happy to know that there are younger folks out there getting into sewing. The best.

Caroline: Me, too. It totally made my day. Okay, let’s talk about pattern recommendations cause there are quite a few inspiring patterns out there that you can make a quilted garment from. So we’re gonna kick it off with quilt coat master Natalie Ebaugh is half of Daisy Chain Patterns, along with cool sewist Liz Ford.

They have two quilt coat patterns out! The first one is the Ara Quilted Overcoat. This is a thigh-length overcoat with large elbow-length grown-on sleeves. It would look amazing over a turtleneck and jeans. And heir second one is the Liz Quilted Liner Jacket. It’s their take on a vintage military liner jacket. It has simple lines and giant pockets, which of course we love!

I absolutely love the sample for the Liz Quilted Liner Jacket that’s in their product listing. It’s so cool and chic, and, like, it looks so soft and pillowy, and I just, like, want that exact jacket.

Helen: I love it, too. And, see, by the way, they’ve turned up the cuffs on it that they chose a bold fabric for the lining

Caroline: Yes!

Helen: It looks so good.

Caroline: And the big pockets are everything.

Helen: Everything.

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: It’s, they’re excessive. They’re, like, I mean, the York Pinafore pockets are, like, some of the biggest. These are, like, I don’t know, twice the size. Like, how did they do this?

Caroline: Yeah. Yeah. I don’t know. They take up the whole front of the jacket.

Helen: Yeah.

Caroline: Basically.

Helen: It’s incredible.

Caroline: Um, I, I love that. I, I, you could put so much in those pockets.

Helen: It’s like having two, like, tote bags, like…

Caroline: Yeah.

Helen: …attached to your jacket.

Caroline: I love it.

Helen: Okay, Megan Nielsen Patterns has the Hovea Jacket and Coat, which has a bunch of really cool options! There’s cropped, jacket, or coat length, bias bound or banded edges. You could do a tie or belt with this. And it has really cute diagonal-shaped pockets! Uh, definitely check that one out.

Caroline: Patchwork and Poodles has the Patchwork Chore Coat. This is a simply cut chore coat with a choice of a collar or hood, and it buttons down the front and has big patch pockets.

Helen: The Tamarack Jacket by Grainline Studio is a classic in the sewing community. It’s been beloved by many of us for years. This is a simple, collarless quilt jacket with fitted sleeves.

Caroline: Yes! And Helen’s Closet is coming out with a quilted jacket and vest soon, everybody.

Helen: Thank you.

Caroline: Hold on for that one.

Helen: Hold onto your hat, folks. It’s coming your way. There’s also the First Frost Vest by Mad About Patchwork. It’s a really nice basic quilted vest with big slant pockets.

Caroline: And the Everyday Waistcoat from the New Craft House. This one is a simple quilted vest with patch pockets. The women’s version has optional front ties, and the men’s version is designed to be longer with front buttons and loop closures. I’m pretty sure they’re interchangeable.

Helen: Mhm.

Caroline: So if you like the details of one, you can probably, you know, take those and put them on the other. But yeah, it’s a really cool, simple vest that I think works really well with a lot of fabrics.

Helen: Yeah. We didn’t get into the nitty gritty of closures on quilted jackets, but there are lots of options. Snaps look great. Um, you can do hook and eye. That’s what I did on my Tamarack because I like how invisible it is.

Caroline: Mhm.

Helen: You can’t even tell there’s anything there. Um, you can do buttons, and then, I love the front ties. I think the front ties are so whimsical and cute, so that’s a great option as well.

Caroline: Yeah, me too.

Helen: Muna and Broad’s Grainger Coat has drop sleeves and pork chop pockets. You can make it short or long, and it closes with snaps. It doesn’t take a year to sew.

Caroline: No.

Helen: Don’t worry…

Caroline: That’s just me, y’all.

Helen: That’s just Caroline.

Caroline: I think I’m gonna have to finish that for this episode.

Helen: You should. Let it motivate you.

Caroline: And then everyone can celebrate with me.

Helen: It’s so autumnal, too. It’s, like, a beautiful orangey red colour.

Caroline: I know, I know, I know. Okay. The All Well Cardigan Coat has long grown-on sleeves, a crossover option, and several closure choices. This one’s been around for a while. I’ve seen a lot of really cool versions, and the samples in this product listing also include a lot of, like, vintage quilts that I think look super, super cool, sewn up. So if you’re looking for inspo there, check out the All Well Cardigan.

Helen: Yes, YouTuber @WithWendy made a Cecilie Bahnsen-inspired quilt coat complete with a tutorial! It has a crossover front with a tie, puff sleeves, a gathered “skirt.” She made it out of a satin quilt she thrifted for $13! And it looks incredible.

Caroline: Mhm. SuzyQuilts has a free tutorial for a quilted tote bag with her modern fans block. It’s gorgeous and roomy!

Helen: Of course, there are limited amounts of patterns that are designed specifically for quilted fabrics, but you can always adapt woven patterns to work for quilted garments. The ones that work best have very simple lines. Of course, you can make thin quilted fabric. You’re gonna have more flexibility, uh, literally and figuratively, with what patterns you can use. But basic top patterns can be turned into great bibs and basic jacket patterns can be turned into quilted jacket patterns.

Caroline: Yes! I love the idea of just hacking a pattern to make it quilted.

Helen: Mhm.

Caroline: Just size it up, quilt it up, bing, bang, boom. It’s perfect.

Helen: Yeah. It’s so easy. That’s my takeaway from this episode. Okay, check in on me this time next year, I’m gonna have a whole quilted wardrobe. I’m gonna be wearing nothing but quilts. I’m gonna be that person in my town, quilted pants, top, jacket, underwear. Okay, maybe not underwear, but I’m definitely inspired to make more quilted garments and quilts for that matter. And if you have any quilted garment tips or stories to share, maybe you can relate to our experiences. It takes a while to sew a quilted garment. Uh, do let us know. Tag us on Instagram. We love hearing from you. Uh, thanks for listening.

Caroline: Yes, thank you. I’m gonna go work on my Grainger Coat.

Helen: Yay.

Caroline: Bye.

That’s it for today’s episode of Love to Sew. You can find me Caroline at BlackbirdFabrics.com and Helen at HelensClosetPatterns.com. And we’re recording today in beautiful, sunny British Columbia, Canada.

Helen: Go to LoveToSewPodcast.com to find our show notes. They’re filled with all the beautiful, quilted garments we mentioned this episode. And if you’d like to get in touch with us, you can send us an email at hello@LoveToSewPodcast.com.

Caroline: If you love Love To Sew and want more, you can sign up for our Patreon. For $5 a month, you get a full-length bonus episode – we have a lot of fun in these episodes – and weekly behind-the-scenes pictures. For $10 a month, you get all that plus a mini-episode focused on sewing techniques and 15% off discount codes for Helen’s Closet and Blackbird Fabrics. Patreon is the best way to support us so that we can keep making quality sewing content for y’all. Go to patreon.com/LoveToSew for more info.

Helen: Thank you to our amazing podcast team. Lisa Ruiz is our creative assistant. Jordan Moore is our editor. And Margaret Wakelee is our transcriber. And thank you for listening. We’ll see you next week.

Caroline: Bye.

Helen: Bye.

This works best for pizza. Pizzas. This works best for pizzas.

Caroline: Pizza. Piecing quilts. Love it.

 

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