Olive green and cornflower blue, set on point across the back of a navy jacket. One quilt block, jazzed up this ordinary fleece jacket from my brother.
What it is: A single pieced quilt block applied to a ready made jacket
Where it goes: Across the back, or smaller on the left chest
Why one block: A whole quilt is a season of work. This is an evening or two.
Most quilt projects ask you to commit to a bed sized plan before you know whether you love the fabric. This one does not. It is a single block, and the canvas is a jacket you already own or buy. I got this one at Target.
Here is the same block, as a work in progress.
Place it on the garment first
Before anything is stitched down, the block gets laid on the jacket and pinned. This is the decision that changes the whole result: square on, or turned on point.
Try it both ways with the jacket flat and step back. On point fills the shoulders and reads as deliberate. Square on sits quieter and suits a smaller block or a chest placement. I ironed a .25" hem around the edges.
Mark the quilting, then quilt it
The block is not left flat. A large curved paper template gets moved around on top of it until the sweep sits where it should, and the lines are marked straight onto the fabric.
That contrast is doing a lot of work. The block is all straight lines and points, so quilting it with soft curves that cross the seams keeps the whole thing from reading as graphic and flat. I started quilting from the center outwards, then lastly sewed around the perimeter.
One block, then another
The same jacket carries a second block on the left chest, smaller and in much brighter green and blue, quilted with the same family of curves.
I'm super proud of how this turned out, and its become a conversation started for my brother! His friend ask about his jacket and are surprised to find out he has a sister, lol.
Where to start
1. Get a jacket or hoodie
2. Pick an orphan block or make one. A block like this one is mostly half square triangles, and there is a much faster way to make them than one pair at a time. The Magic 8 Method gets you eight matching triangles from a single square, which is usually enough for a whole block. For the placement question, Laying Out Your Stars covers arranging units before you commit to a seam.
Browse the Krysalis Studio shop
Our kits are built as quilts and wall hangings rather than garment panels, so there is no quilt coat kit to point you at yet. If you want to start from a single block, start with one you already have a pattern for.
Want to know if a garment kit ever happens? Join our email list at the bottom of this page and you'll hear about it there first.
Questions before you start
Is a quilt block going to look homemade on a jacket?
What separates the two is finish, mostly. Square corners, a flat press, an edge that lies down, and quilting that looks intentional rather than incidental. The curved lines in these photos are a large part of why the block reads as designed.
What kind of jacket works?
The one in these photos is an off the rack fleece jacket, and the sweatshirt at the start of the video is just a sweatshirt. Check thrifts stores or your local clothing store. I would not recommend denim unless you have a heavy duty machine that can handle denim seams. I also would steer away from overly stretchy or slippery fabrics.
Can I put more than one on the same garment?
Yes, and they do not need to match! You have agency! You can do whatever floats your boat.
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