Quilted Unfolding Jacket

Wiksten Unfolding Jacket | The Sewing Thing Blog

I’ve taken a little hiatus from posting for the past couple of months, but I have gotten a lot of sewing done! I have quite a few posts to share, so bear with me as I try to get the blogging ball rolling again.

When we moved to Portugal, I had to make some quick decisions on what jackets I was going to bring, and I have some regrets.

One of them, was leaving my Unfolding Jacket behind in storage. It’s in a state nowhere near family, and I wouldn’t wish for anyone to have to go through our stuff to find it. So, my only other option was to make another one.

And when I say I made it again, I literally made it in the same colors again, because that’s exactly what I wanted. I did make a few changes which I’m very happy about, and it turned out even better than my first.

What brought about my longing for a quilted jacket was seeing the really beautiful Fibre Mood Anica Jacket that Alexis (@myysweetsunshine) made a few months ago. I immediately went in search of quilted fabric.

This quilted cotton gauze is so soft and cozy, and I have a bit left over that I think I’ll make into a bag.

[FYI for Portugal and other EU residents: I’ve learned that ordering things in Portugal is kind of a game of roulette, because you never know if your package will get delivered to your house or if they’ll drop it off at a pickup point. This fabric came in a big box that I paid to be delivered to my house, since I don’t have a car, but alas it was taken to a pickup point. So, I probably won’t be ordering from this company again since it was pretty inconvenient to pick up.]

The Unfolding Jacket explains how to do the construction with a lining, but it doesn’t really show how to do it without one or how to bind the inside seams. Luckily, if you have a Fibre Mood account you can log in and access pattern instructions even without purchasing them.

So, I downloaded the Anica pattern instructions and pretty much followed everything except the front bottom part where the pocket is, since I did patch pockets.

I loved the ties from the Anica Jacket, so I also added those to my construction, and love that there’s a way for me to keep the jacket together without me having to hold it shut. I used 10″ long strips of the same bias binding that I used to make the ties.

I made the longest version of the Unfolding Jacket and only added 2″ of length to the bodice and sleeves for the fold over hem. So, they’re both the original length. I made the neckband a few inches narrower, because I didn’t want it to fold over and look/feel bulky, plus I liked the look of the Anica neckband.

The first time I made the Unfolding Jacket, I made the size large, which matches up with my measurements, but it always felt a little bit too big. So, this time I sized down and made the medium size. I knew that the thicker quilted fabric would also make it more snug, so I didn’t want to size down too much.

Wearing this jacket is like wearing a big hug. I’m so over the moon happy to have this jacket again, even though I’m pretty sad I waited until the beginning of spring to make it and now it’s either too warm or rainy for me to wear it. Boo. But I’ll need it again by the end of the year, so that’s something to look forward to.