Sew and Tell: Jen's Quilted Jacket

May 20, 2026

By Erin Garments

It is time for a second installment of our new project-spotlight feature: Sew and Tell!
In our Sew and Tell segments, we are highlighting fun and inspiring makes and learning a snippet or two about the process.

We are excited to feature Jen Sorenson's Prospect Flower quilted jacket! Our team met Jen at QuiltCon this year and we were immediately struck by her gorgeous jacket, pictured above. We loved her use of Tana Lawn® in a quilt coat and we were inspired by the way the quilting transformed a print that we knew well.

Jen, Bernina Ambassador and longtime quilter, has generously shared insights from her process and advice for any aspiring quilted coat makers. She has also shared these fabulous photos of her rocking her quilt coat in front of the Liberty store on her recent trip to London. You can see more of her work (and be inspired by the many marathons she has conquered) on her instagram here: @aquiltingjewel

Fabric: Prospect Flower (A)

Pattern: Jen reports that she would opt for a different pattern next time. Luckily there are many other fantastic quilt coat and jacket patterns out there! These are a few that other stitchers have enjoyed.

Rue Quilt Coat by Spaghetti Western

Quilted Jacket Beginner Sewing Pattern by Rosys Patterns

Flora Jacket by Brightside Patterns

Do you know a quilted jacket or coat pattern that you would recommend? Share it in the comments!

DuckaDilly: Tell us about your process! How did you prepare your quilted Tana Lawn®? (what batting did you use, what did you use on the reverse side etc.)

Jen: Having recently upgraded my longarm sewing machine to a BERNINA Q 24 as a BERNINA Ambassador, I found myself suddenly intrigued by pantographs and using longarm quilted items in different ways besides quilts. As a quilter of over 15 years, it felt like a whole new world was opened up to me. And knowing I was going to be attending and teaching at QuiltCon 2026 in Raleigh, this felt like the perfect time to make my first "quilt coat" of some sort. But I didn't just want it to be any standard quilt coat, it had to be something different and something very unique to me and my style.

Growing up in New England, I was raised on the traditional LL Bean fleece sweatshirts of the early 90's and that two tone style of jacket/sweater. After doing some digging, I knew this was the kind of quilt coat I wanted to make.

Before I quilted up multiple yards of Tana Lawn, I wanted to test out whether or not I wanted to use batting and what kinds of fabric would work best on the back. Because this was being quilted on a longarm, I knew I needed something that would withstand the quilting process but also have a soft drape. So I purchased some other Lawn fabric to practice on first. The first test I did was with lawn, a jersey, and bamboo batting. I selected bamboo batting because it's got an incredibly soft drape and isn't too heavy. I really liked how this turned out, but the end result was too stiff for the kind of jacket I wanted to make. So instead, I turned that first piece into a cute blazer jacket.

The second test was with a lawn and stretch jersey knit but without batting. This fabric had a really nice drape to it but was a tad thin. I took away from this that I liked the quited lawn with no batting but probably wanted something just a tad thicker for the backing/alternative. Ultimately, I opted to quilt my Tana Lawn® without batting using a polyester double knit to give the jacket some movement, some warmth, and be easy to work with.

DD: What tips do you have for longarming Tana Lawn® to turn it into a quilt coat?

Jen: When thinking about longarming Tana Lawn for a quilt coat, I think it's important to really consider the scale of the design you're quilting and the impact that has on the finished product. Because you're going to cut up the quilted fabric, you also want to use more stitches per inch than you might otherwise use for a basic quilt. I recommend at least 10 stitches per inch, if not 11 or 12. I also recommend a polyester thread and around a 40wt to be visible enough to be seen and have a bit of a sheen. Also because I was using a polyester backing. And yes, you can blend cottons and polyesters. ;-)

Speaking of scale, you'll want to use a smaller scale design that doesn't get completely lost when it's cut up and pieced back together. This smaller scale can add a density and thickness to the quilted piece, so just don't go too small. This is yet another reason, though, why I like to use smaller stitches. When you reduce the scale of your quilting design, you can lose the definition if you have too few stitches per inch. More stitches per inch results in a more defined quilting pattern. The only downside is that it uses more thread. But it's well worth it.

DD: We love your use of bold solids paired with floral prints! What tips do you have for choosing color combinations?

Jen: Thank you! This really was a result of using the longarm as a forcing function to add another color. I needed another fabric for the backing and in order to make the entire garment cohesive, I quilted the entire piece of fabric, front and back, at the same time. If I really wanted to, I could have made this piece reversible since I quilted the plum and Liberty fabric together in one solid 3 yard piece. That also means there's a lot of Liberty that you don't see, but I was okay with that since it's so soft against my body.

In terms of the color, I wanted something that stood out, was comfortable, and coordinated with the Liberty I used. I auditioned a bunch of solids against the print and ended up selecting the plum because it coordinated nicely but also offered a bit of contrast since the plum wasn't the dominant color in the print.

The other thing I considered was the thread color. Because I wasn't using a batting, it was essential to me to use the same thread color in the top and the bobbin. You lose a little bit of the leeway you get when you have batting and making sure the top and bottom threads don't pop through the other side, so using the same thread meant that if tension was off just a tad and I used different color threads, you'd notice. Using the same color thread meant it would blend in no matter what.

As for tips for choosing color combinations, my biggest tip would be to use the black and white feature on your phone camera to see if you have the contrast (or not) that you want. Do the colors blend together or is there enough of a value difference that it's going to look cohesive? Otherwise, I say go with what you like. This is your piece and only you get to judge it (unless you enter it into a competition). And at the end of the day, it's just fabric. You can always turn it into a bag or something if it doesn't turn out exactly the way you want. In fact, I did turn several of my scraps into some various quilted bags.

DD: Do you think you will make this again? If so, would you do anything differently next time?

Jen: I definitely want to make more quilt coats using quilted Liberty. I like doing different things, so I'll likely try another style, maybe experiment with some different fabrics and patterns to see how I can continue to evolve this technique and end product. I'll play with different quilting designs. Maybe I'll use a couple of different coordinating solids. Maybe I'll patchwork some different Liberty prints before quilting them up...

What I will do the same though is not use batting and use a fabric that has a bit of a stretch and a bit of thickness. Perhaps I'll try a fleece or a wool fabric next.

DD: Is there anything else you'd like to share about this project?

Jen: I think sometimes we're so hesitant to cut up or use our precious Liberty fabric that it can be intimidating to tackle a project like this at first. Hence my testers in the beginning. I wanted to work out some kinks and I did just that. But I have zero regrets quilting up and then cutting apart some precious Liberty fabric to make this one of a kind quilt coat. And like I mentioned before, worst case scenario you have some quilted fabric to make some tote bags, toiletry bags, laptop sleeves, etc. Just go for it.

Inspired to make your own quilted jacket? We are too!

Dreaming of Quilt Coats