Hi Everyone,

Today I am excited to share my version of the extremely popular Grainline Studio Tamarack Jacket. I’ve had the idea to make a quilted jacket floating around in my head for probably more than a year. It sometimes gets chilly in my office (in pre-Covid days of course, when I used to go to the office!) and I wanted to make something cosy but lightweight that I could throw on and sit and work in if I wanted too.

My version is heavily inspired by this Everlane version, so I made some modifications to the pattern to reflect that. I rounded the edges off at the centre front, added patch rather than welt pockets, and made my quilting lines vertical. Overall I am very pleased with the finished jacket.

The outer fabric of my jacket is a cotton from Fabworks Online (long since sold out), but there are lots of other options to chose from. It is a good strong, durable cotton which is not too crisp and was easy to manipulate on the curves of this jacket. I love the neutral colour. I made self bias binding (11 metres of) from the same fabric to do all the internal and external binding. I decided the grey colour was a good match for some printed silk-cotton that has been languishing in my stash for several years, and so used that for the inside lining. Combined with the 100% cotton batting (I used this one), the finished jacket definitely feels special and secretly luxurious. I also added a hanging chain to give that perfect finishing touch.

This jacket was definitely a labour of love. I didn’t follow the pattern directions to quilt the individual pre-cut pieces, but instead chose to cut large rectangles of fabric bigger than the required pattern pieces, and quilt them before cutting my pieces out. This allowed more control over the quilting process, avoiding any potential shrinkage of the individual pattern pieces as a result of the quilting process, and allowed me to align the selvedge edges of the inner and outer fabric. My quilting lines are 2 inches apart, and run parallel to the selvedges. In case anyone is wondering, the internal binding was not hard. I like to sew my binding to the wrong side first, then wrap it around the seam edge to the front and stitch in place (on my machine) from the front of the binding. Yep, there was no hand sewing involved in the making of this jacket. But of course, you could hand sew if that is your jam.

Pattern Review

Pattern Description:

Designed with the transitional seasons in mind, the Tamarack Jacket is a warm and stylish quilted coat perfect for spring and fall layering. Follow one of the two quilting designs included, or design your own to make your Tamarack totally original to you! You’ll stay toasty thanks to the inner layer of cotton or wool batting, while the roomy welt pockets will keep your belongings safe and your hands warm.

Techniques involved include straight seams, basic quilting, inserting a welt pocket, and applying bias binding.

Pattern Sizing:

0 – 18

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?

Kind of. I made some modifications to the pattern to make it like an Everlane jacket that I used as inspiration.

Were the instructions easy to follow?

Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?

Things I didn’t like:

• I wish that the bust apex point, full bicep position and waist position were marked on the pattern, along with finished measurements. This is a standard for Big 4 patterns, but something which is sadly lacking in Indie patterns in general
• The sizing is not very inclusive

Things I do like:

• Overall I am very happy with my finished jacket. I love how it fits and feels.
• The sizing was generous and I got away with minimal alterations, although I did have to adjust the shoulders somewhat. See below

Fabric Used:

Cotton for the outer, 100% cotton batting and silk-cotton blend for the inner.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:

• I cut a straight size 18
• I ended up adding 0.5 inches extra to the side seams of the body and sleeves
• I added 2 inches extra length to the body
• I removed 2.5 inches from the length of the sleeves
• I did a 0.5 inch forward shoulder adjustment
• I added 0.5 inches to the height of the sleeve cap and deepened the armholes of the body by 0.5 inches front and back to compensate for the additional height
• Swapped the welt pockets for patch pockets like my inspiration jacket
• I moved the position of the pockets and the side openings up by 2 inches
• I added snap closures to fasten
• I rounded off the centre front top and bottom edges
• I made 11 metres of self bias binding to finish the seams inside and out
• I added a hanging chain
• I did vertical quilting spaced two inches apart
• I did not quilt individual pattern pieces as instructed in the pattern, but chose to cut large rectangles of fabric bigger than my pattern pieces, quilt those pieces, and then cut my pattern pieces out

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?

Although this was a time consuming sew, I might sew again. I would recommend.

Conclusion:

This jacket will be perfect to wear through dry chilly autumn and even early spring days, and is also the perfect travelling companion. Great addition to my wardrobe.

For anyone interested, there is a highlight saved on my Instagram page with fitting details of my Tamarack and lots more details.

I did end up with some large scraps of the quilted fabric left at the end of this project. After the time spent on quilting it seemed a shame to let them go to waste so I made a quilted tote bag roughly based on this tutorial. It’s unlined and I just finished the insides on my overlocker. The straps are made from some denim I had in my sewing room and I had just enough bias binding to finish the outer edges with binding. In these days of trying to cut down on single use plastics it’s always handy to have cloth bags around.

Take care and stay safe!