Quilting

Machine quilting the lining to the garment helps to stabilize the loosely woven fabric. Plan the quilting lines according to the features of the fabric. By stitching along a lengthwise thread in the fabric and following a stripe or plaid, the quilting lines will disappear into the fabric. Do not place quilting lines too close together or it will affect the drape of the fabric, making it too stiff. I placed the quilting lines on my sample jacket approximately 2" apart for a total of 16 quilting lines on the body of the jacket. They begin and end approximately 2" - 3" from the top and bottom edges of the garment. This allows you to get inside and finish the hem and shoulder seams and insert the sleeve without any difficulty. Leave enough room at center front to allow for buttonholes and buttons.

Assemble the front and back of the jacket, leaving the side and shoulder seams unstitched. Assemble the same seams of the lining. These vertical seams of the lining can now be trimmed back to 1" with a pair of pinking shears, but leave the side seams as they are for now. Pin the seams of the lining to the seams of the garment. Pin the lining to the garment along the quilting lines. From the outside of the garment diagonally baste the lining to the fabric just to the side the quilting line. If the diagonal basting is done just to the side of the actual quilting line it is easier to remove the basting thread once the fabric has been quilted. Between each line of quilting allow a small amount of extra lining. This will ensure that the lining is not too tight and does not pull on the outer fabric. (Remember that the lining was cut slightly larger than the garment to allow for this small amount of ease.)

Please note that these photos illustrate the sleeve quilting but the technique is the same for the body.

Machine stitch the quilting lines using Tire 100% silk 50 weight machine twist thread and a stitch length of 3.6 mm. If your stitches are too short it will stiffen the fabric. Working from the right side of the fabric, stitch on the quilting lines, following the diagonal basting. Pull on the fabric in front and from behind the presser foot slightly as you stitch to prevent the lining from puckering. Do not backstitch at the beginning or end of each quilting line. Instead, leave long thread tails at the beginning and end, and pull the thread tails between the lining and the fabric. Knot off and clip to 1/2". Once the quilting is complete, the lining edges can be trimmed to the same size as the garment fabric.