Hi friends! I am delighted to share this project with you: my upcycled quilted Pona Jacket! Pona is our latest pattern here at Helen's Closet, and I am VERY into it.
When Helen first started designing this pattern, I thought that a quilted version would look really cool and be nice and cozy for winter. I noticed that quilted jackets and duffle coats were trending for the colder months, and so I decided that I wanted to take advantage of that by executing a big refashion/upcycling project. Since Pona was in development, I tried out the pattern and my project idea at the same time.
I found this quilted blanket at a local thrift store for only $15! It definitely felt funny when I bought a blanket at the beginning of the week and then walked back into the same store a few days later wearing a jacket made out of the same blanket! The blanket was queen size, so there was plenty of yardage for my Pona. I tried my best to match the quilting pattern on the pockets and jacket front/back, and I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out!
Oh, also- this is an entirely Helen's Closet outfit. Aside from my Pona Jacket, I am also wearing an Elliot Sweater and a York Pinafore. My boots are, of course, not Helen's Closet- those are Doc Martens.
Sewing Pona is such a joy. I found it to be quick and easy for a jacket pattern, that's for sure! I have very little patience for...well, anything, really, so that is a huge plus for me. Pona is so, so satisfying to make, because it feels like a big project, but doesn't take that long to make. The only thing that I struggled with was trying to get the topstitching to be nice and perfectly straight in areas where I was sewing through multiple layers of quilted blanket (like attaching the patch pockets, the hem and the collar), but I made it through in the end. I think it's important to remind yourself that not everything has to be 100% perfect, all the time. Also, 99.9% of the people you meet aren't going to be paying attention to how straight the side topstitching on your pockets is.
I'm so satisfied with how this Pona looks. I almost feel like I cheated, because the quilting is so lovely, but I didn't have to do any quilting. One of my favourite details is the scalloped topstitching on the pocket tops- I decided to have some fun with the topstitching on the pockets, and I tried a decorative stitch using a manual cam that came with my machine (a Singer 411G) when it was originally sold back in the 1960's. I think it adds such a cute and subtle touch of decoration!
Since the original blanket was so large, I had quite a bit leftover when I finished. I cut the remaining blanket into 10" x 10" squares so that I could make some bowl cozies. I combined the blanket pieces with some nice quilting cotton scraps from my stash to whip these handy little guys up. Aren't they cute?
All in all, this project was a big, fat sewing win. Inexpensive? Check. Sustainable? Check. Fun to sew? Check. Looks put together but I am outside literally wearing a blanket?! Check. I love you Pona Jacket!
