This Shirt Collar Style Opus jacket was designed to demonstrate possibilities for featuring orphan blocks in a quilted jacket. Of course every project incorporating orphan blocks will be different based on the materials available. We extend our thanks to our acquisitions editor who donated a group of unused quilt blocks for an adult and kids jacket.
The adult version shows 4 ways of incorporating orphan blocks – as appliques on the upper back yoke, pieced into a decorative panel in the lower back, as prominent patch pockets on the lower front, and as a turnback cuff on the sleeves. The upper portion of the jacket (vintage floral cotton) and lower portion of the jacket (blue quilting cotton) are tied together with sashing and binding (yellow quilting cotton) that frames the entire jacket. The lining is rayon and each jacket section was quilted with a free-motion leaf motif. Buttons and buttonholes complete the closure. Find many more details in the step-by-step instructions for Project 4 in our book Sewing Quilted Patchwork Jackets.
For samples of other jackets featuring traditional quilting blocks, see Squared Off, the Orphan Block Jacket with Front Band, and Meandering Morris. Sashing is used to frame or tie together piecing in several jackets in the quilted photo gallery including Jalousie Windows, In a Japanese Garden, and Inspired by Ruth.
