I recently wrote a post about falling in love with the idea of upcycling a handmade quilt into a dress and shared the project I made. In that post, I spoke about how I had a hard time finding a vintage quilt that was the right colors or that I was willing to cut up, but that I finally got very lucky one day at the thrift store. It turned out that finding that quilt was just the beginning of my luck…

While I was on the hunt for the right quilt, I shared with my mother-in-law what I was trying to find and asked her to keep an eye out. At Thanksgiving, she surprised me with a quilt that has been in their family for more than 60 years and said I could use it! I was shocked and instantly in love with the colors and pattern of the quilt. I felt honored that she trusted me to cut up this family heirloom and am super excited to share it with you!

I absolutely love the Midcentury feel of the pattern and the colors on this quilt. It was exactly what I was looking for, and it was large. I knew I could make the long dress with long sleeves that I was hoping for. My vision was to create a straight, loose fitting dress with deep pockets and lantern sleeves. A true winter dress that was warm, comfortable and I could wear with snow boots.

Because this blanket has been in the family for so long, it had a few stains and some split seems that needed repaired. I love that this quilt was well used and enjoyed in its original purpose and these small things didn’t bother me at all. The quilt was finished with a zig-zag stitch in white thread, so I used the same to make repairs.

For some reason, only the black fabric sections showed a lot of wear. All of the other colored sections were in great shape, but the black sections were almost worn through. To help these areas last longer, and save any remaining fabric, I used black thread with a zig-zag stitch to freely create layers of stitching over those spaces.

Above shows how the black squares looked when I got the blanket. Below shows the front and back of the free stitching I did over those areas.

The layered stitching is barely noticeable and I was surprised at how much strength it added to those areas. Once repairs were finished, I got to work on the dress. I used pattern 3631 from Simplicity and used the pieces for the coat. Even though I was making a dress, I picked this pattern because it is easily adaptable and had the lantern sleeve I was after. I knew that with a few small changes I could make a dress with those pattern pieces. This is another pattern that I have had for years and used multiple times.

I made the following changes to the original pattern:

• Instead of cutting the back on the fold, I cut the front on a fold to create more of a dress feeling.

• I cut the back in separate sections, instead of cutting on the fold.

• I added a zipper to the back and did not use any buttons.

• I reversed the neck facing to create a more pronounced, free formed collar.

• I added a band on the bottom to make it floor lenght.

Even though this quilt was a larger size, I still needed to add extra fabric on the end to achieve the length I wanted. I had yardage of some green linen that I picked up a thrift store and it perfectly matched one of the squares in the quilt. I also used the linen for the sleeve bands and pockets.

I started by stitching the bottom bands onto the front and back sections of the dress so that they were full pieces. After that, I added the some details. This pattern features a set of 3, reverse darts at the neckline. It’s hard to tell from this picture, but I really like the effect they give.

Next I put in the zipper, which was an addition I made. The zipper is not absolutely necessary, I can pull on the dress without the zipper, but I wanted it anyway. Once that was complete, I stitched on the pockets and completed the side and back seams. With the main part of the dress complete, I moved onto the sleeves, which I was most excited for.

This type of sleeve is fairly easy to create. The seam is gathered and then a cuff is added to finish it. Because the quilt is so thick, it was more difficult but I am so thrilled with how the sleeves turned out!

It came together really fast and all that remained was to add the sleeves to the dress, finish the neckline and the hem.

At the last minute, I decided I wanted to add more flare and experiment with the neckline. I flipped the facing so that it would kind of flare out and be a large collar. It’s defiantly a unique neckline, but the more I looked at it the more I love it. And, if I change my mind in the future, I can always change it!

This is how the collar turned out. I left it un attached at the back so that it moves and creates different shapes.

For the hem, I simply serged the edge and left it with the stitches showing. I really like the contrast of the white thread at the hem. Especially since white thread is also used decoratively throughout the rest of the garment.

I am really delighted with how this dress turned out. It is very close to what I imagined. Hopefully, I did Grandma Roush and my wonderful mother-in-law proud. I feel so lucky to be part of such a thoughtful and loving family!

It has the loose fit I wanted.

But also looks great with a belt!

This dress makes me feel so happy! I think I will wear it for years to come. Two quilt dresses is probably enough for one person, but who knows! Maybe I’ll make more…

I love that I get to wear a piece of family history and that it is one-of-a-kind. Similar to my last project, I didn’t have to purchase anything to create this garment. All of the supplies were already in my studio and the quilt was a gift.

What do you think of the quilt dress trend? Would you make or wear a garment made from a quilt? Let me know in the comments, and please share if you have made or own something like this!

Thanks for following along!