Quilting has been used so extensively on quilts, throws, and comfortables that many think of it only in connection with them and do not realize how much real beauty it can contribute to garments. Quilting costs little more than your time....
Mary Brooks Picken added that you did have to take time to make it “perfect work,” so attention was needed as well. She gave examples of machine quilting all over on a robe, vest, or “comfortable” which is a little confusing, but comfortables here meant both padded or quilted comforters for beds AND padded and quilted mufflers (thank you, Oxford English Dictionary). While this was published in Sewing Simplified from 1953, some of the material dated back to the 1930s from earlier books Picken wrote, and the meaning of words has since changed.
She also pointed out that bands along the edge of a garment might be quilted, and I have seen quilted collars and cuffs that are handsome as well. Picken also suggested quilting a coat lining, but I swore I would never take on a large quilting project after I machine quilted a simple-pieced comforter. It was about the most tedious and awkward machine sewing I had ever done.
So, take my advice and think of machine quilting as trim or embellishment. If you are keen on a quilted coat lining, you can buy such fabrics pre-made.
