A Tweedy Topper

I loved my last topper so much that I immediately made plans to make another one.  I really wanted a tweedy version so after rumbling through the fabric stash, I settled on this fabric. Settled because I was really in love with a blue/white tweedy knit but it just came off so summery for this time of the year. 

Before I get into the details of this make, here's a picture of the finished topper...

All pics of the topper are on Lulu because I'm taking

this to Pulluyap and will have action shots there.

The Supply List ~
3 yards wool & acrylic blend from Fabric Mart
3 yards emerald green rayon bemberg lining
ltwt fusible interfacing
Green rayon seam binding
1" black faux leather bias binding
3 - 1.5" black plastic buttons

Pattern Alterations ~
As I stated in my last post, I wanted this version to be more coat-like than my previous one because of that I altered the neckline on the front and back pattern pieces.

The front was raised 1" at the shoulder and 1.5" at the center neckline and front and a new pattern piece was made for just the front piece.

The back piece was raised just 1"

The underarm was lowered 1" to allow for better arm movement.

Construction Choices ~
The most important thing after the pattern alterations was the interfacing I felt the pieces needed for the infrastructure of the topper.

A lightweight fusible interfacing was added to the center back neckline, the center fronts, the hemline of the jacket, the sleeve caps and the hemlines.

The sleeves on this version are lined. I originally wanted to stitch the lining into the sleeve to cover the armhole seam but got a little frustrated. So I resorted to using the Nancy Zieman method of lining a sleeve. Bunny from La Sewista has a great post on how to do this with fantastic pictures charting the process.

The jacket is fully lined using the rayon bemberg lining. I purposely chose a bright emerald green because I like the boldness on the inside. It adds a touch of bright color during these cold dreary days.

I hemmed the jacket using green seam binding on the fashion fabric ~ hand stitching the hem down.  The lining has a machine stitched hem and there are thread chains connecting the lining fabric to the fashion fabric.

At this point the jacket was looking bland so I went through the notions stash trying to find something to give it some pizazz. Finally settling on the faux leather bias binding because it adds that something special I was looking for...it also adds to the streamline look that I was going for.  I used steam-a-seam and pins to apply the bias binding to the jacket before stitching it down and even made a sample before applying the binding to the jacket.

The buttons were added to bring more dimension to the front of the jacket and to highlight the pockets.

A few more pictures of the jacket ~

How does topstitching work on one side and not the other?

And it's not like I wasn't just as careful on each side - *sigh*

Conclusion ~

I really liked the challenge of adapting the pattern to fit my vision. Now I realize that this isn't something everyone wants to do and these toppers are really in now.  Here are several patterns that are currently in the pattern catalogs that you can use to make your own version ~

Butterick 6328

Kwik Sew 4104

The inner seam pockets could be added easily to the KwikSew pattern since the front piece has waistline seaming.

This will be my last topper from my evolved pattern for now. It's cold here in the Northeast and I'm looking to make a couple of cardigans to wrap myself up in until April arrives with it's warm spring breezes. As I stated above, I'm taking this piece to Pulluyap so I will have photos of the topper on me when I recap the Expo.

...as always more later!