The minute I saw the Lara Eichwede Centrefold pattern I knew I had to make it from some upcycled jeans. I also wanted to make a pair of trousers to go with it, also from jeans, which I’ll blog in another post. I found two pairs on the free rack at my favourite country op shop, and deconstructed them. I forgot to photograph one pair, which is a shame as they had a really wide elasticated waistband which makes for interesting fade patterns, but here is the second pair. I always look for the biggest jeans I can find!
I do a lot of unpicking in the car, which is why I fail to get photographs. I find that unpicking denim blunts my unpickers super fast so I use this rather gruesome looking scalpel. It’s called a Havel’s stitch cutter and the blades are replaceable. I can unpick about three pairs of jeans before it needs replacing, and it’s still good for general unpicking so I save the blades.
The blade just rips through the seams making it so easy to deconstruct the jeans. If you want to save the top stitching thread it’s a little more tricky, so I tend to just save the bobbin thread.
A word of caution though, these blades are sharp and it’s very easy to cut oneself – ask me how I know!
I began planning my Centrefold and decided I would also make Stokx Play pants to coordinate, and therefore have an entry for Sew Together For Summer 25. I needed to use both pairs between the two makes so I wanted to work out what went where.
I could get the fronts and backs of the Centrefold from one pair of jeans and the cuffs of the sleeves, which I made longer, would come from the elasticated waistband which had such glorious fade marks on it.
I unpicked the belt loops from the second pair of jeans (the first pair didn’t have belt loops) to put on the front of the top as the fabric was a bit distorted and I thought they’d hold flat and look cool. The rest of the sleeves came from the second pair of jeans. I used a piece of linen leftover from a tee shirt I made my husband, to face the collar as I thought the denim might be too bulky. I cut a heart from a piece of nicely marked denim from the second pair and sewed it to the collar.
My son cut a heart to break it and I stitched it back together – there was obviously a lot going on emotionally in the house that day! Anyway, when I made this top I asked him where I should sew it and he suggested the back shoulder, which I duly did. Sorry about the grey colour, something clearly spooked my camera.
The neckline on the top is quite wide, which is lovely for summer but a bit breezy in the winter, so I might consider modifying it for another winter version.
The bust darts are in a perfect spot but when I move my arms the denim moves and the darts finish up too high. I dropped them by just under a centimetre and made them a bit shorter and now I don’t have to worry about them as much.
I can layer the top with skivvies underneath, which makes it warmer. Worn here with my wool flannel Stokx Play Pants. It seems to be falling off my right shoulder, which is not how it is, I just don’t dress myself properly!
It’s sitting better in this shot below.
I teamed it with the Fibremood Dasha trousers and a new pair of Stokx Play Pants I’ll be blogging next.
Lovely to wear for coffee in a local country town. I’ve already worn this top a few times.
posing in front of my favourite snottygobble bush – yes, that’s what they are called!
This is a really lovely pattern with excellent instructions. I have just been considering how to bring the neckline in a bit for another winter version, so experimentation shall begin.
I looked after Miss E today and we spent a lot of time playing with the straps in the stroller. This was all about keeping her baby safe, I think.
