Refashion editor: Jessica (ayenforcraft)

How did you get into refashioning?
I’ve been crafting for over 20 years now, ever since my grandma taught me to knit at the age of six. Since then I’ve expanded into crocheting and sewing, and began refashioning nearly four years ago. My first refashion was to cut down the waistband of a too-tight skirt and finish it off with bias tape. It was so simple, so fast and yet so revolutionary! I was hooked.

What is your motivation for refashioning?
Ecological, economical, creativity and sheer laziness! I love the truly one-of-a-kind aspect of refashions, and working with source materials that are cheap also frees me to take chances and make mistakes. Mistakes are unfortunate, but they make me a better seamstress.

Where do you get your inspiration?
The Internet remains my primary source for refashion inspiration, and I look forward to seeing what others have been up to! Sometimes a construction detail from a garment in a thrift shop or in a retail store will stick in my mind for weeks or months and eventually work its way into a refashion, but I’ve never made inspiration boards or saved images from magazines. Fashion magazines leave me with a strong sense of wantyness so I try to avoid them altogether.

Which techniques do you use in your refashions?
I go through phases. There are periods where I’m trying to make everything I see into a skirt … and then there are periods where I look at nothing but sweaters. I love converting old sweaters into new ones, buying skirts that are too big and too long and using pleats to make them fit me. I also like to use bias tape to finish raw edges, and often I use a contrasting bias tape and make it part of the design.

Where do you find things to refashion?
Thrift shops, mostly. If I have a favorite garment I no longer wear but cannot bear to part with, I compromise with myself by adding it to the refashion pile. Recently I put out a call to my friends to pass their old clothes my way. Every time my family takes a load of stuff too Goodwill, I make sure to paw through it first. Some of my favorite refashions have come from the family discard pile.

What is your favorite refashion?
Too many favorites! Hm … here are three favorites:

This skirt started out as two skirts: a slightly-too-small-slightly-too-long thrifted wool skirt, and an ill-fitting self-drafted corduroy skirt that waffled between an A-line and pencil skirt. Throw in some pleats, Frankenstein one skirt onto the other, and you have a one-of-a-kind creation. More details on the construction, as well as the improvisational refashion process, here.


Back when I was too scared of curves to tackle dresses or blouses, I hit on the idea of attaching an A-line skirt to a button-down blouse to create a “shirt dress.” Add in a fabric-covered belt and coordinating ruffled underskirt, and you have a dress that still makes me smile every time I pull it on.


In October 2010, I challenged myself to refashion one sweater per week for the entire month of October. This is the very first sweater I refashioned in that challenge. I converted an oversized pullover into a cardigan and crocheted a mass of oversized flowers to use as embellishments. This sweater has been perfect in the office or for a casual outing with friends.


Do you recycle anything other than fashion?
I’ve been known to use upcycled fabrics into home décor or other household-y items like quilts and draft snakes. I also dabble with collage now and again, which doesn’t use fabric (usually) but does reuse other materials!

Where can I read more about you and refashioning?
You can follow my blog here, and if you’re really just interested in the refashions, I think I tagged all of those posts with Refashion.