Removing Jean Pockets

 Hello Refashion Co-op. I found these jeans at a thrift store and they were super soft. They felt like sweat-pant-jeans. I loved them and thought hey would be so comfy. 

Do you see something is a little "off"? What is up with these pockets??

 

I had to remove the lopsided pockets. I unpicked the stitches from the inside so I would not damage the front of the jeans. 

 

There were some white marks from the stitches on the front of the jeans. I used black and blue permanent markers to make little dots on the white marks. It sounds crazy but it filled in the missing color really well.

 

I liked the plain dark wash without any pockets (Or stitch marks.) on the front. Thanks for reading a lot, to see more go to I Can Work With That.
 

 

 

A bow for bow sleeve shirt

 

Hi everyone,

The 14th anniversary Refashion co-op in February encouraged me to do some digging into the archives and statistics. For example, which blog posts were popular over the years, which refashions are unforgettable (too many!). Where do our readers come from (all over the world!) etc etc. I'll be sharing some fun facts and throwback refashions with you in the coming months. After all, Refashion Co-op is a treasure trove filled with refashion gems worth cherishing. 

Best read post
One of the things I wanted to find out is which post had gotten the most views over the years, I was curious!

Well, here it goes: out of 7982 posts(!), the best read post is Bow sleeve t-shirt by Andrea (aka Little did you know). Her post was published on march 7th in 2012 and has been viewed over 247.000 times (yes really)!

Andrea's Bow sleeve t-shirt

Now, the fun part is that Andrea mentions in her post that she actually got her idea from fellow Refashion Co-op blogger Ruby Murray! And Ruby had shared her refashion 'long sleeve to bow sleeve' here a year before, in march 2011. 

Ruby's Bow sleeve tee

So you could say that Ruby and Andrea both were responsible for most populair post on Refashion Co-op! Congratulations to you both, it's such a fun and simple idea. I immediately liked it when I saw it and I absolutely want to try it myself.

What's your favourite refashion shared here on Refashion Co-op? Let us know in the comments!

Ruby explains the whole process in her post and if you're into easy projects, you should look into it. According to Ruby it's 'quick and easy and you'll be done before you know it'! I guess that's my cue, until next time!

Small cat wallhanging with jeans

 

You may have noticed I like working with denim. I like it a lot. Hence the knitted jeans bath mat, jeans belt and jeans Sashiko slippers I made earlier, I'm probably forgetting one or two projects... And you probably know the impact of jeans on the environment, because of the dying process, with all the chemicals. So it always makes me feel better to reuse old jeans or scraps.

Last year I discovered denim art: with images and (sometimes giant) wallhangings made of denim. Just search for Ian Berry on the web and you'll be blown away. Anyway, I felt I needed to try this myself (a bit smaller as you can imagine...). So here it goes, my own small decorative cat wallhanging.

I used a picture of Max, he sadly died of a bacterial infection at the age of 4. It's been a couple of years but I've always loved this picture of him. Now, about the process, it's not difficult, actually. I copied the image several times and printed it to be able to cut out the pieces I needed. They served as pattern pieces and I cut out different combinations of the shapes to be able to create layes for more depth.
 

With the embroidered eye, Max really came to life. And a cat needs his whiskers of course, so I unpicked a few threads to give Max his whiskers. 

Hope you liked the idea as much as I do! If you want to find out more about the the process, you're welcome to visit vermaakster.blogspot.com. Until next time!

TIP: we've changed the comment settings, so you can also comment without Google-account. If you only want to leave your name, choose option name/url and only fill in your name.

New Posting Guidlines at Refashion Co-op

 Hello Refashion Co-op. We have some new posting guidelines to share. We would love to see your projects! All your projects! You can post what you want, as often as you want. There is not a minimum or any commitment you need to agree to.

 DO post a refashion as often as you can. Life gets busy, we know that. There is no minimum, share your refashions when you have time.

DO share your wonderful and creative refashions/upcycles in any form. We want to see it all. Did you make clothing into home decor? Did you make clothing from home decor? Did you make clothing from clothing, or home decor from home decor? It doesn't matter, we would love to see it. 

We want to build up the community and encourage each other in our sewing practice. Check our "Posting Guidelines" page to read all about it.

 

Happy 14th anniversary interview!

Happy 14th birthday Refashion Co-op! 

On Valentine's day, exactly 14 years ago, Refashion Co-op was officially launched by Eddie, together with a group of enthusiastic editors. So today, February 14th, Refashion Co-op has it's 14th (Valentine) anniversary, hurrah! That calls for something special, right? So I contacted Eddie, our first editor, and asked her if we could do a throwback interview about how and why Refashion Co-op was set up at the time etc. And even though she is no longer actively involved, 14 years is a long time:), she said yes, hurray hurrah!

So here it goes. And for those of you who can't get enough, Eddie refers to inspiring posts and background information from the past.

Enjoy!

Can you take us back to February 2011 Eddie? What made you want to start ‘Refashion Co-op?’

 

Up till 2010 there had been a very popular refashioning blog called Wardrobe Refashion with many contributors but only one editor. At the end of 2010 the editor decided to close down the blog. We were all sad to see the iconic blog end it’s run.

Original banner Wardrobe Refashion

So I had a few Skype meetings with co-founder Erica (she was in Australia and I was in the UK back then) and decided the best would be to build a new platform with a large group of co-editors. As you can read on the ‘about’ page, this project (Refashion Co-op ed) was set up to keep the online refashion community alive.

 

We put a lot of thought into the idea that the platform should not rely on one alone editor and that it should be future proof, so that when 1 editor had to step away (which would inevitably happen because - life), new editors could join the team and learn how to manage the platform with whatever skills they happen to bring to the table. In the beginning the editors had each their day of the week to moderate. The editor of the day (EOD) checked the posts of the day and added a comment as a way of creating engagement with everyone’s posts. These comments were signed for example: ‘Eddie EOD’.

On top of this we had a specific Membership Editor or two to process and keep on top of whether editors were posting at least once a month. We also had an editor for Facebook and Pinterest at one point. 

How long have you been involved as an editor?

My first post was on a Wednesday, 16th february 2011, introducing myself and showing off some of my refashions. I was an editor until 2014 (my last refashion post was a ‘Knitted refashion of a vest’  on the 30^th of march 2014). I left because my research career was getting busier and I didn't have time to refashion much anymore.

Unfortunately, I don’t have a lot of time for creative pursuits these days. But I have done one refashion lately of a special merchandise t-shirt that just had a bit of a bad fit. So I redid the sleeves and neckline. 

Who was/were your favourite refashionista(s)?

I always had a soft spot for my co-founder Ericas refashions, I loved her emerald green 80s dress refashion for example.  

What was your own favourite refashion? 

Here is a refashion I made quite early on, where I unravel a sweater and knitted a lace shawl. (feb 2011)

A baby romper I made from an old mens shirt (aug. 2012)

And one of my last refashions on the coop, made with knitting. 

And what do you think is the strength of Refashion Co-op?
I have always believed the greatest strength lay in the way we set it up so that it wasn’t dependent on one or two editors. It was and has continued to be future proof. The fact that it is still going, even if it is less strong than in the beginning is a testament to that, and it makes me proud of the idea and setup. 

Also I think that because it is an independent space it has the potential to continue to be a community for refashionista's for another 14 years!

-----------------

Let's hope so Eddie and thank you so much for taking us back to the beginning of Refashion Co-op, sharing your memories with us. And you should be proud! With more than 9 million visits(!) over the years, you and all the other contributors inspired readers all over the world and helped spreading the love for refashioning, remaking clothes and upcycling. 💖

Do you remember?
I remember discovering Refashion Co-op myself about 4 years ago. It was like finding a treasure full of ideas and creativity. How about you? Do you remember reading your first post here? How long have you been following Refashion Co-op? Or have you been here for from the start? Let me know in the comments, love to hear about it! 

Are you a former contributor / editor?
...and would you like (or are you willing:)) to think along with us some time and share your expertise or may we ask you some questions? Please contact devermaakster @ gmail.com. Thanks!