González’ method is collective and every workshop forms its own small fashion
scene, encouraging participants to share their curiosity, materials and skills. How
would this hacking method work in a more distributed way, when amateurs ex-
periment alone at home? This was the first idea I explored when starting this re-
search as I began to make simple ReForm manuals to help others remake their old
garments.
reform projects and the abstract accessories
Before I had even started my research I created manuals of how to resew old clothes
into new forms, reforming them or upgrading them. Like cookbooks these manu-
als were intended to be “instructables” and step-by-step tutorials of how to update
the garments that were dying in the back of the dark wardrobe. I photographed
every step in the process, inserted notations, and made printable PDF document of
them that could easily be spread over the Internet. This library of documented
methods on my website grew over time to form a “recyclopedia” of copyleft manu-
als, ready to be downloaded and printed for anyone interested in resewing their
clothes.
Each manual is about reforming one garment into a new one, or combining parts
of two garments into one (or two). Most material comes from my own wardrobe,
but some are acquired at second-hand stores. The methods are deliberately made
A METHOD FOR MODULATING AN ETHNO KNIT+.)4 2%
&/2-
INTO A WRAPPED CARDIGAN
A 3%,&?0!33!'% METHOD
TAKE YOUR BIG OLD KNITTED SWEATER CUT UP THE FRONT CUT UP A BIG HOLE AT THE NECK AND CUT OFF THE LOWER EDGE
FOLD UP THE LOWER EDGE AND MAKE A HEM PIN THE LOW CUT
OFF TO THE ENLARGED NECK HOLE
START PINNING AT THE MIDDLE BY THE
SPINE TO MAKE IT EVEN AT BOTH ENDS
ATTACH WITH A SEAM
SO IT LOOKS SOMETHING LIKE THIS FOLD INWARDS THE OVER THE SEAM YOU JUST MADE AND SEW THE EDGE ON TOP OF OLD SEAM FOLD THE FRONT SIDES SO THEY MEET THE FRONT EDGES OF THE NECK IMPROVISE A SEAM
HOLD THE KNIT WRAP TOGETHER WITH A BIG SAFETY
PIN IT COULD LOOK LIKE THIS NOW WRAP UP IN REMADE ETHNIC AUTHENTICITY
©COPYLEFT BY WRONSOV &EB