The Sweater Savior Project

A moth hole. A stain. A sweater that doesn't fit anymore. Or maybe a beautiful cashmere piece that's been sitting in your closet for years because you simply don't wear it.

That doesn't necessarily mean it's reached the end of its life.

A good friend once called me the Sweater Savior, and the name stuck.

I've been rescuing castoff cashmere sweaters for years and reincarnating them into new designs. I repair holes, work around stains and imperfections, add appliqués and embellishment, change shapes, and sometimes transform a sweater into something completely different.

And I can reincarnate yours too.

Unless, of course, it looks like the red swimsuit in the pinup girl photo...

There are ways to protect cashmere from those destructive moths, which I've written about here.

But if your best intentions fail, or if you simply have cashmere that deserves a new life — there are several ways to participate in the Sweater Savior Project.

Redesign Your Cashmere

Send me a sweater you'd like to wear again, and we can talk about what it might become.

A basic pullover can be embellished with appliqué, transformed into a cardigan, reshaped into a new garment, or turned into an accessory, children's sweater, pillow, or something entirely unexpected.

Simple appliqué additions and hole repairs are also available.

Trade In Your Cashmere

I also accept suitable cashmere sweaters for credit toward a Deborah Lindquist purchase.

Sweaters should be clean and in reasonably good condition. A few moth holes or imperfections are fine, that's part of what makes them interesting to work with.

And yes, I happily accept donations of cashmere too. Beautiful materials don't belong in landfill simply because their first life is over.

Learn to Reincarnate Materials Yourself

If you'd rather learn how to work with reclaimed materials yourself, I teach the design and handcraft techniques I've developed throughout my career through Creating Eco-Conscious Fashion, mentorship, and hands-on fashion and textile workshops.

Explore Creating Eco-Conscious Fashion

Give Your Sweater Another Life

The Sweater Savior Project is one small way to rethink our relationship with clothing.

Instead of seeing a hole, stain, or outdated shape as the end of a garment, we can see the material for what it still is: something beautiful and useful with possibilities left in it.

That's how my reincarnated cashmere collection began in the first place.

If you have a cashmere sweater you'd like me to redesign, repair, trade in, or simply rescue, contact me here and tell me a little about it.

We'll see what its next life might be.