MEET THE MAKER
Hi, I’M JANA
I’m the maker behind Aleatorio Designs, a textile studio based in the mountains outside Madrid. I work with second-hand fabric, patchwork, quilting and plant-based dye to make useful textile pieces, sewing patterns and practical guides. Some of the work ends up on a wall, some carries tools or protects a laptop, and quite a lot of it begins as a pile of fabric that nobody else quite knew what to do with.
SEWING, UNPICKING & STARTING AGAIN
I learned to sew as a child from my grandmother. She was patient, precise and determined to do things properly. She would rather unpick a seam than leave it wrong. I was considerably less precise, but the lesson stayed with me: take your time, pay attention and fix what is not working.
Like many sewists, I began with upcycling, clothing alterations and a series of unflattering garments and questionable fashion choices. There was plenty of trial and error, with rather more error at first.
After years of travel, study, work and eventually moving from Norway to Spain, I returned to sewing seriously. I liked the combination of planning and improvisation: choosing materials, cutting pieces, solving construction problems and gradually turning an idea into something physical.
I began with patchwork because I wanted to use my fabric scraps and save money. Then friends and family started delivering bags of old clothes to my house. Before long, I had enough material for considerably more than a few personal projects.
Working with those fabrics changed the way I designed. Their colours, dimensions and worn areas created useful limits, and patchwork allowed the smallest pieces to become part of something larger. Aleatorio Designs grew from that process: finding value in unwanted cloth and working out what it could become next.
MATERIAL, CONSTRUCTION & USE
Every project begins with the material available, the purpose of the finished piece and the construction needed to make it work. These three ideas keep the studio grounded.
START WITH THE MATERIAL
Reclaimed fabric comes with limits, marks and previous lives. I assess what is usable, prepare it carefully and allow the available material to shape the design.
MAKE IT TO BE USED
Construction should suit the job. Seams, batting, closures, binding and reinforcement are chosen according to how the finished piece will be handled and cared for.
SHARE THE METHOD
Patterns, articles and guides document what I learn through making. The goal is to provide enough practical information for someone else to use the method confidently.
BEHIND THE FINISHED WORK: MATERIALS IN THE STUDIO
The pages below look more closely at how materials are prepared, tested and turned into finished textile work.
STUDIO WORK
SEE WHAT IS BEING MADE
See current projects, recent releases, finished textile work, sewing resources and notes from the studio.
VISIT THE STUDIO
SECOND-HAND MATERIALS
WORKING WITH FABRIC
See how second-hand clothing and household textiles are assessed, cleaned, deconstructed, organised and prepared for new work.
SEE THE PROCESS
PLANT-DYED MATERIALS
NATURAL DYEING IN THE STUDIO
See how fibres, dye plants, mordants, samples and colour records contribute to naturally dyed fabric used in finished textile pieces.
NATURAL DYEING IN THE STUDIOKEEP IN TOUCH
SEE WHAT I’M MAKING NEXT, follow new projects
Join me for one monthly Studio Letter with new projects, practical resources, material experiments and occasional product releases. You will also receive access to the free resource library.