Portia Lawrie

Portia Lawrie is a predominantly self-taught dressmaker and designer who has been passionate about recycling for most of her life. She has been writing about sewing since 2010, on her social media and her website: www.portialawrie.co.uk Portia is the founder/creator of The Refashioners, an annual sewing event that launched in 2011. It aims to challenge the global sewing community to look at old clothes in a new light, and provides inspiration and tutorials (and often a huge competition prize)...See more

Portia Lawrie is a predominantly self-taught dressmaker and designer who has been passionate about recycling for most of her life. She has been writing about sewing since 2010, on her social media and her website: www.portialawrie.co.uk Portia is the founder/creator of The Refashioners, an annual sewing event that launched in 2011. It aims to challenge the global sewing community to look at old clothes in a new light, and provides inspiration and tutorials (and often a huge competition prize) to encourage participation and get this message across. Portia has been a contributor to Simply Sewing magazine since its launch in 2015, designing and writing reader tutorials for a mix of refashioning, pattern hacks and patternless projects. She was awarded Dressmaker magazine's Dressmaker of the Year 2017. Her winning entry was a quilted denim coat made from old jeans. In 2020, Portia and fellow designer Samantha Claridge launched The ChangeMaker Initiative, which offers a range of products tailored towards Makers. Its profits are donated to charities that promote positive social and environmental changes. Portia lives in rural Essex, UK, with her partner and teenage son. @portialawrie See less