Using reformed sounds rather odd.
If you reform something, you improve it, you don't change it into something else.
So, if you reform an electoral system, it is still an electoral system, but (hopefully) a better one.
Using either turned or made would be more appropriate: I turned the cloth into a dress.
I made the cloth into a dress.
Or even:
I transformed the cloth into a dress.
But that sound a little pretentious.
ell.stackexchange.com/users/40588/Mick
One could simply say reuse in this context.
I reused the cloth to make a dress A slightly fancier way of saying the same would be: I repurposed the cloth to make a dress.
In both cases, the prefix re- gives the sense
the the cloth had a previous purpose or form, rather than being a fresh piece of cloth.
ell.stackexchange.com/users/44922/mike
Using "reform" this way might be allowed by the rules of the language, but it is definitely not idiomatic.
A native speaker would not say that.
A native speaker would more likely say "I made a dress from the cloth".
ell.stackexchange.com/users/48271/Rob K
It's not that "reform" is unacceptable -- it's an awkward use of the word.
I like the suggestion of "transform".
In the context of dress making it implies that the dress was not simply crafted from cloth, but that the designer was an artist who elevated the cloth to a higher purpose.
ell.stackexchange.com/users/48263/phearce
Reform is incorrect in this case, because it describes taking a working form and turning it into another working form .
Re - a latin prefix meaning "again" - implies that the subject was previously formed, but raw materials such as cloth are by definition not yet formed.
It would be correct to say that you formed the cloth into a dress.
It wouldn't be the best word for this case; formed is old-fashioned and not very specific.
You might have sewed , cut , or even fabricated the cloth into a dress, and those would be better options.
ell.stackexchange.com/users/48277/rsegal
I can think of one example where "I reformed the cloth into a dress" would be accurate.
"Form" can describe forcing something into a shape.
Fabric can be "molded" or forced into a custom shape (other than flat), by mechanical processes.
If you start with cloth that was formed into a shape for some purpose and decide to reuse it to make a dress employing a similar shaping process, you could say you reformed the cloth into a dress.
A forming process certainly isn't a typical way to make a dress, but that would be the literal meaning of the sentence in the question.
ell.stackexchange.com/users/48032/fixer1234
When I want to express that I reformed the cloth and made a dress, can I say like 'I reformed the cloth into a dress?  If I am wrong, What is the best answer for it?
Does this sentence make sense? (I reformed the cloth into a dress.)
ell.stackexchange.com
<grammaticality><phrase-request>
ell.stackexchange.com/questions/116745
ell.stackexchange.com/users/1257/박용현
Reformed would not be used in this context. However, turned, made, reused, transformed, sewed ,  cut , or even  fabricated  the cloth into a dress, would be better options. The use of "reform" sounds awkward to a native speaker and although in some cases it could be allowed by the language rules, it has a different meaning. More appropriate alternatives are: "turned", "made", "transformed" the cloth into a dress, "reused", formed", "sewed", "cut" or even "fabricated".
The use of "reform" sounds awkward to a native speaker and although in some cases it could be allowed by the language rules, it has a different meaning. More appropriate alternatives are: "turned", "made", "transformed" the cloth into a dress, "reused", formed", "sewed", "cut" or even "fabricated".