As you stated, ascended gear can be crafted.
Crafting
Ascended weapons are crafted using ascended materials and a complex process. Players will need to purchase a Recipe: Ascended Inscription and use it to acquire the recipe for the prefix they want. Players also need to purchase an ascended weapon recipe for the appropriate weapon type; a greatsword requires a Recipe: Ascended Greatsword for example. The prefix of the weapon recipe and the inscription recipe have to match. The components for the weapons require the equivalent of tier 7 crafting materials for each crafting profession.
Ascended armor is crafted using ascended materials and a complex process. Players will need to purchase a Recipe: Ascended Insignia and use it to acquire the recipe for the prefix they want. Players also need to purchase an ascended armor recipe for the appropriate piece of armor; a heavy helm requires a Recipe: Ascended Heavy Helm for example. The prefix of the armor recipe and the insignia recipe have to match. The components for the armor requires the equivalent of tier 7 crafting materials for each crafting profession.
Materials needed
Light armor
- 6 Gossamer Insignia
- 30 Glob of Dark Matter
- 120 Pile of Crystalline Dust
- 6 Augur's Stone
- 15 Dragonite Ingot
- 15 Empyreal Star
- 15 Bloodstone Brick
- 36 Bolt of Damask
- 6 Elonian Leather Square
- 720 Spool of Gossamer Thread
Medium armor
- 6 Gossamer Insignia
- 30 Glob of Dark Matter
- 120 Pile of Crystalline Dust
- 6 Augur's Stone
- 15 Dragonite Ingot
- 15 Empyreal Star
- 15 Bloodstone Brick
- 24 Bolt of Damask
- 18 Elonian Leather Square
- 720 Spool of Gossamer Thread
Heavy armor
- 6 Gossamer Insignia
- 30 Glob of Dark Matter
- 120 Pile of Crystalline Dust
- 6 Augur's Stone
- 15 Dragonite Ingot
- 15 Empyreal Star
- 15 Bloodstone Brick
- 25 Bolt of Damask
- 16 Deldrimor Steel Ingot
- 360 Spool of Gossamer Thread
- 150 Thermocatalytic Reagent
As you can see ascended gear requires a lot of base materials (pretty obvious since its currently the highest tier armor). There IS another way to get ascended gear however.
Ascended chests
Ascended chests drop from Fractals of the Mists, Tequatl the Sunless, exotic champion loot bags, reward chests of Guild Missions and give any armor piece with a given prefix. The prefix of the chest corresponds to the prefix for the ascended armor, for example Occam's Armor Chest contains Occam's "Carrion" armor and for example Beigarth's Weapon Chest contains Beigarth's "Knight" weapons.
Source : http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Ascended_armor