Scrunchy Scarf
This project is inspired by
a $40 scarf from Bloomingdales:
And you can make these little cuties for a whopping price of
a few bucks a piece and about 10 minutes of your time.
Supplies:
2 1/2-3 yards of
jersey knit material (t-shirt material)*
regular thread and elastic thread (look in the elastic
aisle!)
*You'll be able to make
5 scarves from one cut of fabric, so this makes a great gift
item! Also, in hind sight, it would be a bonus if the fabric
was printed on both sides, or to just use a solid color so
there isn't a "wrong" side.
Instructions:
First, cut your fabric
into a strip that's 10" x 2 1/2 - 3 yards. I think 2 3/4
yards is perfect (I am 5'4"), but the length depends on
your preference. Keep in mind that the finished scarf
will be WAY shorter than this, because it scrunches up.
I pictured three
different scarf variations at the top of the page. We'll
be making the first one, which has two seams and no
slits. At the bottom of the page I give instructions for
the other variations of this scarf.
Hand-wind the the
elastic thread onto a bobbin. (You'll want to do this
with only a little bit of tension. If you wind it
tightly, it will break when sewing!) You'll just use
regular thread on top.
If your bobbin sits in
a removable case like mine, you may have to loosen the
little screw on the bobbin case to allow the elastic
thread to be pulled through it easier. Until I realized
I needed to do this, I had all sorts of problems! Once I
loosened it, voila!
Turn off "automatic
tension control" on your sewing machine. On my machine
this means turing the tension knob to "zero."
Turn your stitch length
up to a long stitch, I use the longest straight stitch
on my machine, which is a 4.
Sew straight line on
some scrap fabric to be sure your machine settings are
right. If everything's right, the fabric will bunch up
as it passes through the machine, and the back side will
look nice and clean (not loopy).
Now you're ready to sew
your scarf. All you do is sew two seams, from one end of
your scarf alllllll the way down the length to the other
end, placing each seam 2 3/4" from the outter edge. The
scarf will scrunch itself as you sew.
Here's what it looks
like. Those two seam lines worked all the magic!
And can you believe
that this little number sells for $85 from Nepali? (Ok,
it is made of cashmere... but still...)
Hmm, that was easy! Now
start brainstorming who all on your Christmas list has a
neck. Hmm...
Last, if you decided to
do this project yourself, please send me a photo of it
with your name and what state you're from! I've recently
decided to start featuring my readers' finished results.
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Scrunchy
Scarf Variations
You can make the scarf
wider or thinner, with or without fringe/ tails, and you
can add additional elastic seam lines if you'd like.
(Bloomingdales Scarf!)
I cut the fabric for this scarf 10" x 3 YD (it scrunches up a little extra with the three seams). To make it, simply sew two outter seam lines (like you did in the tutorial above), and place them 2" from each edge. Last, add a center seam right down the middle of your two side seams.
(Extra-Ruffley Bloomingdales Scarf!)
I cut the fabric for this scarf 11" x 3 YD. To make it, simply sew two outter seam lines (like you did in the tutorial above), and place them 3" from each edge. Last, add a center seam right down the middle of your two side seams.
This version makes the ruffles bigger and looser at the edges, and the scrunching tighter to the middle of the scarf. Since you're a little more prone to seeing peeks here and there of the back side of the fabric, due to the looser ruffles, this style would probably be best on solids or prints without an obvious "white" back side.
I cut the fabric for this scarf 10" x 2 3/4 YD. To make it, cut an 18" deep slit into each end of the scarf.
Then sew your seam from
the center of one tail piece straight across the length
of the scarf to the other end. Repeat for your second
seam, placing it in the center of the other tail piece.
In hind sight, this scarf is a super cute style, but would best be suited for a solid color material that'd dyed all the way through, or a material without an obvious "back side," as you can see a decent amount of the "back" white side of the fabric in this picture. Here's what it looks like laid out flat:
