Want one, but don't have the time to make your own?
Infinity scarves are fun to wear and easy to make. Making your own allows you the freedom to create something completely unique to your style that no-one else will have. First, gather supplies. I usually get my fabric from the clearance section - for some reason fabric that I think is excellent for infinity scarfs typically ends up in the clearance section. In the picture above, I have made scarfs from what JoAnns terms "teen fashion" fabric, knit and lace. I have made scarves from flannel as well and those are excellent for fall weather.
I generally buy 3/4 of a yard of fabric that is apx. 60" wide - if I love the fabric and it is not quite so wide I will use it anyhow. If there is a remnant that is a bit longer, I will take all of it.
Coordinating thread
This is an excellent beginning sewing project and one that teens would enjoy as well.
First, cut your fabric - you want to cut the full 60" length and cut it 25" wide. You can play with the length and width a bit. I almost never am exact and if the fabric counter cut it 27" - I just use that.
Next, fold the fabric, right sides together along the long edge. Pin in place - I can be lazy at times and skip this step, but with knit fabric I would not advise skipping - it can stretch and that will ensure you don't end up with a catywhampus (official term) end.
Leave 3" unsewn at each end.
Sew this seam - 1/2" seam allowance (that meas your seam is sewn a 1/2" from the rough edge). Backstitch to hold this seam in place - this means do one or two stitches and then sew backwards for one or two stitches. A note for beginning sewers: you can sew over the pins - occasionally one might bend or you might hear a strange sound from your machine, but you can sew over them. Pins can be spaced anywhere from apx. 1" - 4" apart. Mine are usually 4ish.
Make certain to leave 3" unsewn on the other end as well. Backstitch at the end of this seam as well.
Press your seams - this means use an iron and flatten them out. You can skip this step and to be honest with this kind of scarf it doesn't make a huge difference, but it does help everything to lay flatter. Trim any excess thread - even though all of this thread would disappear inside the scarf this will help to ensure that you don't have awkward threads poking out later on as you are wearing the scarf and/or that the extra thread doesn't get caught up as you complete the other steps. Turn your fabric right side out.
It should now look like this: notice the 3" unsewn on each end and the circular shape of what I have already sewn.
Place the short edges with RIGHT sides together. This is the only part that can be tricky - the RIGHT sides of the fabric need to be together. Just look at it and make certain that the rough edges will be on the inside of your scarf once you close everything up.
Pin this together. Check one more time so that you don't have to rip out any seams.
Sew this seam - do not leave anything unsewn this time. Use a 1/2" seam allowance. Backstitch at both ends. Trim excess thread.
Again, press your seam. Your seam will fall inside the scarf if you did the last step correctly.
Turn scarf so that the seam allowances roll to the inside - you will not have a small hole in your longer seam - you are going to sew that up. Neatly fold your fabric into the scarf and pin into place. Stitch the seam closed. You can use a slip stitch or you can head back to your machine and sew a seam as close to the edge (making sure to catch both sides) as possible. Backstitch on both ends. Trim excess thread.
Your scarf is ready to wear.
Have fun and experiment with fabrics - one of my favorite looks is to combine lace and knit fabrics - I love the play with textures. I will post how to do this the next time that I make some like that. Here are some of my more recent creations.
No comments:
Post a Comment