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Monday, September 12, 2011

Shirred Scarf for Fall!

I have been completely obsessed lately with jersey knit fabric, specifically tee shirt recycling, or the latest and greatest term: upcycling.  In short, it involves taking an item with a specific purpose, like a tee shirt, and turning it into something amazing.  This project however is NOT an upcycling project (but I do have more of those to come) because I bought a couple of yards of jersey knit fabric specifically for this scarf.

Having also recently learned about elastic thread, I could not wait to try it out.  Per the instructions on the thread, I loaded my bobbin by hand, and used standard thread on the top of my machine.  Then I measured and cut two pieces of knit 70" long by 8" wide.  I lined up my fabric pieces wrong sides together and began to stitch leaving approximately a 1" seam allowance to create the ruffled, raw edge look I desired.

This is the 1" allowance.  It doesn't really look like it.....but it is.  Part of the raw edge has already started to roll the way jersey always does :)

The wonderful thing about elastic thread is there's no gathering to achieve the ruffled look.  I just sewed like normal and the elastic did all the work.  The above photo shows what the fabric looked like exiting the back of my machine as I sewed it.

After sewing both lengths of fabric down each side, I was pretty happy with the look, but I did think it needed a little more.  So I sewed a third stitch right down the middle, which added the perfect amount of ruffle.

Finished product.  Because it's knit, the edges are left raw and unhemmed and I love the way they curl in.  So with only three straight lines I created the scarf I envisioned in my head.
No, I wouldn't wear it with this shirt, but I wanted it to show up clearly so I chose a dark colored top to display the lighter scarf.

Side view.

One of a zillion ways to wear the scarf.

And yet another way to show it off.  So that's it.   Super easy, super quick and super cute.  It doesn't get much better than that!

My little photographer insisted I take a picture of her wearing the scarf.  She's so adorable she'd make a paper bag look good.


This post is linked up at this amazing site:

4 comments:

Clare said...

I want one, are you taking orders? Did you have to iron the thread to make it "scrunch"? I read that somewhere and just wondered. I love the fabric you picked. Good job! Are you planning on linking this up?

Robyn said...

OMG That looks SO easy! I was tempted to buy elastic thread last time I was at the quilt shop, and now you have given me incentive to do it:) I wish I could figure out how to link some of my crafts, my pics are always to big to load:/

Anonymous said...

Wow! Aren't you clever? I love your sweet little model.

Lisa said...

I can vouch for these being really cute! Good job, Nina! You are getting so crafty.