Feb 20, 2011

Super Simply Sewn Satiny Scarf forThree Dollars

I adore all things shimmery, satiny, sparkly and metallic. I also love flowing clothing that moves when I do. At the same time, I'm a bit of a tomboy - the type who likes climbing trees, can't wear white without getting it dirty, washes all colours together in the laundry, and has zero tolerance for clothing that is uncomfortable. Fragile clothing, worn by me, invariably gets damaged. I choose jewelry based on how unlikely it is to get caught on things or banged up in the garden :-) When I see women with rings that stick up, I instantly think, "How do they handle that? It would bang into everything!"

I've been eying the many styles of scarves in stores lately and most of them are either made from material that feels scratchy or are so fragile they would fall apart in the wash (I also have low tolerance for clothing that can't just be tossed in the washer with everything else :).
The scarves out now are also pricey! It feels wrong to me to spend $15-20 on a tiny piece of fabric that would cost about $1 to buy.

So I decided to buy fabric and try making my own! My sewing skills are basic and I don't have patience with patterns and pinning so my creations sometimes work... and sometimes don't.

Thankfully this experiment went pretty well.

This lovely fabric shimmers in the sun and has a beautiful, satiny feel to it... yet it's made from polyester and can be tossed in the washer and dryer - yay!

widthwise seam, inside

I didn't take a photo of the first step which was to cut half a meter of fabric in half, lengthwise and sew two ends together widthwise. You can see those ends sewn together vertically in the photo above.

lengthwise seam inside

Then I had one long, narrow piece of fabric about 10 inches wide. I folded it in half with the right sides together and sewed the 2 'wrong' sides together. I didn't bother pinning, just matched up the sides as I went along with a simple straight stitch. The fabric was not cut evenly at the store so it's not even but it doesn't show when it's being worn.

widthwise seam, rightside out

That photo above is how the outside seam looks where the 2 long pieces were joined widthwise.

lengthwise seam rightside out, unironed

When I was done sewing lengthwise, I had a long tube with both ends open. At that point, if you wanted closed ends, you would sew one end closed all the way and the other end closed except for a few inches (then pull the tube rightside out through the small opening and handsew it closed). I wanted my ends left open so at this point I simply turned the long tube rightside out... and I was done! I could have ironed it so that it will lay flat but I really like the body and fullness it has and I don't want to flatten it one bit :-)

big, long tube scarf, outside


The ends didn't match up perfectly and I'm not sure what I'm going to do about that yet. I'm pretty laid back so I may just leave it :)


Total cost for this project:
only
$3
(for the fabric)



*I've never tried to describe a sewing project in text before so if you have any questions or would like me to clarify something, please do not hesitate to let me know in the comments :)

8 comments:

  1. Wow - that's beautiful!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oh, I love the shimmery shinyness here of this scarf. We are actually quite a bit a like, I discovered today. I must have been missing your CED2o11 posts and am so grateful today, that changed.

    :-)

    I was driving this morning thinking, "I really want to get a sewing machine!" just for simple projects, like this one... and to finish the curtains I started on a friend's machine. (Very simple.)

    Thank YOU for the inspiration!

    My CED2011 check in.

    ReplyDelete
  3. @Katie - thank you! :-)

    @Julie - I'm so glad you found me today :)
    If you do get a sewing machine, I hope you love it! It's amazing how fast simple projects can be. Curtains, pillow cases, fabric grocery bags, scarves, all of those can be done so quickly and easily. Sewing machines today are also so easy to use compared to many years ago. I got this machine a few years ago and have been in love with it ever since. It counts among the top 5 most awesome gifts I've received in my life ♥

    ReplyDelete
  4. Wow what amazing fabric! I love it. :)
    You definitely found a lucky one there, and it looks even greater as a scarf. Well done. :) Your beams. :) xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. That is meant to be 'your work beams'. heehee xx :)

    ReplyDelete
  6. thank you Ana! (and thnx for the email letting me know it was 'your work beams'... I was a bit puzzled but in a good way! LOL!)

    ReplyDelete
  7. This looks great!
    I would recommend you made one more. In real, natural silk. The warmth it gives is amazing!

    ReplyDelete

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