Spring and summer style: Make your own gingham scarf

May 10, 2:05 PMMinneapolis Homemade Living ExaminerJen Madsen

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3 weeks ago fellow Examiner Connie Singer posted a style tip from Levi’s that made my heart skip a beat: A warm weather wide wrap-like scarf from Levi’s in gingham for $28. I adore all varieties of scarves and am also quite smitten with gingham- and the combination of the two sent me into a creative frenzy that produced this tutorial for an incredibly easy weekend sewing project. It’s perfect for first timers and if you don’t own a sewing machine, it can even be done by hand.

Gingham is available in a variety of colors, square sizes and fiber contents. You can pay as little as $3.99/yard for polyester cotton blend or as much as $18.00/yard for silk. Since this is a summery scarf, you’ll want a lightweight gauzy fabric that’s woven (not knit) so you can make the twisted fringe.

The Levi’s scarf is made from gingham with 1” squares so that’s what I used for this tutorial. The website says it measures 28” x 72”, but I adjusted that a little to maximize your fabric purchase. I tried making it 18” x 44-45” long to even further maximize your fabric purchase (that would be exactly 1/2 yard), but it just wasn’t the same look. The smaller version might, however, be the perfect size for a little hipster in your life.

The scarf you’ll get from this tutorial measures approximately 21” x 69” (including fringe) and you’ll be able to make 2 (that’s only $3.99-$18.00 per scarf!) Incidentally, I waited until today to publish this article because my other scarf went to my lovely momma for Mother’s Day (that’s her showing it off in the photo above).

For more information about gingham (and lots of delightful examples), check out this post on True Up as well as this one from I Heart Linen. Thank you Kim and Rashida for providing the information I needed to craft this fusion of two great loves.

Twisted Fringe Gingham Summer Scarf (Makes 2)
 

Materials needed:
-2 yards standard web width (44-45”) gingham fabric
-Coordinating thread
-Contrasting thread
-Transparent tape
-Iron and ironing board
-Seam ripper
-Hand sewing needle or sewing machine

Prepare fabric by laundering and pressing according to manufacturer’s directions (first timers, this information is printed on the end of the fabric bolt).

Cut fabric in half parallel to the selvedge edges so you have 2, 22” x 72” pieces.

Remove the selvedge edge from one piece (you’ll want to leave it on the other piece until you actually start making the scarf because it helps prevent unraveling) and even up the cut edges so you have a perfect rectangle and no partial gingham squares.

Measure and mark about 5 inches from both short ends. Make sure your line falls on a preprinted line on the fabric. Baste along each line using contrasting thread. Note, you are not basting the ends together, just creating a single line of stitches on each end to keep them in good shape as you work.

Place a 2-3 inch piece of transparent tape over the cut edge just above the baste line on each side of both ends (that’s 4 pieces of tape). Put the thread ends from your baste stitch underneath of the tape. This will keep them out of the way as you make the fringe.

Take your seam ripper and gently separate one of the crosswise (short) threads from the end. Once you can get a hold of it, gently pull it out with your fingers. Repeat until you’ve removed all of the threads up to the baste line on one end of your scarf. It will be tempting to pull two threads at once, but you’ll find it doesn’t save you any time because it usually causes a snag or break. Once you get the hang of it, it goes pretty fast and I actually found it kind of relaxing.

After you’ve finished just one side, it’s time to move onto the twisting. Note, I recommend twisting before unraveling the other end to prevent unwanted tangles and knots. The slideshow below shows the steps for creating a twisted fringe, and here is an article that further explains the twisting process.

When you’ve unraveled and twisted both ends of your scarf, the next step is to gently remove the tape and the baste line on each end.

Finish the long cut edges with a machine rolled hem or simply fold and press ¼” along each edge toward the center of the scarf, fold over again to conceal the raw edge and topstitch (or blind stitch if sewing by hand) using coordinating thread to keep the fold in place. You’ll notice there is no right or wrong side on most gingham so you can just choose one to be the right side of your fabric. All that matters is the hems consistently fold toward one side.

Trim up the end of your knots if desired and you’re done!