Hey there friends, it’s that time again! You know it and you love it – it’s time for the Monthly DIY challenge! Yay! In case you’re new, here’s the scoop: On the 2nd Wednesday of every month, me and my blogger friends get together and create something based on a common theme or material that everyone uses. The end results are so unique and fantastic! So far we’ve done Michaels crates, pumpkins, wood slices, clear ornaments, organizational solutions, plumbing pieces, the dollar store, trash to treasure, wood scraps, paint. And this month’s material is fabric – any sort of fabric used in any sort of way! We all came up with super creative uses, so be sure to stick around to the end of the post to see everyone else’s AMAZING projects!
I’m going to preface this by saying I’m not a good sewer – quite the novice in fact! I do own a sewing machine and have done a few simple projects and I enjoy it (when I’m not getting all the thread caught in the machine or making mistakes with stitches!) so I’ve been trying to do more projects to get better at it! So when we decided on fabric for this month’s challenge I was excited to break out the sewing machine and give it another go!
I knew instantly what I wanted to make. You see, I’m the queen of scarves.
I’m a huge fan of scarves – crochet and knit scarves, cotton scarves, patterned scarves and plain scarves, scarves with tassels and infinity scarves – I love them all! They’re my favorite go-to accessory, even more than jewelry. I’ve made quite a few of my own by crocheting them, but I wanted to try my hand at sewing a fabric one.
A while back I went to the Goodwill and got a bunch of old clothing with cool fabrics or patterns including a Little House on the Prairie-style green plaid flannel dress. I had already cut off the top of the dress and was left with just the skirt portion (it even had pockets!):
Super classy over my yoga pants, that’s for sure 😉 To make an infinity scarf, I needed the longest strip of fabric I could get from the scarf, so I cut the back seem of the skirt and laid it out flat. Then I cut off the rounded edges until I was left with one thick, straight strip of fabric. After that I cut it into two equal strips.
I placed the two strips on top of one another, with the good/front sides facing in and the back sides facing out. I pinned the long edges together then ran it through my sewing machine.
Once both long edges were sewn together, I flipped my newly formed ‘tube’ inside out. Now to make it an infinity scarf, I tucked one end of the tube inside of the other, pinned, and then sewed the two ends together.
Et voila! A lovely little infinity scarf! I’m pretty proud of myself for making it, even if it was an easy project. Hopefully it’s a gateway to bigger and better sewing projects!
Now that you’ve seen my infinity scarf, check out all of the fab projects from my amazing blogger friends below! Just click on a picture in the grid to be magically transported to their posts. You seriously don’t want to miss out on their amazing creations!
Are you a sewer? What are some easy projects I can try to build up my sewing confidence?
Love it, Erica! What a great way to repurpose a skirt!!! Pretty awesome! I’m not a very good seamstress, but this seems easy enough! I’ll have to give it a try!!!!
Aw thanks so much, Nicole! I really am not good at sewing either, but managed to pull this one off okay. I just need to keep practicing!
SO, SUPER CUTE! Love the idea of re-using an old piece Erica! It turned out perfectly!!!
Thanks so much, Kristi! I’m glad I finally got to use that skirt – I was saving it for ages!
I’m also obsessed with scarves!
I really like the plaid pattern you chose and that you used an old dress!
This is a double win.
Bonus that it will be great for fall weather 🙂
Totally looking forward to wearing it in fall! I was burning up when I was taking pictures for this project – definitely not flannel scarf weather yet!
VERY cute! What a wonderful upcycle, Erica!
Aw, thanks so much, Bre! I’ve had that fabric forever so it felt good to use it up!
I love this! I’ve never actually made a scarf and you are totally giving me the bug, especially with fall fast approaching. Great job.
Thanks, Katie! Scarves are definitely the best for fall and I was surprised that making this one wasn’t hard at all!
So, super cute! Come fall, I loooove scarves and this one would be so nice and warm! Btw, I love that mustard colored knit one! Great tutorial Erica!
Aw, thanks so much, Kendra! That mustard yellow one gets a lot of use – it’s one of the first ones I crocheted and I still love it!
So cute! I’m a big fan of scarves too, and plaid flannel. So this is pretty much amazing.
Haha anything that is a scarf or plaid flannel is generally pretty awesome! 😉 Thanks so much!
This is so fun, Erica! My hubby has a few shirts that he doesn’t wear anymore that I haven’t been able to bring myself to discard. This would be the perfect way to repurpose them! I looove me some plaid too! P.S. You sound like me when it comes to sewing. I love it but I don’t do it as much as I’d like to/should.
Haha, yes I’m definitely no master sewer, but it can be fun when things actually go right! 😉 And that’s totally a great way to repurpose his shirts! So clever and a great way to have something of his with you!
Love this infinity scarf…. All the ones I see in stores ar way too wide for me, but this looks perfect…When you cut the fabric, what were your measurements for length & width before sewing it together? Thanks
Thank you so much, Sherry! I really like how thin width-wise it is, too. When making it I just sort of eyeballed it, but my guess is that the strips were about 7-8 inches wide and then I sewed with about a half inch seam allowance. I hope that helps!
Erica, Thanks for your prompt reply. It appears that this is single loop scarf (meaning that you don’t double it around your neck, which I like. ) Can you tell me an approx. Length of material that you used? Sorry to bother you again Thanks so much, Sherry
I did double it around my neck even though it looks like a single loop! To make the double loop the strips were about 60-62ish inches long which provides a nice high double loop so it doesn’t hang too low. If you wanted to do just a single loop, you could probably halve that measurement and be good to go!