Ruffled Fall Scarf

So it just so happens that I was planning on trying my skills at making a scarf for fall when my friend Erin over at Home with the Boys did a post entry for a fall fashion contest. In the entry post she stated she absolutely love this scarf, from the new fall line, at DownEast Basics.



Others in the comment section stated how they were also crazy about the scarf as well and one even suggested she have a giveaway for such an item if the time came.

I looked at the scarf and couldn't' believe that it was close to the same style I was planning on making that day. I was inspired by this summer scarf over at MADE.


Yet wanted to make it larger for a fall look. This meant tweaking the directions a bit, to compensate for the weight of more fabric.


For those just joining us, I am a thrift shopper, and I love to "Upcycle" or use old things to make new things. It saves on the landfill, and thus very green. I like finding new life for things. This doesn't always meant the things are "old". For example, take a look at the fabric I used for this project.



I got this sheer curtain, Martha Stewart 100% polyester,still in the package at a thrift store sale. I paid $3 for this, as you can see it still has the fold marks on it. There is no way I could buy this length of fabric in a fabric store for this price. Plus there are other benefits to having a piece of fabric that already has some finished edges. It means you don't have to spend the time finishing them as you will soon read.



I cut this curtain into four Strips that measured (the length of the curtain) and each strip was 12 inches wide. Just happened to be right near the fold marks that were on the curtain so that made my measuring and cutting very quick and easy.

Then I turned the cut edge 1/4 of an inch and sewed a straight line down the side. Then I turned it once again like this photo below and sewed down the length again.
This covered up all cut edges. The top and bottom do not need this since they are already finished edges.



Next I used elastic thread just on my bobbin. (you could try it without but this helps to gather it)
Then as I sewed I pushed the fabric so that it gathered even more under the presser foot.



Don't do it with one hand like I show in the photo, you may sew you hand. I only did this to show you since I had to take my own photo, my other hand was busy holding the camera. If your fabric bunches and folds a bit under the presser foot, that is actually good!



Once I had done this first line of gathering you can take out the elastic thread. I repeated this step two more times with regular thread. Pushing and gathering the fabric under the presser foot as I sewed down the center of the length. I did two passes with the regular thread. One I found that the fabric was heavy enough that if I didn't do the regular thread that it weighted down the elastic thread causing my ruffles to disappear. The first pass with the regular thread in the bobbin holds the gathering in place. The second is a back up in case that one of the threads happen to break. Yet each time I pushed and gathered the fabric a bit more.

Then that is it. You are done!




I finished three scarves. The one on the right is my first, It has bigger side seams and was a bit too heavy, so didn't ruffle like the other two, I can go back and fix it later so I will keep that one.



Here is the cool part. I am sending the other two ruffly ones to Erin at "Home with the Boys" One is a gift for for her to keep, and one she will be using as a give away on her blog, Home with the Boys for the others who LOVED the vineyard scarf to have a chance to win! The contest started September 17th and you have all weekend to enter! Click here for details. Good luck!







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