Infinity Scarf Tutorial

Re-fashion a knit dress into an Infinity Scarf

I’ve been wanting to work with knit for a while but I’ve had a hard time finding knit fabrics at the local fabric store.  So, when I found an XL knit dress on clearance at Old Navy for $3, I knew I was going to buy it and give it a try!  Why not!?

Not only did this project take less than an hour, the finished project turned out great!  The first day I wore the scarf I got several compliments.  To me, compliments equal success!

What you’ll need:

·      Serger (it is possible to sew knits on a sewing machine, but I used my serger)

·      XL Jersey knit dress (an oversized t-shirt could work too)

·      Scissors

·      Thread

·      30 minutes

Step one:  Cut off the ‘top’ of the dress.  Now you have one big ‘loop’ of fabric that was previously the skirt of the dress.

Step two:  Cut down one of the side seams of the ‘loop’ creating one long strip of fabric. 

Step three:  (If you want a thicker scarf, you can skip this step!)

Cut the strip horizontally.  Depending on the height of the fabric you have, and the width of the scarf you want, this will determine the number of sections you cut horizontally.  I cut the fabric into two strips.

Step four:  Put the right sides of the fabric together and serge on the vertical edge (shortest side).  You should have one long strip of fabric.

Step five: Serge the horizontal edges together (creating a tube essentially), making sure the right sides are together.

 

Step six: Turn the ‘tube’ right side out.  Almost done!

Step seven: Serge the open ends of the scarf together creating one large loop.  The surged seam will show, but because the scarf will be looped around your neck, you won’t seem the seam.

Step eight:  Put on the scarf and wear with pride!  Wasn’t that easy?! 

Infinity scarf wrapped three times around

Infinity scarf wrapped twice around

T-shirt Refashion and Tutorial

Supplies Needed:

     * Cotton t-shirt

     * Extra shirt to use to cut up- I used a kids gray t-shirt that was a “my embroidery machine- ate-my-shirt” casualty

     * Scissors

     * Thread

     * Sewing machine

     I started with a plain gray long-sleeve shirt I had that I never wore.  It was in great shape (because it was never worn!) so I thought, why not?  I’ll see what I can do with it!  What do I have to lose (Besides a shirt that I never wore anyway)?  

-    I took the extra shirt and cut strips off the bottom (roughly an inch and a half).  The stripes were in a loop, so I cut one end making one long strip.

-    I sewed a seam down the middle of each strip using a basting stitch (wide stitch width) setting on my machine because I wanted to create a ‘ruffle’ look.  

    

-    Then I created the ‘ruffle’ by gathering the strips of fabric.  You do this by grabbing one thread and tugging gently on the thread and pushing the fabric in the opposite direction until the fabric is ‘gathered’ to the desired look.  Basically how ‘ruffly’ you want the strips to look.

      

-    Arrange the ‘ruffles’ on the shirt where you want them to go. You might have to loosen or tighten the gathering a bit to make the ruffle fit. The most time-consuming part for me was deciding where to put all the 'ruffles'.  Once you decide where you want the 'ruffles' to go, the shirt will be done super fast!

 -   Pin the ruffle strips onto the shirt where you’d like them to go so they will stay in place when you sew.  Because I used a toddler t-shirt to make the ruffles, my strips were short, so I had to use two strips to cover the length of the neckline.  

 

-    I wanted a somewhat ‘abstract’ look so I made each ‘layer’ slightly different. I tried the shirt on before I sewed the ruffles on to make sure I was happy with the way the shirt would look on.

-   Sew the ruffles onto the shirt.  

-    Now, just cut all the long threads left over from gathering the 'ruffles.'  Make sure you're happy with the way the 'ruffles' look- if not, you can add more!

-    And, done!  Now you have a fabulous new shirt to wear! 

The first time I wore mine I received a bunch of compliments!  

 LOVE when that happens!