Lanecardate’s Lana Cotta Canberra is a truly exceptional fabric. Made from a fine Australian merino, it has an elegant drape and a super soft feel. And since the wool is knitted, boiled and felted, the cut edges will never fray, making it surprisingly no-fuss as well!

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

A fabric this special demands a seriously special project, and our Bias Cut Wool Scarf fits the bill! A long, cascading scarf with a fluid drape and unexpected seam lines, I made it with only two ½-yard pieces of Lana Cotta Canberra. Cut the pieces in half on the bias, piece them back together along their straight edges, sew a seam down the middle, done. Turns out, special can be awfully simple! -Corinne

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Materials

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

There are six beautiful colors of Lana Cotta Canberra to choose from. Above are some of our favorite color combinations, from left to right…

  • Color A: Grigio 0 (Light Gray)
  • Color B: Volga (Oatmeal) (Color B)
  • Thread: Color 3756
  • Color A: Bromida (Blue)
  • Color B: Bajkal (Dark Blue)
  • Thread: Color 6250
  • Color A: Grigio 3 (Medium Gray)
  • Color B: Grigio 5 (Dark Gray)
  • Thread: Color 9430

Recommended tools . . .

Size

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Note

Make a small backstitch at the beginning and end of all seams.

Pattern

This pattern is also available as a printer-friendly PDF. Just click here!

Cut

Note: If you’re new to rotary cutting, please check out our Rotary Cutting Tutorial before you start.

Using the rotary cutter with the clear quilting ruler on a self-healing cutting mat, square up the Color A fabric.

Cutting from selvage to selvage, trim the Color A fabric to 17 inches wide,

Repeat with the Color B fabric.

NOTE: I used my pieces at full length from selvage to selvage to make an extra long scarf. If you would like your scarf shorter, trim the pieces down now. Here’s how . . .

First, determine the final length you would like your scarf to be. Divide this number by 2 and then add 1 to that number. For example, if you would like your finished scarf to measure 90 inches, the number you are looking for here would be 46 (90/2 = 45 + 1 = 46). Let’s call this number “x”.

The finished length of the scarf is measured along the diagonal or “bias” cuts of the fabric. The length of this cut is slightly longer than the length of the long straight edge.

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

To cut the fabric to the correct length for a bias cut x, lay one piece of fabric out flat. Use a measuring tape to measure a diagonal line from one corner to the opposite long, straight edge, moving the tape around until you find the point on the edge that measures x from the corner. Make a mark at that point, “A” in the image above.

Cut the fabric from point A straight up to point B.

Repeat with the other piece of fabric. Continue on to the next step.

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Cut the rectangles in half along the diagonal to make two acute right triangles.

In the illustration above and in all subsequent illustrations, the black lines represent the long, straight cuts, the pink lines represent the diagonal cut, and the thin gray lines run parallel to the selvage.

To get this diagonal cut straight, you may find it helpful to mark the cut line first by folding and pressing the fabric. Here’s how . . .

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Fold the Color A fabric in half along the diagonal, as illustrated above..

Press lightly to create a crease.

Unfold the fabric and cut along the diagonal crease.

Repeat with the Color B fabric.

Piece

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Lay one of the Color A triangle pieces out flat with its long straight cut at the bottom, its right angle on the left and its acute angle on the right.

Use a clear quilting ruler to measure a parallel line ¼ inch from the bottom edge and place a series of pins to mark the line.

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Orient one of the Color B triangle pieces so that its long straight cut is at the top, its right angle corner is on the right and its acute angle is on the left.

Place the top edge of the Color B triangle over the bottom edge of the Color A triangle so that B’s top edge lines up with the pinned line on A. At each far end, where the acute angle of one triangle meets the right angle of another, push the fabric so that the acute point overhangs the right angle by a ½ inch.

Pin in place.

Sew along the pinned line, 1/8 inch in from the cut edge of fabric. This sewn line will run down the middle of the ¼-inch overlap of the two triangle pieces.

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Trim off the overhang points on both ends of the newly pieced rhomboid. This is now Piece 1.

Repeat with the remaining two triangle pieces. This is now Piece 2.

Cut off both Color A selvage edges (if they’re not already cut off).

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Lay Piece 1 out flat with Color B at the bottom and the short, straight edge of Color A on the left. Use a clear quilting ruler to measure a parallel line ¼ inch from the short, straight edge of Color A and place a series of pins to mark the line.

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Lay Piece 2 out flat with Color B at the top and the short, straight edge of Color A on the right. Place Piece 2’s short Color A edge over Piece A’s short Color A edge so that Piece 2’s edge lines up with the pinned line on Piece 1. You may find that the two Pieces aren’t exactly the same width. Don’t worry! It’s easy to trim the Pieces later.

Pin in place.

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Sew along the pinned line 1/8 inch in from the cut edge of fabric. This sewn line will run down the middle of the ¼-inch overlap of the two pieces

Trim

If you find that the Pieces don’t line up perfectly, simply use the rotary cutter with the clear quilting ruler on a self-healing cutting mat to trim off any overhang. The fabric is quite forgiving, but be sure to make long, straight cuts with the rotary cutter to avoid any jagged lines or obvious curves.

Bias Cut Wool Scarf | Purl Soho

Update 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions!