Incredibly Simple Scarves
As I cut squares for a quilt or pieces for a dress, I often have a wistful feeling for the lovely selvage edges that go into my scrap pile. Why do we always cut them off? Let’s not!
Our Incredibly Simple Scarves start with some of our favorite fabrics and then, instead of tossing aside their selvage edges, we keep them as a pretty design detail. With just two simple hems, an expanse of beautiful cotton is transformed into your new favorite spring scarf, selvage and all! -Molly
P.S. Mother’s Day is on May 10th this year, so think about dear mom! Wouldn’t she be sweet nestled in her own Incredibly Simple Scarf?
Materials
- 2 yards of lightweight woven fabric. We used, shown from top to bottom, Robert Kaufman’s Manchester in Steel, Mist, Taupe, and Ivory; Kiyohara’s Large Gingham in Grey; and Kiyohara’s Small Gingham in Grey.
- A 110-yard spool of Gutermann’s 100% Cotton Thread to match your fabric. We used color 1040 for all the fabrics.
Size
Approximately 42 inches wide by 71 inches long
Notes
Prewash and dry the fabric.
Pattern
Cut both raw ends of your 2-yard piece of fabric so that they are straight and make a clean right angle to the selvage edges. You can do this with a rotary cutter or by marking the edge with a ruler and cutting carefully with scissors.
Fold one of the raw edges ¼ inch towards the wrong side of the fabric. Fold the edge again ¼ inch towards the wrong side. Press and pin down this fold. Repeat with the other raw edge.
Edgestitch both of these pinned folds into place (i.e. stitch right along the inner fold’s edge), backstitching at the beginning and end of the seams.
The scarf is done and ready to wear… Incredibly simple!
Update 2024: You can explore our current collection of beautiful fabrics and supplies on our page of Sewing Tools + Notions!
What a coincidence – just a few weeks ago, I bought several fabrics from Purl Soho for just this purpose, and they turned out beautifully! You can see photos of them here: http://blueberryhillcrafting.com/2015/03/28/spring-gauze-wraps/
I like your scarves. The directions are clear, too. I’ll follow your sweet blog. (“Clean right angle to selvage edges ” wasn’t clear to my daughter).
Great minds think alike! Andrea, your scarves are absolutely lovely!
What am I missing? If you’re hemming the cut edges, the selvage edges don’t fray!
Hi Nancy,
Thank you for writing us! Fabric selvedges are woven extra tightly that stops those edges from fraying. They already have a little frayed edge that creates a lovely fringy edging!
Happy Crafting!
Jake
Love this! I think it would be lovely as a French-seamed infinity scarf, also!
I’m new to sewing, so I have a question – even on this apparently easy pattern. In the photos it looks like the lengths where the fabric is cut is showing a bit of a frayed edge. In the instructions it says to fold the raw edges over two times. Wouldn’t that hide the frayed edge? Or is it the side edges you are folding over? How do you stop the frayed edges from fraying further? Sorry for my newbie questions 🙂
Hi Claire-
The frayed edge that you are seeing is actually the selvage edge, not the cut edge. The selvages on this particular fabric have a frayed looking edge that will not unravel or fray further if you don’t cut it.
I hope this answers your questions! Please let us know if you have any more!
Molly
These are great! I am a knitter not a sewist, but I think even I could handle making these. Will this work with the lovely Liberty of London fabrics you have? I am a color girl through and through. 🙂
Hi Deepa-
Yes, these would be lovely in Liberty of London Tana Lawn!
Thanks for your question!
Molly
Hmmm. I posted a comment the other day that’s not here. My question was, if we hem the two cut edges, where does the fray come in?
Hi Nancy-
Sorry about that! The frayed looking edge is actually the selvage edge of the fabric. You are cutting and hemming the two cut sides, which are the short sides of the scarf, and leaving the selvages intact.
Please let us know if you have any more questions and thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
I just tried to order the Manchester in Steel. It is only available in a 1 yard piece. Could you please let me know when more yardage will be available to order? I love these scarfs. I did try ordering in a few other colors as well, but was not able to order the full 2 yards in any of the colors I selected. Can they be out of stock already? This project was just posted less than a week ago.
Hi Cindy-
Yes, many of these have sold out, or have very low stock, as a result of this story but we have more on order and they should be back in soon. Please email [email protected] and let them know what colors you’re interested in and they can let you know when they are back.
Thank you for getting in touch!
Molly
Thank you so much for the assistance. Can’t wait to hear from customer service! These scarfs are adorable. I generally knit or crochet my scarfs, but couldn’t pass up sewing up one of these.
Would this scarf also work in Nani Iro Double Gauze (Kokka fabrics)? Thanks!
Hi Antonia-
That would be a beautiful fabric choice!
Thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
I’m looking at the pictures and the frayed edges are on the long side…and I see a lot of pictures that show the frayed edges are on the short side, the instructions seem pretty straight forward but I get lost…LOL….maybe a diagram would be helpful…they are beautiful…and can’t wait to make one…
Thank you!
Hi Stacy-
The selvages of these fabrics are frayed so what you are seeing along the long side is the selvage. I hope this helps!
Molly
Hi there, thanks for a great pattern! I just made one of these and can’t figure out how you wrapped it around the neck of the model. Could you explain?
Thanks!
Hi Sharon-
You start by holding two opposite diagonal corners to, kind of, fold it in half on the bias. Hold one of the corners just below your neck and wrap the scarf once around your neck. Then tuck the opposite diagonal corner under the wrap.
Hope this helps!
Molly
Do you pre-wash the fabric? I usually do before sewing, but I didn’t know if it would mess up the frayed edges.
Hi Lisa-
Yes! Washing shouldn’t effect the selvages too much!
Thanks for getting in touch!
Molly
Has anyone completed the project with the Manchester fabric, exactly as directed, and be willing to provide a link to a photo with the finished project around an actual person’s neck? Maybe I’m wrapping or folding it incorrectly, but I cannot get the fabric to drape and lay as nicely in the picture above (and with both frayed edges showing). Thanks!
What is the particular fabric that has the frayed edges?
Hi Lisa,
Thanks for writing in! For our Incredibly Simple Scarves we used a variety of fabrics but I think that the one that you are referring to is Robert Kaufman’s Manchester.
I hope that this helps!
Cassy
will 2 yards of material yield 2 scarfs?
Hi, Cindy!
Thank you for writing in! These scarves are 42-inches by 71-inches and so 2 yards of fabric makes just one scarf. If you’d like to get two scarves from 2 yards you could make the scarves narrower by cutting the width of the fabric in half – yielding 2 scarves that are roughly 22-inches by 71-inches.
If you have further questions, please let us know!
Best,
Kumeko
By following this instruction, if I have a “wrong side” of a fabric, will this pattern allow me to hide that?
Hello Lydia,
Thank you for reaching out! This scarf does have a “wrong” side to it, so this pattern will not hide your “wrong” side.
I hope this helps and let us know if you have any further questions!
Warmly,
Marilla
Hi there!
Would Robert Kaufman’s Essex work with this pattern?
Warmly,
Jeannie
Hi Jeannie,
Great question! Yes, you could make this scarf out of Essex! It is a heavier weight than the fabrics we show here, so your scarf will have a little more heft and body than ours, but it will drape beautifully, especially after a few washes. I think Essex will make a lovely layer for early fall!
I hope that helps!
Julianna