The "Everyday Winter Scarf"

The worst feeling in the winter is when you go outside and all of the sudden you feel the cold, sharp, winter air hit your neck, right? Well after many years of looking for the perfect scarf I finally decided to make it instead. The scarf I designed is made out of fleece, it is a simple infinity style, and of course very large. I made it the size it is because I am able to open it up to become a portable blanket, pull the hood on to be completely protected, and because of the size, it does not allow any of that pesky winter air to reach my neck.

The materials you will need to accomplish this project are:

• 3 yards of fleece (can be divided between 2 or 3 colors)
• Matching thread
• Optional -- Thread for overlocker/serger
• Optional -- Old leather belt

The tools you will need for this project are:

• Measuring tape -- or ruler
• Scissors
• Pins
• Sewing Machine
• Optional -- overlocker/serger

The first thing you need to do is unfold your fabric.

Tip: I find that sometimes using the ground as my table for projects of this scale makes it much easier. Any large surface will work

Before you measure out your scarf it is important that you remove the salvage of the fabric. You never use the salvage in your project but it is important when using patterns, it shows you how to lay out the pattern pieces. But for this project, we do not need it so just cut it off. Make sure you do this to all of your fabrics you are using for this scarf.

The measurements are: Width = 36 inches, Length = 90 inches. The picture is how I divided the length since I am using two colors, you can divide it into any combination as long as it equals 90".

Once you know what the measurements are, you need to measure them onto your fabric to cut out. Remember the width needs to be 36 inches and the length needs to be 90 inches.

• My first piece of fabric, the grey, is 66" long and 36" wide
• My second piece of fabric, the white, is 24" long and 36" wide

Now that all of your pieces have been cut out, it is time to put them together. For this project, you will be using the widest zig-zag stitch and have the stitch length set between 1-2.

The way you sew this project is that you do not overlap any fabric, you lay the pieces next to each other and simply push them together and pin. The pins do not stay in too well but they still help everything stay aligned.

It is important to go slowly when sewing the pieces together, there is not a large margin for your stitches, so be mindful.

Fold both ends of the single piece of fabric into the middle, push both ends of the fabric together, and pin. The fabric should not be overlapped. It does not matter what side of the fabric is out because when you wear the scarf you see all sides of the fabric so there is not necessarily a "right" and "wrong" side.

Now that the fabric is pinned together it is time to sew. You will be using a zig-zag stitch set to the widest option and the stitch length should be between 1-2.

Position the fabric so that the "seam" (the two ends of fabric that are pushed together and pinned) is directly in the middle of the presser foot. When sewing on side of the zig-zag stitch should catch one side of the fabric and the other side of the stitch should catch the other.

Now that you have sewn the fabric into a scarf put it on and make sure you sewed everything straight and did not accidentally twist anything along the way

When finishing the edges, we are not going to do a fancy hem, for this scarf seeing the edge stitching gives it some texture and character. You can either use a short, wide, zig zag stitch or you can use an overlocker/serger, make sure you do both edges.

Note: I chose to use white so it would pop against the grey fabric, you can go as bold or as simple as you like!

You have finished the scarf! There are a few ways to wear this scarf, you can wrap it around twice or you can just let it hang long. When I go outside I tend to wrap it around twice and pull one layer over my head to act like a hood. One of my favorite things about this scarf is I am able to take it off and spread it out to use as a blanket (it really comes in handy at movie theaters!).