Adding Fringes to Scarves

If you have access to a sewing machine that sports a rolling foot, you are just minutes away from turning a piece of cloth into a scarf.  But to give the scarf a more finished look, consider adding fringes to the ends.

Fringes are easiest to make if you cut the fabric so that the warp (the vertical threads when the cloth was manufactured) stays long, and the short end of your rectangle follows the weft (the horizontal threads when the cloth was manufactured).  This will be the cut edge, if your fabric has come off a bolt.  If you have a piece that doesn't have a un-touched edge, pick at the last thread on each of two perpendicular sides.  The one that comes apart more easily is the weft, which is also known as the woof.

Cut a rectangle of your desired size.  For an adult scarf with enough room to tie or wrap, a good length is about 7 1/2 feet.  The width is up to your design preferences, but remember you are going to loose about an inch to the rolling foot seam.  If you are cutting your rectangle from a pristine piece, you may want to cut 1/4 inch or so from the un-touched edge, as the threads are tighter where they turn back on each other.

Hem the long sides of the rectangle, using the rolling foot, but leave the length of each end that you want to make into the fringe un-hemmed.  To make the fringe, you simply remove the weft threads.  The easiest way to do this is to use the back side of a seam ripper to pull up one thread at a time, and tug it gently out of the fabric with your fingers.  When you have removed threads up to the line of your rolled hem, you may choose to tie the exposed threads into a series of knotted tassels, or to leave them as an even layer.
 
Some fabrics just aren't condusive to making fringes (especially thin, slippery or satiny fabrics, or at the other end of the spectrum, fabrics like suede, boiled wool or felted materials that just don't want to come apart).  For those, it may be simpler just to finish off the edge, and sew on a fringe made of a different material.

Spring may be around the corner, but it isn't too late to make a decorative scarf for those chilly nights. 

Making a Fascinator from a Vintage Brooch

I'm fascinated with fascinators.  They can be oversized or subtle, dramatic or elegant, worn as part of a hat or a viel, or fastned directly to your hair.

I'm also in love with vintage brooches (if you don't know that by now, you obviously haven't taken a look at my Etsy shop, where I sell the overflow of my collection).

So when I got invited to a formal, I decided to make a feather fascinator starring a vintage bird brooch.  I love the way the bird's wings arc back, so I wanted to make the feathers look like an extension of the wings.  I also tried to echo the oversize crimson rhinestones by adding a few red feathers to the shimmering green ones.

Whatever brooch you use, whether a bird or something geometric, making a feathery fascinator couldn't be easier.  You can make one too.

1 Beak-clip hair finding
floral or jewelry wire
12-14 (6") feathers (I used black / green sheen ones that were already bundled together in threes)
4 - 6  (2") feathers (I used dark red)
1 vintage brooch

Place the brooch on top of the clip and arrange the feathers so that they line up with the design elements of the brooch. Carefully slide the clip out from under, leaving the feathers in place on the table.

Wrap one end of the wire around the inside edge of the beak clip to secure it.  Pull out the leftmost feather (or feather bundle), and wrap it onto the top of the clip, bringing the wire back up through the center of the clip.  Repeat with the remaining feathers.  Then simply clasp the brooch onto the piece (for a more permanent result, you can glue the brooch in place if you don't mind damaging it).

Upcycled Retro Apron

People know I sew, so they are often giving me cloth.  Sometimes, the stuff is just hopeless.  But sometimes, there's a piece or two that is just super cute.

This piece of cloth began life as a vintage flat sheet.  My challenge with this project:  somebody took pieces out of it for another project somewhere along the way, including a big chunk out of the middle.  I was using a store-bought pattern (sometimes I make my own patterns, but I wanted a vintagey look for this vintage cloth), and the apron body didn't look like it was going to fit on one of the ends past the chunk.  But when I took the seam out, I realized that this sheet had been hiding a good four inches of fabric, which was just enough.

Most of the the things I sew wind up either on my Etsy shop, or in a gift bag on its way to a friend, but this one I sized just for me.

I still have a bit of the cloth left, which I plan to make into tea towels, which probably WILL wind up in my Etsy store, since the hubby doesn't look excited at the prospect of a pink flowers print in the linens drawer.