Sew It Yourself: Cozy Chenille Scarf Tutorial

Courtesy of OLFA®

There’s nothing like a warm scarf around your neck to take the chill out of the air, or to accessorize with the perfect outfit. You can stitch up your own unique chenille scarf in no time. Keep for yourself, or whip up a couple to give as presents during the cooler months! Leave ends free, or sew together to create a custom infinity scarf.

BEFORE YOU START

• You want the fabric you use for the scarf to fray after you sew, cut and wash it—that’s what will create the chenille texture—so be sure to choose woven fabrics like cotton, flannel, rayon, or a homespun.
• Bright flannels sometimes bleed when washed, adding an unintentional tinge to an otherwise beautiful project. To minimize color bleeding, pre-treat flannel pieces by washing them.
• Keep your scarf simple by using the same fabric for all layers, or mix & match for a more colorful look.

SKILL LEVEL: Beginner

TOOLS NEEDED

Chenille Cutter 
45mm Rotary Cutter
18” x 24” Self-Healing Rotary Mat
6″ x 24″ Frosted Advantage™ Acrylic Ruler

MATERIALS

2 yds. cotton fabric (try rayon, linen, silk, or homespun for variety)
Thread to match
Chalk marker or marking pencil
Basic sewing supplies

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

1. Cut fabric into 6” strips on the bias or diagonal of the fabric. You can use the 45-degree angle marking on the OLFA ruler to get that first cut just right.
2. The longest strip should be the length you want your finished scarf to be, and will serve as the foundation of the scarf.
3. Begin by stacking two layers of fabric on your foundation strip, right sides facing up. Start 1” in from each end of the foundation strip. Some strips may not be quite long enough, but that’s okay! Simply overlap the strips slightly to cover the length of the foundation piece.
4. Pin strips in place.
5. Turn scarf over and repeat by stacking two layers of fabric on this side of the scarf, right sides facing up. Pin securely in place, removing pins from the other side.
6. Draw a line using your chalk marker down the center of the scarf, lengthwise. Stitch strips together using this mark as your starting point.
7. Continue to sew parallel lines, ¼” apart, across the entire length of the scarf.
8. Cut channels open on both sides of your scarf using the OLFA Chenille Cutter, being careful not to cut through your foundation strip. To do this:

• First match the channel width on the scarf to the size of the channel guide on the chenille cutter.
• Then carefully slide the channel guide under the top two layers of fabric for each channel.
• Once the top of the scarf has been cut, flip over and repeat on the other side.

9. Stitch around the perimeter of the scarf to secure. Trim edges even if necessary.
10. For fringe, stitch across the bottoms of the scarf about 6” up for the bottom edges. Cut through all layers of the scarf from the bottom edge up to the stitching line.
11. Wash and dry to fluff.

TIPS FROM THE EXPERTS

• You can vary the look of your scarves by sewing the lines different widths apart. For a softer look, sew lines or channels 1/8” or ¼” apart. For a more textured scarf, sew channels 3/8” or ½” apart.
• To speed up sewing, you can increase the stitch length on your sewing machine to 3.0.
• Be sure to pull fabric taut as you sew along the first diagonal line to ease stitching and prevent puckering.
• Sew one line of stitching in one direction, then sew in the opposite direction for the next line. Repeat until sewing is complete. This will prevent the stitching from pulling in one direction and causing distortion.
• Sew loose ends together to easily transform into an infinity scarf.