Infinity Scarf Tutorial

Due to popular request, I've decided to give writing tutorials a shot.


Since this post is a bit longer than I anticipated, I've got the one about the fabric store in Malaysia ready for you next week.

I made some adorable infinity scarves from my most recent trip through Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia, where I just couldn't stand how beautiful all the batiks were!

Here are the originals (don't mind the lack of closed seams there)

And then here's what your finished product will look like...I used some Tula Pink for this one.

Now, there's two ways of doing this: the very exact, precise version, and then mine - the go-with-it version. I'll do my best to give you the precise version, but let you know where you can cut corners and not get too exact.

First, you need around 1.5 yards, 59 inches, or something of the sort whether longer or shorter. The scarf you see me wearing is 59 inches, and despite looking snug I feel like I had a ton of room to arrange and maneuver to suit me. I'm on the smaller side at 5'3", but I still think it's nice and large. 

I used cotton, though that's definitely negotiable as well.

This is totally a "go with it" in terms of the length. You should have around a piece around 20-22 inches wide and around 56-60ish long. My measurements were 21x59 and no one will notice a few inches either direction.

Here's what that looks like, approximately.

 

Now go give your fabric a press before we get started. While this is very forgiving and imprecise, there are a couple things I like to do here.

I like to even my material out while pressing. Sometimes it doesn't always come off the bolt lined up and if I want 2 scarves I like to even it out (or sometimes I want to hoard every inch I can...).

You can do that by lining up the bottom of your selvages and smoothing all the material towards the crease on the bolt. Not a requirement, I just like things even and sometimes it even comes off the bolt wrapped unevenly. 

If you want to use the imprecise method, you won't want to skip this step though.

Line up your selvage edges

Once you have that lined up, you can see I have about 1/4 of an inch to press flat. A bit of Best Press and work your way down the seam.

And then press that crease out!

Now, for the precise people, feel free to take whatever measurement you decided you wanted to use and measure it out. You imprecise people follow me...

We're taking our scissors down that line we just pressed!

Again, no need to be super precise here, you want to get close but an 1/8th of an inch here or there isn't going to hurt.

You can also square up your ends here but I like to leave those for later. 

We do need to cut off our selvages though, and I like to do that by lining up my selvage edges, folding, and gently smoothing (not too much!) until I'm ready to cut. Overworking it here will cause you to have "elbows" at your folds. 

Now we have a nice long tube to sew together, so put your right sides together, pin if you wish, and sew yourself a tube.

I didn't pin, these are so forgiving I like to adjust as I go. Since the scarf twists and bunches, no one will notice a pucker or a slightly crooked seam.

I even used my 1/4 inch patchwork foot - I don't see a need to worry about double or thicker seams since scarves typically aren't put through the stress of normal clothing.

Now it's time to take your tube, turn it inside out, and press it. I like to reach my arm all the way through, grab the ends, and pull it all through in one motion.

Now I really like to use Best Press so my seams are nice and crisp and make sure to roll the fabric in my fingers as I go along so I don't press the seam too far in.

After I've pressed it is also when I like to deal with those pesky edges. As Angela Walters likes to say, "close enough is good enough!" and I think that applies here too. 

Just align your ruler so it's square with the top and bottom, move it in as much as you need to, then give it a quick swipe with your rotary cutter.

Now I have these python-looking ends that admittedly look like they might bite or at least complicate my life.

So what to do with these ends? Never fear, it's easy too!

I like to start with my seam for pinning, since it's literally the only thing to line up here.

And if you mis-align the seam? Meh, who's going to notice? 

If you insist on aligning the seam, however, continue with aligning and pinning. I like to start by pinning the seam, then aligning about 1-2 inches before it with another pin and a few more after that.

Pinning the entire thing at once isn't going to work, so I start with 4-5 pins and put it under the machine. 

Forgive my slightly blurry photo here, I think we all know what material under a machine looks like and can ignore that I'm still learning my camera...

Once you've sewn several inches and removed your original pins, it's time to turn this thing inside out.

Wait! Don't take it out from under your needle!

I don't like to stop a stitch where I can, so I just reached in again - as far as I could for convenience - and pulled it inside out.

This doesn't have to be pretty. It probably won't be. Don't worry too much about it as long as you have all the material you need within your seam.

Then continue sewing until there's an opening of about 3-4 inches left (or if you're like me, about 2 since I like to live dangerously)

Be sure to keep all your fabric away from the needle except for your 2 seam pieces, and when you get there use a securing stitch or stitch 3-4 times in place to make the next step easier.

Here's my tiny opening as I turn it back right-side-out. I like to try to finesse it slowly so it eases out. 

Once it's been turned right sides out again, we have a small hole to deal with.

You can either stitch it closed by hand, or, if you're feeling imprecise today too, you can join me in machine stitching it closed.

Give it a couple pins if you like to hold everything in place...

Run that couple inches under the machine...

And there you have it!  A beautiful infinity scarf for yourself or a loved one!

I hope you enjoyed my first tutorial, please leave me comments and feedback on if you found it helpful and ideas for what you would like to see in the future!