Infinity Scarf Tutorial

Merry Christmas to all!  I know I've slacked off on posting again.  I've been busy finalizing Christmas gifts, etc. - so I hope you'll forgive me!  I've made a few really cool infinity scarves this year and thought I'd do a little "how to" tutorial for all of you!  They are so fun, easy and really spruce up an outfit -- and/or block the cold from coming down the neck of your parka!

It all started when I posted a pic of the flannel infinity scarf I made to FaceBook:

Warm, fuzzy and my favorite colors! That led to requests for everyone's favorite redhead to model it.

He's a pro. Seriously.

That started a "how do you..." and "I'd love one" and ... etc.!  I made a bunch more, then thought I'd put together a step-by-step so you can make your own. The following one is made from a quilt-weight cotton, but you could use cotton, flannel, fleece ... whatever!  I'm a visual learner, so there are tons of pix.

You'll need a yard of fabric.  Cut said fabric 30 x 36".  Fold that so that it's now 15 x 36" -- right sides together.  Like so:

Sew that long side, using 1/4" seam allowance, forming a long tube.  Iron your seam open and give everything a good pressing.  It should look like this:

Reach into one end of the tube, and bring that far end inside the tube, matching it to the other end.

You now have a folded tube with the right sides together.  Sort of.  Line up the seams --

Instead of pinning like that, twist that inner part of the tube that you grabbed a full 360 degrees!

It looks like a mess, but it'll be OK.  Match the seams back up and pin.

Get the two raw edges nicely lined up all around your tube and pin.

Pins are your friends.  Just don't sew over them.  Sew all along your opening, leaving a gap for turning.

I like to mark the stop/start of my gap with double pinning, so I won't forget.  (And yes, I was sporting a band aide.  I scraped the daylights out of the back of my hand when I moved the stove to clean behind it.  Oops.)

Now... reach into that gap you left open and turn the scarf right side out!

Because I love pins, pin the gap...

... then sew shut using a blind stitch.

Here's your scarf!

I made that one and a couple more for a friend.  You can see the others here and here.  The possibilities are endless - as is the scarf.  Ha ha, I crack myself up sometimes!

I also made a flannel one for my husband that is half as wide (cut 15 x 36") just to tuck into his parka to keep the chill out.  Nothing poofy or girlie about it at all.  Then my friend Shelli (AKA the Macon Bag-a-holic) asked if they could be made with two fabrics.  Great idea!  Why not!?!  Cut two coordinating fabrics 15 x 36", sew together ... etc.!  I made one for her and think it looks darling!

I let my Siberian Husky stuffie model it instead of one of the boys - I like to send things out as Sibe-hair-free as possible - even though Shelli has two Sibes and a kit-cat who would have been happy to bury their noses in Zim and Dave's fur!

Here are Sitka and Shelli with the Infinity Scarf!

Beautiful!  (Both of them!)

Let me know if you have any questions on the tute!  Note:  Be careful if you use a directional print!  Make sure it will go the way you want it to!  Good luck and I hope you'll give it a try!!

Thanks for reading!

Laura's Sitia Marie Tote!

Yeah, yeah, yeah.  I know.  It's been a while.  Miss me?  I have lots of projects to show you - I just need to find the time to do so!  Let's start today with a bag I made for a wonderful friend of mine - Laura!

Laura is probably one of the coolest people I know.  Seriously.  And now she's going to have her first baby!!!  She didn't have the perfect diaper bag lined up, so I asked her to pick one of my designs - and I'd turn it into the bag of her dreams.  Or something like that.  We opted to go for a black, white and red color scheme to coordinate with her stroller!  (I had help, of course.)  Let's get looking at pix!

Here's the front!

Polypro handle, pieced outside, nice long pocket (the Eiffel Tower), and a big, black button.

I love the look of the bag in my bare tree. I have no idea why I didn't shoot the back of the bag that way, but I didn't. It's 20-something degrees out right now, so I'm not re-shooting. I did shoot it up against the house:

There is another pocket on the back, as you can see. Shallower and easy to grab whatever's in there.

I love these big, black buttons! I sewed it on with the same variegated black and white thread I used to quilt the bag. It's an Aurofil thread. Isn't it lovely?!?

Detail shot of the front pocket and tag. Just because.

I thought Laura would need nice, deep pockets in her bag, and decided to pretend I knew how to make pleated ones to add depth:

I think they work! Here they are in the finished bag:

Oh... yeah. That one didn't have a cuff at the top initially, did it? Cute touch though, right? I mean ... it's not like I did that because the pocket came up too high and would have been sewn shut when I top-stitched the bag together.

 ...

OK, that's exactly why it has a cool cuff. Creative solution, don't you think? Oy.

I put more pockets on the other side of the bag, too:

You can't have enough pockets, can you? Actually, that's a divided pocket with another pocket on top of it.

I also thought I'd throw a Huffle Duffle Bag in there -

For a clean outfit for the baby? Or to house diapers, clean or otherwise? (The Huffle Duffle can be tossed in the wash - cold water wash, machine dry on low.)  Or ... for whatever Laura's heart desires!

Here's a peek inside:

I have to say, I totally love working with black and white!!!

And red. It needed that touch of red, didn't it?

Laura, your bag should be there any day now.  I hope you can feel the love that went into making it for you and your baby girl!

I'll post more projects soon!  Thanks for reading!