Sew a Double Sided Scarf

SUPPLIES:

  • Two Scarf Strips, or
  • 5/8 yard of two fabrics
  • Thread and sewing supplies

Make the Scarf Strips From Your Fabric

If you are making your own strips, you will need 5/8 yard or less of each fabric. Rip each piece into two strips from selvedge to selvedge at your desired width, trim the selvedges off, and sew the ends together to make a long scarf strip. Trim down to your desired length.

We make the scarf strips that we sell at the shop 10″ wide and 72″ long. If you would like to make several scarves from the same fabric, you can make them the same way as we do: take a two yard cut of fabric and rip it into 10” wide strips down the length. You will have 4 scarf strips for a 44” wide fabric, and 5 strips for a 54” wide fabric.

Ripping the fabric means that the scarf strips will be on grain, which would be hard to get just right by cutting with scissors. In order to rip fabric, you make a small snip in the direction you are ripping. Then pull the two sides apart until you have two pieces. *** There are some fabrics that won’t rip. Knits won’t rip because they are knit and not woven, so there isn’t a grain to rip them on. There are also some wovens that won’t rip well too. While they might ultimately rip, we haven’t been able to rip linen and dupioni silk really well, so with those we try to line up the grain as well as possible, and then use scissors or a rotary cutter to make the strips.

Optional: (Prefer to buy your scarf strips already prepared and ready for sewing? Our Scarf Kits include two strips that are 10” x 72” each.)

Sewing the Scarf Strips

Place the two scarf strips together, right sides facing, and pin.

Leaving a four inch opening along one of the longer sides, sew all the rest of the way around the strips, begin and end your sewing with a few back-stitches to strengthen the opening.

Trim the corners.

Turn the scarf right side out. Press. Hand stitch the opening closed.

Now top stitch with a similar (or contrasting) color thread around the scarf. At the corners, keep the needle in the down position, and then pivot the scarf. This keeps the fabric together and makes a nice neat corner.

The patterns and color combinations are endless:

Look how beautifully the Liberty of London Tana Lawn goes with Dupioni Silk:

If posting on Instagram, use the hashtags #fiddleheaddoublesidedscarf and #fiddleheadartisansupply – we look forward to seeing your finished scarf. They are so satisfying, you’re going to want to make another one!