The Skinny Scarf. It’s the season’s must-have accessory. Bright and cheery, this scarf is perfect for using up small fabric scraps. Fight the winter blahs with some color around your neck. This is a fast and easy gift to make… so easy, you should make one for yourself as well.

The pom pom trim adds a little extra spice to the skinny scarf, but you can omit it if you choose.

Our thanks to our friends at Moda for providing the Sunkissed by Sweetwater pre-cuts for this project. We used eight layer cake squares for our Scrap it Scarf.

Sewing Tools You Need

• Any Sewing Machine

Fabric and Other Supplies

• Fabric scraps that look good together. They can be from mixed collections – whatever looks good to you. Don’t be afraid to try some unlikely mixes or even texture. As mentioned above, for our skinny scarf, we used eight layer cakesquares (10″ s 10″ pre-cut squares) of Sunkissed by Sweetwater for Moda.
• Two yards of ½ pom pom trim
• 5″ x 73″ of lightweight batting (we used cotton). You can easily piece together scraps to get to the 73″ length (we did).
• See-through ruler
• Iron and ironing board
• Rotary cutter and cutting mat or scissors
• Seam gauge (helpful, but optional)
• Straight pins

Getting Started

1. Cut sixteen 5″ x 10″ rectangles. Eight for each side. If there is a directional print, consider how you want it to appear on your scarf before you cut.
   
2. Arrange the rectangles to your liking by laying them next to each other on a flat surface and moving them around until you get a sequence you like for both the front and the back.
3. If you’re lucky, you can cut one piece of batting 5″ x 73″. More likely, you’ll need to cut several strips 5″ wide x whatever to equal 73″ in length.

At Your Sewing Machine & Ironing Board

1. Using a ½” seam allowance sew your rrectangles together, in sequence, along their 5″ sides.
   
2. Sew eight rectangles together for one side of the scarf and eight for the other side.
   
3. We pieced batting together to make one 5″ x 73″ strip. Simply butt ends together, pin and zigzag as shown below:
   
4. Pin the pom pom fringe in place along one edge of assembled scarf front. The bottom edge on the pom pom strip should align with the ½” seam line. The poms should be facing inward (as shown). The goal is for the poms to dangle right along the seam.
   
   
5. Secure the trim in place with a hand or machine basting stitch. If using your machine, choose the zipper foot, which will allow you to stitch closer to the edge. A basting stitch insures your trim won’t slip and slide when you’re sewing your final seam.
   
6. Layer your three scarf pieces flat on your work surface in the following order: batting, back piece RIGHT side up, front piece WRONG side up. The poms are sandwiched in between the layers. Make sure they hang free towards the inside of the scarf; you don’t want them to get caught in your final seams.
   
7. Start about 2½” from the center of the side opposite the pom pom trim. Using a ½” seam allowance sew to the first corner, pivot, sew completely around the next three sides, pivot at the fourth and final corner, sew until you are about 5″ from where you started sewing. Stop and lock your stitch.
8. You are stopping, because you need to leave an opening large enough to turn your scarf right side out. About 5″ should be big enough.
9. Clip all the corners and turn your scarf right side out. The pom poms will pop out and hang free. Push out the trimmed corners from the inside to make nice, square corners on the outside. Usea  blunt-edge tool like a large knitting needle or a chopstick.
   
10. Press the seams flat, turning in the raw edges of the opening so they are flush with sewn seam.
    
11. Hand stitch the 5″ opening closed with a slip stitch.
    
12. Top stitch ¼” all the way around scarf. Press
    

Hints and Tips

You can wrap this scarf many different ways. Wear it long by simply looping it around your neck and letting the long ends hang. Try the Euro classic where you fold the scarf in half, wrap around your neck and pull the ends through the loop. There’s also the quick toss, where you wrap the scarf around your neck, let one side hang down in front and toss the other over your shoulder. And, of course, the free fall, where you place the center of your scarf at the front of your neck and let the ends drape behind.