Here's a super simple no sew fleece scarf craft that's great for the whole family. And with my simple step by step tutorial, it's great for kids too. So grab some fleece in your favorite colors, and make a bunch to keep you warm until spring!
You'll Need:
- fleece, at least two colors, 1/4 yard each
- sharp scissors
- masking tape
- a ruler or tape measure
- a marker
How To:
The scarf I will be showing you how to make here measures roughly 6” wide and 64” long, though you can choose to make a longer or even wider scarf by simply experimenting with the size of the panels while still using the same technique. The blanket is made by quite simply tieing together equally sized panels via fringe that you will cut on all sides of each panel. It really is as simple as it sounds, and tieing the fringe, even for a large blanket goes quite quickly.
Note: Inexpensive fleece fabric has a direction that can be quite stretchy, and a direction that is stiff. You’ll want to cut your fabric such that the fringe is cut parallel to the stiff direction such that it won’t get stretched out of shape when the panels are tied together.
We will be cutting panels that measure 6” wide and 10” long. Tear off pieces of tape and place them on the fabric, according to the photo shown here. Using your ruler, measure 6” from the inside corner and make a mark on the masking tape with your pen. Use that mark as a guide for placing your next piece of tape. Then measure 10” a long the length of the second piece of tape, make a mark with you pen and use that mark as a guide for placing the last piece of tape.
The scarf shown here has a total of eight panels, so cut four panels in one color, and four panels in a second color. For a longer scarf, simply make more panels. For a wider scarf, make your panels wider. And of course, while the panels do need to be the same width, they can vary in height to create a different effect.
Step 1: Cutting the fleece panels in the exact size you desire is most easily achieved with the help of masking tape and a ruler or tape measure. I developed this method because cutting fabric was always a bit scary for me, but with this simple trick, there’s nothing to fear!
Step 2: You should now have a rectangle formed by the four pieces of tape that you have applied to the fleece.
Step 3: if you’d like to determine that your rectangle is really a true rectangle, measure on all sides within the taped area. Both long sides should have the same measurement, as well as both short sides.
Step 4: Using sharp scissors, cut within the lines of the tape to make your first scarf panel.
Use this first panel as a guide for cutting additional rectangles by pinning it other pieces of fabric, and cutting around it, or make additional panels in exactly the same way as we’ve made this first panel. You decide.
Step 5: Now it’s time to calculate the fringe. The fringe in this scarf is 1 3/4” long, so you’ll want to place two pieces of tape on your fleece rectange, 1 3/4” from each end as shown. These pieces of tape are used as a guide for cutting the fringe. In this step one can pin three or so panels together, and cut fringe through the three layers at once, if you desire, though cutting one by one will result in more exacting results.
Step 6: I cut fringe that measures 3/4” wide, which means that there are 8 pieces of fringe per 6” wide panel. You can eyeball this, or measure and make marks on your tape as a cutting guide. Just remember to cut just up to the edge of the tape.
Step 7: Now for the fun part, usimg your fleece panels to make a scarf by simply tying the fringe together! Starting at one of the edges, simply tie the two matching pieces of fringe together using a double knot.
Make sure to tie all your knots using the same steps. Namely, If you start by putting the piece of fringe in your right hand over that in your left, so tie all the knots in this way.
After you’ve made your first scarf, you may want come up with a version that is your very own. Some of the variables that you can play with are color, width of scarf, length of individual panels, number of panels, and even the length and width of the fringe. For a modern twist you can also choose to make a cowl scarf, which is a basically a large loop that is big enough to wrap around the neck several times, or short enough such that you simply slip it over your head. Tie the two ends of your scarf together, and voila, a new twist on the idea of fleece scarves is born!
I hope you’ll enjoy this project, and don’t forget to make a scarf for yourself too!
