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So here is my tutorial for the Catch and Release Scarf from Anthro. Better late than never right?Materials:
- 1 piece of fabric about 90 inches long
- elastic thread
- matching thread (all purpose)
- rit dye (optional)
- tailors chalk
- sewing needle
* Your fabric needs to be light weight, breezy, and somewhat see thru. I think a cotton voile, cotton lawn, or cotton gauze would work really well. I am not sure what mine is made of but I found it on clearance in the home decor section.
here is a closer look at my fabric:
1 - Cut your fabric so that you have one long piece that is about 90" x 17"
2 - To finish the two long edges fold in 1/4", press, fold another 1/4", and press again. Edge stitch both sides with normal all purpose thread.
3 - Leave the top thread of your machine with your normal all purpose thread. Hand wind the bobbin with your elastic thread.
4 - Using your tailors chalk, mark 3 vertical lines down the middle of your fabric - each 4 inches apart.
5 - With all purpose thread as your top thread, and elastic thread as your bottom thread, stitch all three vertical lines from top to bottom allowing it to gather as it goes. Do not back stitch at either end.
*test on scrap fabric first. i found that my machine used the elastic thread best at a longer stitch length (4) and the usual straight stitch.
here is a good link to learn a bit more about sewing with elastic thread.
6 - Using a sewing needle, pull the regular thread to the back and tie a knot with the elastic thread to secure ends. (the video suggests backstitching but everything else i read said you shouldn't backstitch with elastic thread as it wont hold.)
7- Try on scarf to make sure that the length is what you want (depending on how much your machine gathered your fabric it may be different - the goal is about 40" long)
8 - Finish off ends the same as the sides by folding at 1/4", fold again at 1/4", press, and stitch.
9 - If you want a different color as I did, use RIT dye to dye your scarf. I used teal.
Finished scarf:
So beautiful in both colors!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty. I'd love to do this, but my machine just won't do elastic thread in the bobbin. If I ever get my GMIL's machine set up, I'll have to see if it would work.
ReplyDeleteDo you get more variegation of color by dying the scarf after gathering as opposed to dying it after sewing just the sides?
ReplyDeleteReally pretty! I've never worked with elastic thread, but this might inspire me to try it!
ReplyDeleteJust wondering . . . how long is the scarf now? It is a great project and a great color on you.
ReplyDeleteInteresting! I never knew how to use my white elastic thread! That makes sense...use it only in the bottom.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous scarf! Thanks for sharing!
Fabulous tutorial!
ReplyDeleteGracias!
Oh. My. Goodness.
ReplyDeleteI have to make one. I wonder if my machine can handle elastic thread.????
That is really stunning! Thanks so much for this. I'll be linking and making one myself.
ReplyDeleteThis is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!
ReplyDeleteLove the teal dye! The entire scarf is simply gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteThis is so ridiculously cute! I actually bought one of Anthro's scarves like this a few years ago. Thanks for the great tutorial!
ReplyDeleteI love your scarf, but don't get why the elastic thread is necessary?
ReplyDeleteAnd, could the sides be serged, or does that change the look too much?
Thanks.
Therese
so glad so many of you love it!
ReplyDeletetherese-elastic thread isnt necessary. just an easy way to gather fabric fast - but you could certainly just gather it normally. and yes, i think serging would be fine for the edges.
beth-the scarf is about 45" once gathered. although i think it could use a couple more inches.
Been wanting to make a scarf like this and didn't even know elastic thread existed. Now this is going to make my project so much easier than the way I had figured on doing it! Thank you.
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I love the color that you dye it.
ReplyDeleteLovely! I want to try this now! :)
ReplyDelete@ Dusty: You can also use a narrow zigzag to sew over the elastic thread, with regular thread in the bobbin, and then just pull the elastic thread up as much as you want when you're at the end of the row.
love, love, love this scarf!!! I have bookmarked it and the second I have some suitable fabric I'll be making one. Thanks so much for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautiful. This will definitely be my next project. Thank you for the insipiration and for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI'm in LOVE with this! Thanks for the inspiration! =)
ReplyDeletewowzer you make it look so easy. I just love how elegant this is.
ReplyDeleteThank you,
Maggie
http://pas
Gorgeous
ReplyDeleteBeautimous! Thanks for this...I have been hesitant to try elastic thread...this makes it sound a lot easier and friendlier than I thought. I'll let you know how it turns out!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! This scraf is a to do project in my list!
ReplyDeleteI think the the elastic thread is a must. All of the scarves in the stores now have elastic, it gives it that extra sassy bounce. :)
ReplyDeletehow wide was the fabric you started out with? 90x???
ReplyDeleteplease email me if you would...
llwoolard [at] gmail [dot] com
Thanks!
Oh my goodness, how beautiful! Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteOh dear - I totally have to make one of these for myself (and maybe one or two for Christmas gifts). So easy and so cute!
ReplyDeletethis is AMAZING!! so nice :) thanks!
ReplyDeleteoh this is beautiful!thanks for sharing :)
ReplyDeleteI've been looking for a pattern for one of these. So of the moment! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteI love this! I have to make a couple as gifts and of course one for myself!
ReplyDeleteamazing. love how easy it looks. am thinking of making one out of silk as I think will look brilliant. thanks for posting.
ReplyDeleteI made mine today. I used some well-washed cotton sheeting that had been tie-dyed. The scarf was very easy to make. My one note is a lighter, more breezy fabric is key. As the above tutorial stated.
ReplyDeleteYou can see mine here: http://runningwithrocket.blogspot.com/2010/11/tie-dye-scarf.html
Thanks for posting the tutorial to SewMamaSew.
I only have a yard of this beautiful fabric (58" wide). Do you think a seam would work okay in the middle of the scarf? I would want to make sure that it was long enough after gathering it and don't think it's possible unless I sew two pieces together.
ReplyDeletei think a seam would be virtually unnoticeable because of all of the ruffles. i would cut it into three pieces and do 2 seams to make sure that it is long enough.
ReplyDeleteI put one in mine. The ruffled gathering from the elastic makes the seam 'seemingly' disappear.
ReplyDeleteFantastic! Stylish and simple. I've posted it on my blog on making stuff (mostly presents right now). http://maketwincities.blogspot.com/2010/11/lovely-catch-and-release-scarf.html
ReplyDeleteI am almost finished with 6 of these scarfs for christmas presents. I actually cut the fabric in half length wise, so 8.5 inches wide, then sewed the hems and still did three lines with elastic fabric down the center. They are really cute and I can't wait to give them as christmas presents. I did make my fabric about 105" too instead of 90", it makes the length of the scarf perfect! Thanks for the tutorial!
ReplyDeleteI just made one as a Christmas present. I only had a metre so I sewed a French seam halfway to join the two pieces together and then added in some extra seams along the length of it. This makes it more of a texture design feature and works pretty well I think.
ReplyDeleteI'd say make it with fabric a tad longer than 90" if you can.
Love this! I made one in about an hour and am about to make two more!
ReplyDeleteFWIW I used three pieces of cotton voile and joined them with French seams. They disappear.
If you can't afford cotton gauze, or any of the other options, could you possibly use regular cotton from, say, Walmart?
ReplyDeleteNormally I would say no, Walmart fabric has very low thread count and will pull in crazy directions, but in this project that isn't a liability, so go ahead.
ReplyDeleteI thought you would say that, because this project seems to use a thinner fabric. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteAre there any other options to cotton gauze?
ReplyDeleteGreat tutorial, thankyou!
ReplyDeleteLoved it! Soooo much easier than the ones I made this fall. This is definitely going in my to-do file. So clever!
ReplyDeleteWow! Definitely beautiful in both colors! I love this...saw you over at How Joyful today. Thanks for the tutorial!
ReplyDelete~ www.billiemonster.com ~
I'm pinning this on Pinterest for future projects, thank you. :)
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! You make me want to take the dust off my sewing machine!
ReplyDeleteI love this - can't wait to try it!
ReplyDeletegreat tutorial. I repinned it. Love it!
ReplyDeleteI love this scarf!!!
ReplyDeleteSo pretty!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful!
ReplyDeleteInstead of using elastic thread, couldn't you use regular thread but stitch with a gathering stich for all three lines? Then hand gather to desired length. Sounds like an option for those who cannot use elastic thread in their machines.
ReplyDeleteI love this but I cannot for the life of me get my sewing machine to stitch using elastic thread!!! I have pulled my hair out trying!!! HELP!
ReplyDeleteDo you sell these? I am a college student and don't have a sewing machine!
ReplyDeletegorgeous! can't wait to give it a try...now if I can just find the elastic thread I know I have somewhere...
ReplyDeletewow absolutely stunning. I love how simple it is to do and that its a great 'summery' scarf!
ReplyDeleteYour scarf is gorgeous. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI love it too! I want to make these for christmas gifts. Thanks for the step-by-step. You are very thorough and it seems (no pun intended) easy!
ReplyDelete:)
what kind of fabric did you buy?
ReplyDeleteThank you! Not sure who "pinned" this on pinterest, but I am so glad they did. I repurposed fabric to make 2 dozen to sell in my HeedyLynn.com shop at Market & they sold out so quickly my head is still spinning. I have 2 dozen more cut to sew & dye & will be making lots more. (http://heddylynn.blogspot.com/)
ReplyDeleteI did serge a rolled hem on the edges, rather doing a hem & I love elastic thread. Thread banger.com has a great tutorial I have found very helpful.
I just made this! It is gorgeous! I used a little extra teal dye in the water to make the color a little more vivid. The most complicated part for me was actually the seams on the side. The pressing took forever, and I'm kind of a beginner in the sewing department, so the straight line and the back stitching was kind of hard for me, but the elastic lines were a breeze. I was bummed that the all purpose thread didn't dye, maybe I'll try cotton thread next time?
ReplyDeleteCotton thread should pick up the dye for you. Rit dye is designed to be used on all natural fabrics--i.e., cotton, linen. Polyester (which is used to make all purpose thread) doesn't pick up the dye.
DeleteLOVE it!!! I'm gonna make one! Thanks for posting this!
ReplyDeleteJust made several of these for Christmas presents. They are so cute! One thing that I did that made it easier (for me, at least) was to to press the fabric in half lengthwise and then press again between the edge of the fabric and the first press. This makes three perfect press lines and, then, I just sewed along these press lines. That way I didn't have to mark up the fabric.
ReplyDeleteCan't wait to try this! Something to do while everybody naps today!!
ReplyDeleteI have made 8 of these scarves for Christmas presents, everyone loved them!! Now I just need to make myself one!!
ReplyDeleteAWESOME! I am happy to have found this on Pinterest. I saw a scarf like this for $26.50 at Christopher and Banks and nearly bought it. I am so glad I didn't! Now off to the store for some fabric and elastic thread! ;)
ReplyDeleteIt looks really pretty :)
ReplyDeleteI made a list of DIY ideas on my blog <3
You're in it, hope thats okay :)
http://crafterlifebyme.blogspot.com/2012/02/diy-ideas-shoes-scarves.html
SOOOOO cute! What fabric would you recommend for making this scarf?
ReplyDeleteIf you are buying fabric fabric who much would you get? thanks!
ReplyDeleteGorgeous scarf!!! I love it! I am sharing a link to this tutorial on my blog tomorrow in a post I've written about scarves! Thanks for sharing this tutorial!
ReplyDeleteHelen
Blue Eyed Beauty Blog
ok kelli, I LOVE this but CANNOT sew at all. Do you sell these?
ReplyDeleteGreat! Thanks a lot! Brenda
ReplyDeleteLove your tutorial! Thank you so much for posting it!!
ReplyDeleteI am about halfway done making two scarves and was having trouble with the shirring when I found a solution to the problem I was having. I have a Brother machine and if anyone else starts their project and cannot get the fabric to bunch nicely, there is a nice lady who posted a way to fix the issue by adjusting the bobbin tension. PLEASE be aware, this is not easy to adjust and if you don't remember your settings, you will probably just need to get a new bobbin casing... but I digress. That info is here for anyone that needs it:
http://gigglesmum-creativeheart.blogspot.com/2009/10/shirring-problems-i-cracked-it.html?showComment=1355290353207#c6944841339334534829
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you dont absolutely have to have elastic thread you can hand gather by pulling your top thread but you will have to sew sections instead of one long stitch end to end so that you can gather. Also a ruffler foot may work
ReplyDeleteSo easy! It turned out exactly as shown. Had no problem w/the elastic thread. Be sure to wind it loosely on the bobbin, don't stretch itl
ReplyDeleteIt's so beautyfull. I'll try it here in germany next time. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteLOVE IT!
ReplyDelete