Season of scarves

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Scarves are the easiest way to accessorize. Take a long strip of fabric of any kind, wrap it around your neck in any of various ways, and you’ve pulled together your outfit.

One of the best things about scarves is that with basic skills and a bit of patience, you can most likely make a scarf that will fit your needs exactly. All of the scarves in the photos were made by hand.

Cotton

Cotton scarves are possibly the easiest to make. You can get cotton at any fabric store for close to $1 per yard, and you need less than a yard to make a good scarf. If you’re okay with a disheveled look, you don’t even need to seam the edges. Spool has a great tutorial for shot cotton scarves at www.SpoolSewing.com

Wool

Animal fibers are the warmest of fabrics, but they are also itchy if you’re not used to them. A great, inexpensive way to make a wool scarf is to chop up a wool sweater from a thrift store. If you’re worried about the fabric unravelling, run the sweater through the washer and dryer once. This will felt the fabric, binding the individual strings together. Then cut the sweater into pieces six inches wide, and sew the pieces together. The red plaid scarf is an example of this.

Fleece

Polar fleece is one of the most popular fabrics in Utah. You can get it in various colors for $4-5 at Wal-Mart, and it doesn’t need seams. Making a scarf out of polar fleece is as simple as cutting the fabric to your desired proportions. If you want fringe, you can make it out of the fabric itself by chopping up the ends.

Hand Knitted/Crocheted

To hand knit or crochet your scarf, you’ll need a bit more patience. Learning to knit or crochet is easier than ever due to sites like www.KnittingHelp.com or www.Ravelry.com among others. YouTube also has dozens of knitting and crochet tutorials. For your first knitted scarf, stick to a simple Garter Stitch like the bright yellow scarf in the pictures. For your first crocheted scarf, do twenty-stitch rows of single crochet until the scarf is your desired length or you run out of yarn.

Loom Knitting

At any of the local crafts stores, you can purchase a knitting loom, the most popular being the Knifty Knitter. The short white scarf in the photos was made with the Knifty Knitter. Making scarves this way is quick and easy, but can be frustrating because of the very repetitive process.