Gossamer Thin Scarf

Posted by craft on

October 21, 2008

You are able to create scarves in several different ways, but using dissolvable fabric as the base means that you can create a gossamer-thin length of clothes in an evening. And what’s more, it’s as easy as pie!

First, decide what width and length you want your scarf to be. This isn’t going to be a heavy-duty winter scarf, so you can go for a narrower material strip. Lay out your base of water-soluble stabilizer such as Super Solvy or Ultra Solvy into this size and shape. It doesn’t matter if you have to use several pieces just overlap them, as they will be rinsed away later on in the process anyway.

Now choose what you are going to have as the base for your scarf. Collect lots of different bits and pieces together, and start to lay them out on the base fabric.

Wool or silk tops that are used for papermaking, felting and spinning are a really good choice. They come in a wide range of colors, and have a fluffy, raggedy look that is really effective in a project like this. You can also use bits of ribbon and lace, off cuts of beautiful material prints, silks, embroidery threads, knitting yarns in a range of materials, natural or man-made fibers anything you like! Combine textures for added interest.

I recommend that you ‘theme’ you scarf. Don’t try to put too many things onto one piece. Use one main color, with one or two accent colors, eg blue with purple and silver or red with yellow and orange or cream with mushroom and peach.

You can either just lay out the pieces and hope they stay together, pushing them back into place as they move, or use a spray adhesive to make them tacky and help keep them in place. Pin larger pieces to keep them from moving.

Lay a second layer of stabilizer over the first, and pin in place.
Now you can sew your scarf, using a sewing machine with very long stitches, or by hand sewing. Either works just as well as the other. Stitch up and down lengthwise across the bundle, and then cross-wise, as if you were making a quilt. Now fill in with irregular diagonals to really secure the pieces together. Remember that this stitching is all that will be keeping your scarf together once the stabilizer is removed. Make your lines about apart.

Soak the scarf in water for about twenty minutes, until the stabilizer is dissolved, then rinse it in clean water. Roll it gently in a towel and leave it flat to dry. You will now have a gossamer-thin scarf like no other! A truly personal item that will be the envy of all your friends.