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craftgrrlWhenever one of my posts garners a comment (or a few comments as the case may be) that is a request for instructions on how to make an item that I posted, I am left in a bit of a quandary.
Do I happily tell them how to make the item, which is what would come naturally. The sharing of creative ideas and tutorials are part of what make this community so great. Or do I refuse because I am, after all, trying to get my own crafty business website up and running and would like to actually make some sales if possible. And if I do refuse, how do I do so without sounding like a complete prick?
Does anyone else struggle with this?
I think that I have decided that if an item is unique unto me, I will likely not give out instructions - though I will have a hard time refusing. But if an item can be easily found else where I will post what I know.
Anyway, I guess this was just a long way of saying that I will post a tutorial for the fleece boa scarves found in this post for those of you that requested it.
Others may have different ways of making these scarves but this is the method that I came up with after seeing one at a craft fair about two years ago. It's very easy. I hope my instructions aren't confusing.
First - Select and purchase your fleece. (Der!) For my scarves I purchased one and a half yards of each and cut my pieces length-wise, which yielded a scarf approximately 60 inches long after trimming. However, since there is a great deal of fleece out there that is 60 inches wide, one could perhaps buy less fabric and cut their pieces width-wise. This yields a shorter scarf after trimming but one that is still of a decent length.
Second - Determine how wide you would like your scarf to be. Mine were 9 inches across approximately. Measure and cut, either length-wise or width-wise as you have decided, a piece of fleece of your determined width. You can now you this piece as a template to cut out the other layers of your scarf. Each of my scarves had 3 or 4 layers depending on the thickness of the fleece. Do not have more layers than your sewing machine can handle. 4 layers of a thin fleece or 3 layers of a thick fleece fit decently under the foot of my machine and was not too much for it to pull through. It is not necessary that your pieces be perfectly even or line up perfectly, after you cut the fringe a little unevenness will be completely unnoticeable. Make sure you trim off selvages.
Third - Layer the pieces that you have cut out as desired. After your fleece is layered, place a pin (making sure to pin together all the layers of the scarf) at the center (width-wise) of the scarf. Do this down the entire length of the scarf.
Fourth - Stitch up the center of the scarf following your pins. Again, don't worry if your seam isn't perfectly straight. Just do the best you can. Now don't be alarmed but as you sew the machine is going to pull the different layers through at different speeds due to the thickness of the scarf material. Do your best to keep the fleece somewhat taut to minimize this but be aware that it is probably going to happen anyway (at least on my machine). It doesn’t mean that you did anything wrong and even though you started sewing with everything lined up and even, you're going to end up with one uneven end. Simply end your seam at the end of the shortest later and trim the other layers even. Clip threads.
Fifth - Cut your fringe. I made my cuts every inch or so down the length of the scarf but one could cut more often for thinner fringe or less often for thicker fringe. Cut close to but not through the seam. This step will make your wrists hurt, so if you have wrist problems you might want to have someone else do this step for you. Once you're finished cutting the fringe, you're all done and ready to show off your new scarf!
Ta-da!
Do I happily tell them how to make the item, which is what would come naturally. The sharing of creative ideas and tutorials are part of what make this community so great. Or do I refuse because I am, after all, trying to get my own crafty business website up and running and would like to actually make some sales if possible. And if I do refuse, how do I do so without sounding like a complete prick?
Does anyone else struggle with this?
I think that I have decided that if an item is unique unto me, I will likely not give out instructions - though I will have a hard time refusing. But if an item can be easily found else where I will post what I know.
Anyway, I guess this was just a long way of saying that I will post a tutorial for the fleece boa scarves found in this post for those of you that requested it.
Others may have different ways of making these scarves but this is the method that I came up with after seeing one at a craft fair about two years ago. It's very easy. I hope my instructions aren't confusing.
First - Select and purchase your fleece. (Der!) For my scarves I purchased one and a half yards of each and cut my pieces length-wise, which yielded a scarf approximately 60 inches long after trimming. However, since there is a great deal of fleece out there that is 60 inches wide, one could perhaps buy less fabric and cut their pieces width-wise. This yields a shorter scarf after trimming but one that is still of a decent length.
Second - Determine how wide you would like your scarf to be. Mine were 9 inches across approximately. Measure and cut, either length-wise or width-wise as you have decided, a piece of fleece of your determined width. You can now you this piece as a template to cut out the other layers of your scarf. Each of my scarves had 3 or 4 layers depending on the thickness of the fleece. Do not have more layers than your sewing machine can handle. 4 layers of a thin fleece or 3 layers of a thick fleece fit decently under the foot of my machine and was not too much for it to pull through. It is not necessary that your pieces be perfectly even or line up perfectly, after you cut the fringe a little unevenness will be completely unnoticeable. Make sure you trim off selvages.
Third - Layer the pieces that you have cut out as desired. After your fleece is layered, place a pin (making sure to pin together all the layers of the scarf) at the center (width-wise) of the scarf. Do this down the entire length of the scarf.
Fourth - Stitch up the center of the scarf following your pins. Again, don't worry if your seam isn't perfectly straight. Just do the best you can. Now don't be alarmed but as you sew the machine is going to pull the different layers through at different speeds due to the thickness of the scarf material. Do your best to keep the fleece somewhat taut to minimize this but be aware that it is probably going to happen anyway (at least on my machine). It doesn’t mean that you did anything wrong and even though you started sewing with everything lined up and even, you're going to end up with one uneven end. Simply end your seam at the end of the shortest later and trim the other layers even. Clip threads.
Fifth - Cut your fringe. I made my cuts every inch or so down the length of the scarf but one could cut more often for thinner fringe or less often for thicker fringe. Cut close to but not through the seam. This step will make your wrists hurt, so if you have wrist problems you might want to have someone else do this step for you. Once you're finished cutting the fringe, you're all done and ready to show off your new scarf!
Ta-da!
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