Hi everyone! I’m Heather Jones and I blog over at olive and ollie. I’m thrilled to be a part of the 12 Days of Ruby here at Fat Quarterly! Today, I’m sharing with you a tutorial for an easy patchwork scarf. My little girl is modeling the scarf for me in this photo, but this pattern is for an adult sized scarf; to make a child’s size, you can easily modify the pattern by shortening the finished length. These goodies whip up very quickly and they make a great gift for everyone on your holiday list, or as a special treat for yourself. Let’s get started!

{ materials }

• a variety of assorted cotton fabrics, all at least 6” wide { I used three gorgeous prints from Melody Miller’s Ruby Star Spring and Ruby Star Shining }
• 6” x 72” piece of velveteen
• thread
• sewing supplies and notions of your choice

{ directions –please use a ¼” seam allowance throughout }

1. Cut fabrics for the patchwork front of the scarf. Make sure all of the pieces measure 6” wide; they can be any length you’d like. You can make it as scrappy as you’d like by making lots of different cuts of fabrics in a variety of lengths. Feel free to incorporate areas that are fussy cut and even the selvedge of your fabric. If you fussy cut the fabric, be sure to leave room for the seam allowances so that your image remains how you’d like it.

2. From a two-yard length of cotton velveteen, cut a piece that is 6” wide. You can make this cut easily by folding the fabric in half, and in half again, being sure to keep the selvege lined up as neatly as possible. Use a rotary cutter and straight edge to cut through all four layers. This will become the back of the scarf.

3. Lay out the patchwork pieces for the front of the scarf, in any design that you like. As you’re laying out the fabric, keep in mind that the finished length of the scarf is approximately 72” so you’ll need to line up enough pieces to create a strip that is that long out of the fabric.

4. Sew the patchwork pieces, right sides together, to create the front of the scarf.

Press seams open with an iron.

Note: depending on the orientation of the print on your fabrics, you may want to align half of them in one direction and the other half in the opposite direction, so they’ll face the correct way when the scarf is worn.

Voila! The front of your patchwork scarf is done!

5. If you’d like to add a tag to the back of the scarf, sew it to the velveteen now. You can find the center of the fabric by folding it in half and pressing it with your finger. Center the tag on the velveteen and sew it on, making sure to backstitch to lock the seam.

6. Sew the front of the scarf and velveteen, right sides together.

Be sure to use a lot of pins! The plush texture of the velveteen can be a little tricky to work with, so it’s a good idea to use plenty of pins in this step to keep your fabrics from sliding apart while sewing.

Backstitch at the beginning and end of your seam to lock the threads together. Leave 3-4 inches on one side open for turning the scarf right side out.

7. Remove pins. Trim the four corners of the scarf very close to the seam line, being careful to not cut your stitches. This will give the ends of your scarf nice, square edges.

8. Use the opening to pull the scarf through and turn it right side out.

You can use a turning stick (a chopstick works really well too) to help get the corners nice and even.

9. Tuck in the seam allowances of the opening, being careful to line them up along the edge of the scarf.

Press scarf with an iron.

9. Top stitch along the entire perimeter of the scarf, about 1/8″ from the edge. Backstitch at the end of your sewing to lock the stitches.

You’re done! Now you have a super cute and warm patchwork scarf to keep for yourself, or to give as a handmade gift. If you make one, I’d love to see photos of your finished scarf!

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Wow, we love that scarf — and we know several people who would love receiving one this Christmas!  Thanks for the great idea, Heather.

Heather Jones is a designer, seamstress, and modern quilter from Ohio who, quite impressively, has won 3 of the first 4 Modern Quilt Guild Project Modern challenges.  Learn more about Heather, her family, and her creative pursuits on her blog, olive & ollie.