From me to you! A No Sew Scarf tutorial

I know I have been promising a tutorial and HERE IT IS!! There are 17 days until Christmas and this is a gift that you can get knocked out in less than a half an hour for not much moolah. Do gifts get better than that? I was inspired to come up with this tutorial when I saw a scarf similar to this at a local craft fair. I decided to try to figure out how to make it myself and I did! Every time I wear one of these, I get tons of compliments and people can't believe they were handmade. AND for people who don't want to sew, there is not a lick of sewing necessary. So, let's quit gabbing and get to making. You will be making tons of these. They will make great sister gifts, bff gifts, teacher gifts - and let's be honest - make some for yourself!

MATERIALS:
A t-shirt (You can see that I used a tshirt that I screwed up a heat transfer vinyl on. You certainly can go out and buy a tshirt - check whoever is having them on sale - Michaels, JoAnn, Hobby Lobby. But, you probably have a shirt with a hole, a shirt that shrunk right in your own closet or drawer.)

Different types of yarns - This is where you can have a lot of fun. You aren't looking for traditional thinner yarns - you want chunky, textured yarns. Watch the sale ads for when Michaels, JoAnn or Hobby Lobby have them on sale. You can use only one or two yarns or I used six for this scarf.

A cutting mat - Or really a yard stick if you don't have one
Scissors
Something to use to build the scarf on - I use my dress form. You can use a hanger or even your own neck :)

Let's get started!

First, take your tshirt. You are going to cut it straight across right under the arm.

Then you are going to cut off the bottom right above the hem.

That is going to leave you with a rectangle of material.

Now, you are going to cut 1" strips.

Leave them intact as a circle.

Once you cut all of your strips, place them to the side in a pile. Take a strip and pull it. The is going to stretch out the knit and make it curl.

Lay your stretched, curled knit loop on your cutting mat or yardstick and measure it. Mine measured 24" and since it is a loop, it is actually 48".

You will need to know that measurement to cut your yarn pieces. Now, place your first knit loop on your dress form, hanger, neck - wherever you are planning to build your scarf.

You are going to start cutting your yarn pieces now. Take your first yarn strip and measure it out to the length of your knit loop plus about an inch. This is going to vary based on how stretchy your yarn is.

Once you cut, tie a double knot securely in the yarn. Cut any long length off of the knot leaving a little bit of yarn on either side

Then, loop it on top of your knit loop. It is ok to have some variation in length. It really is a preference thing. I like mine to be pretty uniform. If you are happy with the look, then keep it. If you want it a little shorter, cut the knot and retie. If you want it a little longer, you will need to cut another piece of yarn. You will continue to do this with your other yarns and tshirt strips and just keep layering them on your dress form (or whatever your base is).

Once you have built the scarf to the thickness you want, arrange all of the knots so they are together.

Then, take one of your uncut tshirt strips (if you didn't save one, you can just cut a length of yarn).

To the left of your knots tie a knot around the scarf with your tshirt strip.

Then, you are going to loop the knit strip around covering your knots.

Once you are past the knots, slip the loose end under three to five loops and tie a knot. I always knot again just to make it secure. Tuck the knot in and distribute the loops. While you were looping the knit strips, some of the under scarf might have shifted and show. This is really no big deal. Just redistribute the wound knit strip and nothing to see there!

Now, take that scarf off your form and go try it on!

You might need to make another one if you made this one for a gift, because you are going to want to keep it! Use seasonal colors for holidays,

 make it bright and funky, make it neutral

 - its all you! And if you really want to mix it up - you can also use lengths of jewelry chain, beads, laces.

I would love to see what you make with this tutorial. Leave me a link to your pics.

Want to remember it for later? Here is the pin on Pinterest! http://www.pinterest.com/pin/151996556147818725/ Feel free to pin it to your boards to remember and share!

Thank you for stopping by this tutorial and my blog! Be sure to come back and follow my year long mission to sew all of my tween daughter's school clothes this year. Also, I will have some other Christmas giftable tutorials to share in the coming days! Have a blessed and wonderful day and a beautiful Christmas season!