simple scarves for a chic gift

It's crunch time! Only 8 days until Christmas, and you're still looking for a great gift for your sister, friend, babysitter, child's teacher, or all of the above. Here's a quick and easy answer. Scarves are not only functional, but super stylish. If you don't have time (or inclination) to knit or crochet one, cut one instead. Seriously--it's that easy. Find a rayon/cotton knit or jersey knit--something that is soft and has a little stretch. Mine came in 60" width, so I could get four single-layer scarves out of one 2-yard piece. I folded it a couple of times length-wise so it would fit my cutting mat, then used my quilting ruler and rotary cutter to cut it in four equal pieces. The raw edges curl slightly, which gives it a finished look. WOW--I just made four fabulous gifts in about 3 minutes--no sewing required!



For a little thicker version, cut your 2-yard length of knit fabric in half lengthwise. Then take each piece, fold it in half lengthwise, and sew it in a big rectangle, leaving a small opening to turn inside-out. You can quickly hand sew the opening closed. I then got my scarf wet and twisted it, securing it with rubber bands and leaving it twisted until it dried. This just gives it a wrinkled texture, which relaxes the jersey knit fabric nicely (and covers up your not-so-straight sewing!).


We took this project one step further and embroidered a simple bird to give it some more interest. C'est tres chic!


Check back for more quick and easy gift ideas coming up this week--because we know we can't be the only procrastinators out there!