Scarf Along Week Two

Part one.

Hello friends.
Are you ready?
Did you do your homework?
Is your sewing machine your friend?
Do you have your scrumptious fabric out?
Are you ready to cut?

Deep breath.
Here. We. Go.

Read through the cutting directions a few times.
Click on any of the pics to enlarge them.
If they don't make sense, or if you have never
use a rotary cutter before, practice on a
piece of those old pajamas.
Getting the pressure right on the rotary cutter
can be difficult at first and you will use nearly
every single inch of the fabric,
so there is no room for mistakes.

I tend to get confident, or let my mind wander and
have ruined way too much fabric in my day.
I don't want that to happen to you.


Lay out your fat quarter on your mat.
This part is TRICKY.
Cutting the wrong way will ruin everything.
Seriously.
I know I'm being all dramatic, but it will.
Pay attention. Get a hold on your A.D.D.
(or that's just me...)

I want you to familiarize yourself with the fabric.
At first glance it is hard to tell the 18 inch side
from the 22 inch one.
Lay it out with the 18 inch side vertical
and the 22 inch side horizontal.
Double and triple check it.
Quadruple check it.



Fold it in half.
The fold should be on the bottom.
The rectangle should measure
18 inches along the fold
11 inches along the raw edge.

This will make or break your scarf.
Your goal is to have two
pieces that measure
9x22 inches.

If the way I cut it is crazy, cut it a way that makes sense.
Just be sure to cut it this way.
For reals.




Cut vertically at the 9 inch mark.
Sometimes rotary cutter mats are
numbered strangely.
Double check that the line that
you start it at is zero
and the line that you cut it at is 9.
Turn the mat around until you get it right.




Unfold your pieces.
If everything went well you will have two
9x22 pieces of fabric.
Yay!




Stack your two pieces.
Line them up the best you can.
If one of the edges is uneven, trim a tiny bit off so it lines up with the line on the mat.




This is the selvage.
It is the prefinished edge on each bolt of fabric.
Make sure that it is on the left side of your board.
You won't be using it and don't want it as part
of your pieces.




You are going to make four cuts.
At
5 inches,
10 inches,
15 inches,
20 inches.




Nicely done.
Now you have 8 pieces that are
5 inches wide by 9 inches tall.
Plus two little scraps that you can do what you please with.




Now repeat these exact same steps with each of your nine fabrics.
Get yourself a treat, stack all of the piles and admire the cuteness.

Tomorrow we pin and sew.
Breathe.
It's going to be alright.


Posted in

24 Comments

  1. emily hopeNovember 16, 2009 at 4:24 PM

    happy, happy! you are such a hero for doing this :)

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  2. Heather | Cookie MondaysNovember 16, 2009 at 4:26 PM

    but what if we want to pin and sew TONIGHT?

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  3. TheFancyFritterNovember 16, 2009 at 4:43 PM

    Yay!! I'm going to cut after I put little girl down! I've been thinking about it all day! Yay! :)

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  4. UnknownNovember 16, 2009 at 5:16 PM

    Oh - I love this, I'm just heard about you doing this today so have some catching up to do this week. What fun!

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  5. SalindaNovember 16, 2009 at 5:37 PM

    fabulous instructions! sometimes, that's the scariest part of teaching someone else. you did a great job with this first set!

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  6. DebbieNovember 16, 2009 at 6:06 PM

    This is so much fun :) Thanks for coming up with this!!

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  7. CatherineNovember 16, 2009 at 6:12 PM

    I'm so excited! Thank you for the excellent photos.

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  8. charcharrNovember 16, 2009 at 6:29 PM

    Did you prewash your fabric?

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  9. Jen~ Lipstick and LaundryNovember 16, 2009 at 6:36 PM

    Just cut all 9! My fat quarters {from Joann's) are only 18 x 21 (weird, but it still worked)

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  10. Jessica StierNovember 16, 2009 at 6:41 PM

    Are you using flannel or is this just regular cotton like for a quilt?

    Great instructions. I'm so excited!!!

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  11. {Heather}November 16, 2009 at 7:53 PM

    Whew, easy-peasy! Can't wait for the next set of instructions! Thanks!!!

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  12. mel @ the larson lingoNovember 16, 2009 at 7:54 PM

    This makes sense! And, my fabric came today! But, I will be waiting to cut it until I go to Heather's house this week. Don't want to screw up my 1st attempt at sewing, so I will have the Master help me :)

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  13. JeannettNovember 16, 2009 at 9:43 PM

    woop woop! got mine all cut! (as a side note, for me, if I had my selvage lined up on the left, it would have been wrong...maybe my cutting mat is numbered differently than yours?)

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  14. JulesNovember 16, 2009 at 9:50 PM

    Here's some answers to questions...

    Carrie- I never prewash my fabric. I used to, but found that most quilting cottons don't bleed or shrink. It is also easier to sew with unwashed fabric because they are a bit stiffer and no crazy frayed edges to trim.

    Jen- Joann's is being shady with little FQ's!

    Jessica- I am using quilting cotton, but flannel would be really cozy. Nice idea!

    Jeanett- I have yet to understand the weird numbering of cutting mats. Glad you caught it before it messed everything up!

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  15. charcharrNovember 17, 2009 at 6:17 AM

    Thanks for the quick answer. I am going to cut this afternoon - without washing.

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  16. AnonymousNovember 17, 2009 at 6:45 AM

    did you prewash, iron and cut off all the crazy fuzzy edges first?

    Im assuming from the creases in your fabric that you didn't, LOL

    So I did and I dont think my fabric is going to measure out like yours. Maybe it will Im working on it today, I'll let you know.

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  17. AnonymousNovember 17, 2009 at 6:47 AM

    ok I guess I need to read comments 1st. bad lo!

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  18. Mary ElizabethNovember 17, 2009 at 6:52 AM

    Do we use all this on one scarf or is this what we will use to make 8 scarves?????

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  19. KellyNovember 17, 2009 at 7:42 AM

    So fun! These are going to be so cute! I'm making them for my small group girls and I think they're going to LOVE them! Can't wait to start sewing them up!

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  20. joyfullnessNovember 17, 2009 at 9:32 AM

    Girl!!!
    Julie!!! WITW!!!!????
    I totally am relying on the pictures!!I mean i have made me a scarf or two already..but now i'm all nervous...the numbers make me sweaty..and make my belly girggle!! I am so proud of you for making all of us feel like we can actually do this for-reals!!
    I almost feel like i am sitting in your new beautiful craft palace!!
    Happy day!

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  21. Heather @ Glitter and GlossNovember 17, 2009 at 8:02 PM

    I'm too afraid to cut. Maybe I'll wait for Heather. This is giving me anxiety. For reals.

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  22. Sweet PNovember 18, 2009 at 11:39 AM

    I chose my fabric, cut my fabric and blogged about it. No sweat! I'm going with Christmas-themed scarves.

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  23. Franny ZNovember 21, 2009 at 3:16 PM

    I know what you mean about JoAnn's! My fabric is almost all ~17.5 inches instead of 18!

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  24. reveal928November 8, 2011 at 2:18 AM

    Thanks for this - i'm going to get creative!
    art on canvas

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