Lagniappe: Scarf Ring

For this project, I revisited the olive diamond patterned knit I used to make a Loes Hinse Cowl Top. I didn't have a lot of fabric left, but there was an 18" piece at the end that was the full width. Not much, but more than I'd want to just toss. What to do with such a small piece?

My inspiration was a recent J. Jill catalog that featured a couple of sweaters with removable cowls, the perfect way to make my top more versatile and use that remnant.

 J. Jill So-Simple Dress

J. Jill So-Simple Pullover

I've been seeing scarves like this on lots of sewing sites and in RTW. The NY Times has gone so far as to declare convertible clothing a trend.

It would have been simple enough to wing it, but I used directions from a recent Vogue Patterns Magazine since I had them. Basically, sew a tube, beginning and ending the stitching about 4" from the ends of the fabric. Turn right side out and sew the ends of the tube together. Hand stitch the opening closed. Done! This quick shot shows what it looks like with the original garment:

My scarf ended up 64" in circumference and 8 1/2" wide, a generously sized scarf. While I first envisioned just a cowl neck, this is a good bit larger. It needs to be looped twice around the neck to look like a cowl.  I'm sure there are other configurations that I'll discover as I wear it. The scarf will also go with other items in my closet.

I'm never going to be one of those sewists who feels that she has to use every inch of fabric left over from a project. However, playing with remnants is a low-stress way to play around and think a little bit out of the box.

Lagniappe

I used to hear this word all the time back when I lived in Mobile, Alabama. It meant "a little something extra", a little surprise gift.

Well, this pincushion is my lagniappe from the second Vogue 8676 jacket.

I had several little scraps of the wool jersey on the table, as well as my pinking rotary cutter and acrylic ruler, and I started thinking of those felted wool pincushions that I've seen amongst fiber people at sewing workshops. The wool is supposed to be good for the needles and pins.

Hmm, even if the fabric didn't mat when washed, it's still wool, and the scraps are small and going into the wastebasket anyway, and...

The next thing I knew, I had cut several strips that I began tightly rolling together. A few stitches later to secure the end of the last strip, and I had a pincushion. A nice, but very plain pincushion. Then I remembered that I had some "cell phone charms" that I'd bought at Rami Kim's workshop a few years ago. I threaded the loop onto a large darning needle, inserted it into the center of the roll, and secured the loop with a few more stitches on the bottom side. Of course, I could have rolled the end of the charm into the pincushion when I started the project, but I had to insert it later since I was improvising.