DIY: The Braided Scarf

Good news everybody, we have six more weeks of winter! Don’t you think it’s time you made yourself a new scarf?

Usually when I want to make a scarf I just get out my knifty knitter loom and go crazy because I can neither knit nor crochet (still on the life list, #28). This time, however, I wanted to try something completely new!

Let’s Make a Scarf

You’ll Need

• Thick Yarn
• Thinner yarn in the same color – optional
• Scissors
• Yarn needle

Here’s the type of yarn I used.. I really love how it feels against my neck, it’s really soft and not at all itchy. It’s also really, really warm.

You can probably use whatever type of yarn you want. I’m just not sure it’ll turn out the same as mine. Proceed with caution!

I used a scarf that was around 1/3rd longer than the length I wanted the scarf I was making to be as a “ruler.” I didn’t cut the individual strands, but instead folded the yarn over and over until I had nine strands. You can go more or less depending on how many braids you want your scarf to be comprised of. I think that four braids composed of nine strands each looks the nicest.

Gather up the ends and cut. Please make sure that your yarn has not shifted first. You don’t want to end up with strands that are not the same size. It will only frustrate you.

Soft yarn is not something you want to waste.

Now take one of the ends and measure out about how long you want your tassels to be. Don’t go absolutely crazy though. Keep in mind that the longer your tassels are the shorter the actual body of the scarf will be.

Make a loose knot. Not so loose that it will be impossible to braid without it falling apart every ten seconds, but loose enough that you’ll be able to take it apart and make the braid longer/shorter. Don’t worry. We’ll tighten the knots when we’re done.

Now channel your inner nine year old girl at a slumber party and braid your little heart out. If you’re a male, don’t worry, you can pretend. It’s not too weird. Well actually it is, but we don’t have to tell anyone.

Stop when your braid is the size you want it to be and make another loose knot. Don’t worry about whether the tassels are even just yet. That’s all in the future.

It’s a no-brainer. Just keep making braids until you achieve the width that you want.

Go get your needle and thread the yarn through. It’s time to sew all these mo-fo’s together!

Now, you can use the same exact yarn to sew these puppies together, but I didn’t have a needle with an eye wide enough. Instead I used a much thinner yarn in the same exact color.

Now, I’m not saying this to try to scare you, but this is the most important step. It’s time for you to choose which side of the braid you want to be the front. Make sure to be consistent or you’re in danger of making your scarf look wonky.

I do respect your decision to skip this step though. I myself love to walk on the wild-side and wear things that have “personality.”

Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Time to sew!

To start take two braids and line them up by the knots. Insert your needle through the knot of the tassel on the right braid (the second braid). It should be incredibly easy if you haven’t already tightened all your knots. I told you! :P

**** Make sure to constantly check that the braids still line up because if you don’t you might end up with all the braids being extremely different lengths and you’ll have to re-do it. This happened to me and it was a gigantic pain in the B-U-T-T!

When you’re at the end DON’T pull the needle through the knots just yet. You should end with the string on the braid to the left of the one you started on. Just pull the needle off the your yarn and sew together the remaining braids. Remember to line them up by the knots of the tassels.

Here is a close-up of what the stitches look like.

Now it’s time to even up this baby. You’ll see that your braids are a little uneven [or a lot uneven if you didn't line them up right like I did the first time]. Don’t worry, this happens to everyone. Just take out the knot and unravel the braid until it is the perfect length. Then, obviously make a new knot.

Oooh. Look at how nice and even your scarf is now.

Now take the strand of yarn that you definitely did not pull through the knot and (after threading through a needle, duh) pull it through the not of the braid on the right. Just like you can see in the pictures above.

Cut your tassels down to size and you’re absolutely done.

Well, almost done.

You still have to wear it and look incredibly stylish. That’s the most important step. :)

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