DIY: Circle Scarf

I know it's the start of July, so this DIY project might be a little out of place.  However, I've been wanting to make a circle scarf since it was weather appropriate and I have the time, so here it is.  Plus if you use a light material and don't get carried away with fabric, it can definitely be worn on cooler summer days.

There are really two methods you can take to doing this. The first is quite simple and requires no sewing:

1. Buy a very large (XXL or bigger) shirt and lay it flat on a surface removing any wrinkles.
2. Using a pair of scissors or a rotary fabric cutter (recommended) cut horizontally around the waist a strip of fabric the width you would like the scarf to be.
3. Also cut off the hem at the bottom to make it look clean and uniform. That's all there is to it.

The method I chose to take was a little more complicated, but allowed for more choices in fabric types and sizes.

1. Go to a local fabric store and buy any fabric of your choosing. I recommend 2 yards which will allow you to do a double loop of a good size.  You can change the length for whatever style you are trying to achieve.
2. Fold the fabric up a couple times so that when cutting the sides of the scarf you don't have to cut two yards of length, just a quarter of that.  It gives you a much straighter cut and makes it a bit easier.  Once again, I recommend the rotary cutter for this and a straight edge.  The width you choose is important.  Start bigger because you can always reduce the size.  If you have thin t-shirt-like material like I did, you will need a wider scarf than you probably realize to make it feel full.  I used approximately a yard for my width (seen in photo at the end of the post).
3. Go to a sewing machine, overlap the ends and sew together.  Since I had very stretchy and thin fabric, I used a zig-zag stitch to accommodate for stretching.  You can get creative with stitch colors if you want to mix it up.  I liked the rough look of the overlapping pieces stitched together, but if you want a neater seam and are lucky enough to have a serger, you can get a more professional look.

Final Result:

This is a really short and simple project that produces a great finished product and for a lot cheaper than you will find in a store.