Pinterest Challenge: Scarf Shirt

I can't remember a time when I've ever worn a scarf. Which is odd considering how many of them I own. Fashion scarves decorate vases, and winter scarves just languish in my closet. When I had longer, static prone hair, even touching a scarf or winter hat was a recipe for disaster. The day after my short hair cut, I spent a couple hours trying to figure out a way to wear scarves like headbands. I didn't have to deal with any static. But I didn't come out of the experimentation with anything worth trying again.

The pile of scarves kept mocking me. And I kept meaning to add them to the give-away pile. Because my home is too small to hold things I don't use.

Then I came across a pin for a Scarf Shirt tutorial. Did I have some reservations? Absolutely. I love the look of it over at Stars for Streetlights, but as a fat* woman I had some serious hesitation about wearing something like that.

I started with a low-commitment version. After picking two scarves that were close to the same size, I used small safety pins to make a mock-up top. A little adjusting of the pins to make things fit better, and all in all, I was pretty pleased.

I deconstructed the whole thing, and put it back together right sides facing in. Since my safety pins had left small holes, I was able to pin it together with straight pins without needing to remeasure where my stitching should be.

Instead of stitching just a few strategic spots quiet like the tutorial, I went with four longer lines of stitching under each arm and across the shoulders.

Kind of like this... 

I didn't stitch all the way to the outside edge on either of my four lines of stitching because I wanted to keep some of the looseness of the original - and because I knew I'd need the room around my waist/hips.

Flipped it back outside-out and tried it on. I even roped my husband in to taking a couple pictures of me.

Front

Obviously it needs some dewrinkling to get those lovely fold lines out...

Back

I actually like the brown/print 'back' better. And while it is fully reversible, the pink/boxy 'front' just doesn't work (for me) as a back. You can also see the white tank top peaking out at the bottom where I left it open to give me a bit of extra room. 

I'm debating wearing it out tonight... I'm also digging through my collection for another large square (I have a lot of rectangles). I've got a lovely teal/green/cream that I would love to turn into a shirt - but so far no luck on finding a back for it. I might just have to go thrifting soon if I don't find something in my stash - although I suppose I could make a 'scarf' out of strap fabric for the back (especially if I get smarter with the overlock machine). Hmm...

Anyway - I'm pretty thrilled with the outcome. The hardest part was trying to stitch through the silky fabrics (practically impossible to back stitch, at least on my machine), but the entire project took about 10 minutes. A second one should take even less since I should be able to mark my stitch points based off this one rather than pinning it while wearing it. 

* Getting personal here: I realize 'fat' is a word that makes some people uncomfortable, but I'm more comfortable using it to describe my body than using words like chubby, curvy, plus size, or any of the other alternatives I've heard of. Loving my body (or even appreciating it) is an ongoing process for me, as is learning what kind of outfits make me happy/comfortable. Using the right-for-me words plays a part in that process.