A Must Have for the Art Supply Box -A Stenciled Scarf

Hi friends!  Happy to have you join me today. I’m Debi Adams and I love using stencils in all forms of art and today's project is no exception.  With the holidays approaching, I thought it might be fun to share an artistic twist on a gift I received last year that I think we all could use and is perfect for embellishing.  Though it was intended to be used as “potholder" scarf to wear when cooking in the kitchen,  I really think it translates well into an art scarf when painting and creating in general. I love the fact that this kind of purposeful scarf makes everything at arm's length and conserves on paper towels.  The towel at the bottom was created for wiping hands and water spills and will eventually be turned into art itself. Imagine all those fabulous layers of paint!  I think this would make a great gift for the artist who has everything. :)  

To make this post a bit more fun, and since it is the season for giving, I thought it would be awesome to have a **GIVEAWAY** for one of these scarves.  It will be left blank for you to decorate! Leave a comment or note here on my post on StencilGirl Talk and you will be entered to win.  That's it!  One winner’s name will be drawn and contacted on Monday, Dec. 21st.  (Since I will be mailing it, the giveaway is only available to those residing in the U.S.)  

Supplies needed to make this scarf:

1. StencilGirl® stencils of your choice-I used my Mushroom and Toadstool ATC Mixup Stencils, Rae Missigman's Mixup Botanical #2 and Wendy Brightbill's Bouquet Greenery.
2. Dishtowel-cotton or terry cloth towel-cut in half
3. 10” x 44” piece of cotton/cotton blend fabric (Pattern or plain is good and length can vary slightly.)  
4. Sewing Machine and Thread
5. Sponge/stencil applicator
6. Fabric Paints-I used Neopaque® Paints by Jacquard because they have good coverage and are soft when dry. Feel free to use any other fabric paints.  Follow manufacturer's instructions for best results. 

7.  Permanent Fine Tip Black Pen. 

Instructions:

*You can choose to embellish your towel before or after making the scarf. Because I was uncertain as to how much the paints would soak in, I chose to do mine before hand.  I applied the paints to the stencil using a piece of sponge.  When dry, I came back in with a fine tip pen and outlined the designs.  The stencils I chose are listed above.  

So now let's get started with the making portion... 

1. Cut the towel in half, horizontally. 

2. Cut a piece of fabric 10” x 44” long.  This can be altered for someone with a shorter torso.  I chose to purchase a piece of watercolor-type print but you can also go with a bolder pattern, solid or white. 

3.  Gather the raw edge of the towel at 1/2” and 1/4” and pull threads to match up to raw edge of the short ends of fabric, leaving 1/2” free on either side of the fabric. See 2nd photo below. 

4. Stitch the gathered towel and fabric together 1/2" from top edge.  Trim.  (Note that I left about 1/2 " of fabric from the end of the towel).

5.  Remove basting threads and fold scarf in half lengthwise, matching sides.  

6. Stitch edge closed, having seam finish where towel is attached.  See below.

7.  Turn scarf right side out and press seam to the back, inside middle.  Snip any threads. 

8. Turn scarf back over for front side.  

Optional: Top stitch scarf and towel together. It really looks finished this way. 

Ah, now put it into a pretty gift box and you are good to go!  

And that's it!   FYI, if you don’t sew, try looking into the Surebond Glue Gun for fabric.  Outside of the gathering stitch that you can accomplish by hand, the glue gun should do the trick.  Make sure to see if you can press it first though.  

And here's another idea...

Consider making the bottom half of your scarf from a non-terry cloth cotton towel like Aunt Martha's cotton towels and create a background from the “wiped” off paint.  Go back in later and layer with some fabulous StencilGirl® stencils!  Ah, the possibilities!  

Hope you learned something fun or new today.  Don't forget to comment to enter to win a scarf! 

XO,

Website/Blog: www.debi-adams.com

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