Currently Stitching: Scrunchies

I was looking for something "simple" yet satisfying after weeks of trying new things that turned out to be more complicated than expected. They were still fun! But there were a lot of steps and trial and error! Sometimes a girl just needs something to turn out on the first try! enter, stage right!

THE SCRUNCHIEEEEE

For anyone else out there who struggles to find ways to hold their hair back and 

       a. having it look cute, and 

       b. not have it cut off the circulation to your brain,

Today's your day!

For one thing, these are adorable and very fun to make. For another, they're easy to adjust to your needs. There are so many ways to make scrunchies, including many videos and blogs with their best version, and they're all great! Today I'm going to share with you my helpful hints and preferred results!

First things first, choosing your fabrics! I worked with fat quarters and third yard cuts. If you have fat eights that would work as well. Please take a few minutes to press your fabric for accurate cutting.

I tried a few different sizes but found most success with 5 x 21 inch strips. Try to avoid cutting on the bias, it'll make it harder later on. (This just means cut along the grain so your fabric doesn't get stretchy - which leads to wonky seams). 

Once you have your strips cut and pressed, it's time to sew. Fold them in half, right sides together, and sew the short sides together with a generous quarter inch seam. Then press the seam open and flat (don't skip, it helps with preventing bulkiness). 

Next, place it seam facing down. Roll the two sides inwards towards each other until it looks like this. Try to roll them as small as possible.

Take the outer edges, from the seam side, and fold them over the center rolls. Then move to your sewing machine (like pictured above). I used a generous 1/4 inch seam to sew all the way around. You want to make sure there's plenty of material so the seams don't fray and the scrunchies don't pull apart after a lot of use.

Stop sewing with about 2 inches left before the starting seam. This is what you'll use to pull the scrunchie through at the end.

You'll end up with a tube like this. You can see where I left the gap for the end.

Now Enter: THE ELASTIC

I went with 3/8 inches in white. A lot of folks said they use 1/4, but I thought a little bigger would be easier to work with and hold up better over many uses. And after sewing with it, I would not want to go any smaller. There are so many colors, but I figured it'll be inside the fabric so it doesn't really matter.

I cut my strips at a generous 8 inches. I tried a few different lengths before deciding on this measurement. I liked that it created the scrunchie look, while still leaving wiggle room for overlap. It gives enough to fit around the wrist comfortably, but will hold hair back with a few turns. Try out different lengths to see what suits you best!

I clipped the elastic on to a pen and then pushed it through the tube. There's quite a few tools that can help you thread the elastic, but this is what I had today. You could also used a safety pin, clipped to one end, and pull that through, while holding the other end.

Once it's pulled through, overlap the ends of elastic and sew them together. 

Here are two samples of my sewn elastic. I know it ain't all that pretty to look at. But again, it's gonna be hidden in within the fabric. It's more important to me that it's secure and lasts a long time.

I did quite a few stitches, going back and forth over the same spot to make sure. I think some prefer to use a zig zag stitch to put the parts together. I've also seen people tie them two pieces in a knot. I didn't want the excess bulk and I really liked the finished look when I was done.

I also tried sewing the elastic together first and then inserting it into the folds. I saw one person use a hair tie, and then sew the circle around it. I did not care for that. But feel free to experiment.

Once it was all sewn up, I pulled it through the little gap I left. Then I top-sewed the hole shut, with the folds inside for a finished edge. You could also hand stitch it with an invisible stitch for a cleaner finish. But I didn't find the top stitch offensive, and hand stitching all of these would add a huge amount of time. Use coordinating thread if you want a more discrete look.

Of course, once I made one or two of them, I had to make bundles more! It was so fun to work through my fabrics for a variety of colors and designs!

I also noticed, that outside of holding back hair, they're also used as wristlets for keychains and the like. Which I think is a great idea! For a long time wrist adornments have been too loose or tight, unattractive, or uncomfortable. These are soft, adjustable and multi-purposed!

I feel like I have so much to look forward to after this successful test day! Thanks for reading til the end! Let me know the projects you're working on! I hope this inspires you to try making scrunchies too. Or whatever else you've been dreaming of making!