Secret Blanket
I'm adapting the term that floats around the sew-o-sphere of secret pajamas (e.g. really comfy clothes that work for real life) to match my latest addition, which is a secret blanket. I'm not sure I can say it's a fully me-made garment, as let's be honest, I cut a line down the middle of a scarf and added some trim, but hey, I made it work better for me!
Last year I purchased this huge, fuzzy scarf, thinking it would be wonderful. And it really was, but I mostly just wrapped myself up in it like a blanket when I worked from home, as it tended to be a bit overpowering when worn as an actual shawl/scarf. I did pull it off a few times, but it was just too bulky for the most part.
My first attempt to make it more manageable was just to cut off a piece and call it a smaller scarf. That didn't work, because the only way it was long enough to wrap around was diagonally, and now both pieces were too short for that. Last weekend I was organizing my fabric stash though, and I came across the small scrap I had left of this gorgeous boucle from my mini skirt, and the fabric matched perfectly - it was meant to be! My shawl can become a real garment!
It was a super simple refashion, with most of my time spent cutting 3" wide bias strips of the boucle for trim. For the shawl itself, I just folded it in half, slashed up the front and rounded out the neckline. I was originally going to fully bind the edges with my bias trim, but I liked the wider look with it just sewn on one edge, so I went with that instead. I added some topstiching along the seams to make sure there wasn't too much fraying, as well as I sewed about a 1/4 inch away from the edge of the trim for the same reason. Without further ado, my secret blanket!
Last year I purchased this huge, fuzzy scarf, thinking it would be wonderful. And it really was, but I mostly just wrapped myself up in it like a blanket when I worked from home, as it tended to be a bit overpowering when worn as an actual shawl/scarf. I did pull it off a few times, but it was just too bulky for the most part.
My first attempt to make it more manageable was just to cut off a piece and call it a smaller scarf. That didn't work, because the only way it was long enough to wrap around was diagonally, and now both pieces were too short for that. Last weekend I was organizing my fabric stash though, and I came across the small scrap I had left of this gorgeous boucle from my mini skirt, and the fabric matched perfectly - it was meant to be! My shawl can become a real garment!
It was a super simple refashion, with most of my time spent cutting 3" wide bias strips of the boucle for trim. For the shawl itself, I just folded it in half, slashed up the front and rounded out the neckline. I was originally going to fully bind the edges with my bias trim, but I liked the wider look with it just sewn on one edge, so I went with that instead. I added some topstiching along the seams to make sure there wasn't too much fraying, as well as I sewed about a 1/4 inch away from the edge of the trim for the same reason. Without further ado, my secret blanket!
Sorry for the crappy phone photos - I took down my tripod and need to get it set back up again. They really don't convey the beautiful colors of the two fabrics, which you can see better below.
Binding outside Binding inside
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