No Knit Yarn Scarf

Have some extra yarn lying around but not enough to knit something?  Perhaps you want to make something unique and original for a gift or to keep for yourself?  If so, try out this super easy no knit yarn scarf.  I work part time at Joann's and I always find fun little crafting projects I want to try.  This particular one seemed really easy to do so I decided to give it a whirl.  If you can sew a straight stitch on your sewing machine, you can do this project.  The scarf I made I gave to my friend for her birthday and she absolutely loved it.  There's just something special about handmade gifts.  The project instructions at joann.com are pretty straightfoward, but I did end up adjusting some of the steps after a little trial and error.  You can find the Joann directions here. 

  What you'll need:

-- Assorted yarns of different thickness and textures

-- 1 package Sulky Super Solvy water-soluable stabilizer

-- Sulky KK2000 adhesive (or any other brand of temporary adhesive_

-- Coordinating thread

-- Scissors and a sewing machine


You want to choose yarns that vary in thickness and texture.  The thicker wool yarns add body and stability to your scarf, but it's the textured yarns that will give it a little bit of flair.  Fun Fur, Angel Hair and Cello type yarns add texture and depth to the scarf.  Whatever color you choose to make, be sure you have enough yarn so that it is the predominate color.  I made my scarf purple, but used a few strands of black and grey as accent pieces.  Once you've got your yarn picked out, it's time to create!                                         

Step 1:  Cut your yarn pieces about 70" long.  The Joann directions say to cut your pieces 62", but I found that was too short for the scarf I wanted to make.  If you cut your pieces long, you can always go back and trim the ends when you're finished.  I think I cut my pieces about 72" and trimmed the ends afterwards.  For the scarf I made, I think I cut about 50 pieces from the yarn I selected.  Once you have your yarn cut, arrange the pieces to your liking.  You want to make sure a lot of the same pieces of yarn are not bunched together in one section.  The yarn will be wrapped up in a sense, so perfect order isn't necessary as long as you don't have one section of your scarf all the same (if that makes sense).

Step 2:  Cut the Solvy into five 5 by 12 pieces.  Joann says five 5 by 10" pieces, but I thought that wasn't long enough to wrap around my scarf.  If the Solvy isn't long enough, it won't cover the yarn and you'll have a hard time sewing it together.  So, I cut my pieces 12" long to make sure I had enough room to wrap around my yarn.  Once you have your Solvy cut, spray the Solvy with your temporary adhesive.  Be liberal with your adhesive!  You want the Solvy to really stick to the yarn otherwise it will be a hassle to sew.  Don't be afraid to really cover the Solvy with your adhesive!

















Step 3:  Wrap your Solvy pieces around the yarn to create five flat Solvy covered areas.  You want to try and evenly space out the Solvy pieces about 5 to 6 inches apart.  It doesn't have to be exact, but you want to be sure you have spaced out the Solvy enough so that when you're ready to sew, there are even gaps of non-Solvy covered areas inbetween the Solvy pieces.  When you have your yarn all wrapped up, the width of your scarf should be anywhere from 5-7 inches. 

Step 4:  Sew the Solvy pieces back and forth about 1/4" to 1/2" apart.  This doesn't have to be perfect either!  You just want to be sure you've sewed together all the pieces of yarn in all five sections so that the yarn won't come loose when you're finished. 

Your Solvy covered pieces should look something like this when you've finished sewing.   Trim off the extra thread if desired. 

Step 5:  Dissolve the Solvy in water.  You can do this several different ways.  You can submerse the whole dang scarf to dissolve the stabilizer, or you can submerse just the Solvy covered areas in a bowl (which is what I did), or you can stick the Solvy areas under running water (which takes longer).  I tried to just submerse the Solvy areas because I didn't want my whole scarf to get wet.  Some of the yarn I choose didn't look as good after it got wet, so I tried to be careful and just get the Solvy areas wet.  It's up to you which way you want to dissolve the stabilizer.





Step 6:  Lay your scarf flat to dry.  It should take about a day to complety dry out.  Trim the fringe pieces to even the ends up.  (I wish the finised product pictures turned out better, because I think the scarf actually looks better than this in person.)  Once it's dry, enjoy your new scarf! 

I am well aware that I am not super-crafty, but this was easy for me to make and so I think it would be easy for anyone to make.  It took me about 2 hours to complete this project, cutting the yarn pieces took the longest, but after that the steps were very easy and quick.  I made this scarf for a friend and she loved it.  I think one of these days I will make one for myself, too!