getting crafty - hipster scarves

some of us are born crafty while others desperately want to be.  i am the latter, which is why in conjunction with two other method employees (who actually can craft), we have started the method “craft pod.”

our focus is creative reuse, which means taking things we already have (i.e. milk cartons, old wedding invitations, cereal boxes) and making them into something else.  this not only helps to create less waste, but it is a good way of clearing out unnecessary items from your home or office.

the other goal of our monthly crafting is to be able to finish a project in an hour or  less. this limits what we can do, but it allows us to be more realistic with our crafts. this is our lunch hour, after all.

(image from hellohoneyno.com)

our first crafty project was to make a scarf that requires no knitting or sewing.  in fact, all you need are some old t-shirts and a pair of scissors. our inspiration came from hellohoneyno, this old dress and punkn's.

the process is pretty simple.

1.    grab some cotton t-shirts you don’t wear anymore.  larger sizes tend to work better as do non-ribbed shirts with no side seams. small logos on the shirts work fine, too.
2.    grab a pair of fabric scissors if you have them, otherwise any scissors will do.
3.    lay the shirt out on a flat table in front of you.
4.    cut the hem off the bottom and put it aside.
5.    cut the shirt into 1-1 1/2 ”  horizontal strips all the way up to the armpit.
6.    grab 3-4 shirt strips in both hands, and gently stretch them out. the strips will naturally curl into themselves.
7.    once you have done this with many of the strips, it is time to get creative.  try draping them, wrapping one end with excess fabric, combining colors, braiding them, attaching beads, pins, old jewelry, etc.

as with most fashion, it is all how you style it. these scarves tend to look best when they are thicker and worn with a plain colored white, black or grey t-shirt so that the scarf really pops.

(braided scarf made by me and modeled by consumer responder sarah)

try it out and let us know what you think! this might just replace the old fruitcake at this year’s holiday gift exchange.

ps. have any other good crafting ideas? send them my way: anna [at] methodhome [dot] com

p.p.s. i think we might need a more clever name for our group than the craft pod. any ideas out there?