By Victoria Stone
LONG BEACH CA Here’s a little something that’s a big help.
While many of you know me as someone with short hair, I have grown it out in the last two years. As I’ve hit shoulder length and finally escaped the world of bobby bins and barrettes, I’ve been on the hunt for some decent scrunchies.
In my search, I realized I could simply make my own. I poked through some online tutorials, disemboweled one of my favorite scrunchies, and then sat down to make myself a handful of fun hair accessories with some yukata cotton that I had on hand.
First I cut a yard of yukata cotton in half. Then I cut the half-yard pieces into 3" by 18" strips. This meant that a full yard yielded eight scrunchies. I chose a handful of small geometric patterns that I thought would look fun.
The goal was to make a 9” double-layered tube with a ring of elastic inside. I folded a strip lengthwise together and seamed down the long edge, leaving a gap in the stitching towards one end.
As I was using hand-dyed yukata cotton, I didn't have to worry about right and wrong sides. If you’re using printed fabric, put the right sides together for this step.
I turned the end opposite the gap into the body of the tube. Using a bodkin, I pulled that end through the tube to the other end. This can also be done with a safety pin. I now had a 9" tube with two layers of fabric.
After lining up the open ends, I carefully machine stitched around the tube. If you’re more capable with a needle and thread than I am, it’s also quick hand work.
I turned the tube right side out through the gap in the long seam.
Because my hair is very straight, most hair bands tend to slide right off. I went for a short 7" piece of ¼" flat elastic so my scrunchies will hold tighter.
(For regular hair, use 8" of elastic; for thick hair, use 9".)
I threaded the elastic through the gap in the tube. Once the second end appeared, I pinned both ends of the elastic together. Then I ran the two ends through my machine with a zigzag stitch, going back and forth several times.
Finally I blind stitched the gap shut by hand.
I was so pleased with myself that I just kept going and had a handful of hair accessories within an hour.
Now I’ve got a decent collection of scrunchies for myself, and maybe a few to send up to Patricia to wear while working in her indigo field.
To see the complete selection of geometric yukata cotton in the Okan Arts Japanese Textile Shop +click here
