Version #3: Embellish your fringe scarf with fabric pinwheels
Cut the fabric strips
These little pinwheels are similar to fabric yoyos, but they’re made from a strip of fabric. Yoyos are cut from full circles, so they’re a little bulkier with wools.
To make a fabric pinwheel, cut a strip of fabric 6″-9″ long by 1/2″-1″. Wider, longer strips will make bigger pinwheels, and narrower, shorter strips will make smaller ones. You can cut these from any scrap–don’t worry about grainlines. In fact, if you’re using a stripe, it’s fun to cut the stripes at all different angles.
For this scarf, I cut a variety of strips, and to be honest, I didn’t even measure how long my strips were. I simply gathered until I liked how full the pinwheel was.
Sew the pinwheel
For these, I like to work with doubled thread. So first thread your needle, then bring the ends together and knot the ends.
Starting on one edge, sew long gathering stitches about 1/4″ from the edge, moving the needle to the back then towards the front.
Pull on the stitches to gather the edge and form a small circle with the strip. Tie a knot to secure it.
To finish off the pinwheel, fold the short edge over the other short edge. Sew a few small stitches to secure the ends together. You can fold under the raw edge to make it clean or leave the free edge raw. Shoot, you could fringe the short edge and the outer edge of the pinwheel if you want! Choose your own sewing adventure here!
Continue making pinwheels until you think you have enough. About 20 will give you plenty of pinwheels for your scarf.
Add the pinwheels to the scarf
Arrange the pinwheels to the scarf ends. Pin them in place.
Attach the pinwheels to the scarf with small running stitches. Keep the stitches nearly invisible on the right side and about 1/4″ long on the backside.
Adding the pinwheels will take a little more time than just making you DIY fringed scarf alone, but it’ll also give it some extra sparkle.
Check out other ways you can spice up your DIY fringed scarf with 66 embellishment ideas for your sewing projects.
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Elizabeth Farr is the writer behind the Elizabeth Made This blog where she shares helpful sewing tips, step by step sewing tutorials and videos to help you explore your creativity through sewing. She has written sewing Eguides and patterns, been a featured teacher at Rebecca Page’s Sewing Summit and Jennifer Maker’s Holiday Maker Fest and her work has appeared in Seamwork and Altered Couture magazines. She also created a line of refashioned garments for SEWN Denver. When her sewing machine isn’t humming, she’s playing and teaching violin, and hanging around a good strategic board game with her husband and 4 kids.