Tutorial: Fringed Scarf Top

I made this tunic blouse out of handwoven silk scarf that I found at a thrift shop. These types of scarves are a great candidates for conversions into tops and some of the longer ones could be made into dresses.

Scarves like this one do vary greatly in width and length. If you need to take off length, cut a section out of the center and make a seam at the shoulders. If you need to cut width, take up the sides an equal amount at each side seam. If you do take up width, you will need to turn and hem the sleeve and slit areas. 

Another nice feature of using a scarf (one that doesn't require cutting) is that there is no hemming or finish stitching with the exception of the neck opening. This makes for a very fast project. I think a quick seamstress could have a top like this done in an hour or less.  

How-to:

Step One: Fold scarf in half short ways and right sides together. It is a good idea to press the fold to keep it all even as you check sizing and mark the locations of the armholes and slits.

Step Two: Hold the scarf up to your body and asses whether you need to take up excess fabric at the shoulders (to make the whole thing shorter) or at the sides (to make the whole thing narrower). Mark where you want the armhole to stop and where you want the slit to begin.  

Step Three: Pin up each side (between the armhole and the slit). Sew together each side seam. Be sure to back stitch at the beginning and end of each seam.

Step Four: Cut out the neck opening. You may wish to cut a shallow scoop (especially at the front), rather than a simply slit, as I did. I'm not entirely happy with the neckline and may redo it.

Step Five: Use seam binding or hem tape to finish the neck opening.

Other thoughts: In addition to taking a deeper scoop at the neckline, I am also considering adding some shearing under the bust line, but I think I will wear it a couple of times before I do anything else to it.