A real stunner

I'm working on scarves right now.  I probably had about 20 cashmere sweaters in all different colors.  These were a huge seller for me last year and I like making them.  It's similar to my patchwork purses of years ago but the cashmere makes them very luscious and very decadent.

This one is so pretty I thought I'd post some shots.  Usually one sweater becomes the inspiration for the scarf.  In this case, of course, it was the argyle.  A major find at the thrift store.  The argyle was only on the front of the sweater.  The back and sleeves were the beautiful turquoise color.  Then I had some pale green cabled cashmere and some butter yellow.  Funny how butter yellow looks good in almost any combination.  The final sweater in the combo was an amazing pale blue given to me by my good friend, Katie.  The sweater was vintage and the color was the precise color of robins' eggs.  Pale blue with tiny flecks of yellow and green.  Perfectly subtle and, well, perfect.

I always use the ribbing of the sweater for my fringe.  The vintage sweater had about 6 inches of ribbing but I only cut about half of it into fringe.  The edges are pinked and the double layer of cashmere makes for an amazingly luxurious scarf.

By the end of next week I'm hoping to have all the different scarf combinations listed on my Etsy shop.  http://www.ragingwool.etsy.com/   I listed this one yesterday afternoon and have already had 2 convos about it.  Sometimes you just know something is going to get a lot of attention, yes?

One of my repeat customers told me "It's almost RagingWool season."  I loved that and couldn't agree more.

We're off to New Hampshire for a reunion this weekend.  More sewing starting Monday morning.  Have a great weekend yourself.

Scarves Everywhere!

I'm trying to finish up a big pile of cashmere scarves. As mentioned in an earlier post, I get old cashmere from thrift shops, friends, etc. I wash and dry the sweaters and cut out the seams and necks. Usually I throw out those bits but lately I've been saving them to use as stuffing for my heart pillows or unknown, future adventures.

With all the strips cut, I lay out a two-sided scarf. This one will be a longer scarf in shades of purple with some lime green thrown in. I loved that argyle sweater I found so I make sure that strips with the argyle are on the ends so they're visible when the scarf is worn.

After laying it out, I pin the sections together and go to the sewing machine. I use a special stitch that makes a cross-hatch pattern to sew the pieces together. I do not make a seam per se. The edges are butted together and then sewn. You could use a wide zigzag that's fairly compact (settings of 5 for width but about 2 for length so the zigs are close together). Anything to pull the edges together with few gaps.

Sewing together a long scarf takes about 10-15 minutes. Then I press the whole thing and pink the edges. I try to leave any ribbing hanging free on the ends so I can cut fringe using a small, sharp scissors.

Here's the finished scarf. You can see the buttons in the picture. If a cashmere sweater has some detail like a pocket or buttons. I try to save that detail and use it in the scarf.

My shorter scarves are done in the exactly way but they are only 36 inches long. I piece them and sew them together leaving about 8 inches at each end un-sewn. Then I embellish the ends. This one used a circle motif. I pre-cut the circles and applique them on one layer of cashmere using a tight zigzag. I love the way these look and they only use small bits of cashmere.

The shorter scarfs are a muffler type. I sew in a long buttonhole (about 4 inches) so one end can pass through. My sewing machine has the capability of making a buttonhole of any length. You can see more original sweater buttons on this scarf. The circles are made from cashmere scraps from cutting the strips and also some tweedy recycled wool that picks up all the color of the scarf. I love the combination.

The last picture shows two of the short-type scarf. Similar in color and style, but still one-of-a-kind. These will sell for about $40-50. It's a great deal for a pure cashmere scarf, I think. I remember a few years ago I saw a Neiman-Marcus ad for a similar design. Retail was about $175! Hmmmm...

Tomorrow and Friday are men's scarves. Less embellishment but still beautiful.