Cotton Scarf

In the last few months my craft bug has been active and my yarnworks just aren't enough at the moment.  So, I did the only natural thing and promptly ordered a sewing machine off Amazon.  After a busy week, I finally had some time to take it out of the box, figure out how it works (it took a few tries to load the bobbin correctly) and start sewing!

This is my first official sewing project.  At least in adulthood.  I did make a pretty good stuffed turkey for Thanksgiving one year when I was in elementary school, but since moving out of my mother's house I haven't had access to a sewing machine.  Or the interest, really.  But now that's all changed.

I originally wanted to make my mom some nice kitchen towels, but after searching two stores I couldn't find the right fabric.  Instead, I decided to make this scarf that I found on the Purl Bee, naturally.  After spending over an hour in the fabric store, I finally decided on three prints.  The pattern suggests using two prints and one solid, but I couldn't find a solid I liked and thought that these three fit well together.

The pattern also calls for torn edges, giving the contrasting border fabric a frayed look.  However, since I bought a print, I couldn't really do that because both the "right" and "wrong" sides would be showing (not that you could necessarily tell based on 1/4 of an inch that peeks through, but still).  I also thought Mom might like the slightly more polished look of a finished edge.  To do that, I just cut 1.5 inch strips of the orange fabric, folded them in half, and ironed them flat.  

Here's the finished product.  I really like the way the fabrics contrast and go at the same time.  And I love the pop of brightness the orange print adds to the overall look.

I think it turned out quite well for my first project.  I had a few little mistakes, and had to sew over a couple of areas twice because I didn't catch the fabric on both sides, but all in all I'd say it's pretty good for my first time!  Let's hope Mom likes it...