I want a plaid blanket scarf.
The craving hit me suddenly, immediately. I was going through my clothes (I called it packing, but it was more figuring out what I can still wear in that annoying Most-of-My-Regular-Clothes-Don't-Fit-But-I'm-Not-Big-Enough-to-Fill-Out-the-Maternity-Ones-Yet Stage) and realized that I had a couple of sweaters that simply Could Not Be Worn without a blanket scarf. A plaid blanket scarf, to be specific.
The online search commenced. However, it quickly became clear that this was not going to be easy. My problem was twofold:
- Most of the ones I really liked were more than I cared to spend. Which wouldn't be the end of the world, except...
- I wanted it now. NOW, now. Like, as of yesterday now. When this bug hits, INSTANTLY is not soon enough for me. And unfortunately the ones that I found online, at least the ones that I liked, regardless of price, were not available in any stores near me. Did I mention that I wanted one NOW?
Commence Project Plaid Blanket Scarf.
Never mind that there is packing to do, that we close on our house in a mere one week and five days, that there are toddlers around. PRIORITIES, people. I simply cannot live another fall day without one.
So I made two.
Here goes:
- Purchase 2-2.5 yards of flannel. If you get lucky, your fabric store of choice (Jo Ann Fabric, in my case) will have a special display of "Fall Flannel", 50% off, to make it even better. Note that in the above photos, the scarf on the left is closer to 2 yards, the scarf on the right is closer to 2.5 yards (+ a little extra on the end of the roll). If you buy much more than 2.5 yards, you will end up not with a blanket scarf but an actual blanket, and will suffocate or at least sweat profusely if you try to tie it around your neck.
- Cut off all 4 edges of fabric (bonus: plaid flannel comes with built-in lines for you to cut on!). It's not the end of the world if your cut isn't perfectly straight (like say if you already packed your good fabric scissors so you use a not particularly sharp scissors instead), since you will be fraying the edges. Speaking of...
- Fray the edges. Pull loose threads on all edges until you get the amount of fringe you desire. Find something interesting on Netflix to binge watch; this step was more time-consuming than I expected.
- Put on a fabulously fall sweater and accessorize with your scarf. There are plenty of tutorials online about ways to tie a blanket scarf, so I'm not going to go there. Note that a 2-yard scarf will have much less "tying" possibilities than a 2.5 yard one. 2 yards is enough to loop around your neck once or twice, and looks cute with some fluffing and puffing. 2.5 yards will give you more leeway in tying options, such as braiding, knotting, etc.
- Add hot beverage of choice (coffee, tea, cider), grab the closest pair of suede boots, and find some leaves to frolic in. Your fall can now commence.