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Couch Scarf and Flapper Hat from Men's Shirt

Couch Scarf and Flapper Hat from Men\
Look closely and you will see that the front of the flapper hat is actually the collar of a shirt. This scarf, which is made from the same extra-large men's shirt is incredibly warm and comfortable as well. I am somewhat nostalgic and I like being comfortable. So, I decided to combine the two for this contest  to create a scarf with a cushion look to resemble an old-timey arm chair as well as a matching flapper hat.

My inspiration came from the oversized men's shirt below. I couldn't bare to just get rid of it because the fabric was so nice, but none of my male friends really wanted it either, so I held on to it until I thought up the hat and scarf. You could use other articles of unwanted clothing for the scarf, but the flapper hat works especially well when made from a collared shirt.

This instructable requires time and some patience, but is well worth it!

Main photo by M. Scott Brauer
 
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Step 1Preparing Materials

Preparing Materials
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Things you will need:

Extra-Large Men's Shirt
Approximately 40 round-topped Buttons
Batting
Needle and Thread

1. The first thing you will need to do is take the men's shirt apart. You can either cut along the seams or use a seam-ripper to carefully undo all the stitching. Seam-ripping can be tedious and time-consuming, but leaves you with a little more flexibility as far as material size goes.

2. Next you need to figure out how wide and long you want your scarf to be. This scarf is double-sided in order to add the batting.You may be limited by the size of the shirt you are using for material, but mine ended up 22cm x 160cm (8.6in x 63in), which is just the size I wanted it. I found the best parts of the men's shirt to use for the main scarf were the two front pieces and the large back piece cut in half. These pieces mirror each-other, making it easier to form front and back sides.

3. Once you figure out which pieces you want to use for the scarf, you can make them rectangular by ironing the curved sides in. Make sure to measure as you iron to keep the width consistent in all four pieces.
note: I left the original curves of the the shirt at the ends because I think they look nice and they make the scarf a little longer. If you want square edges, just iron those edges under as well.

4. After you get all four pieces the same width, pick one of the pieces from the front and one from the back of the men's shirt to sew together along the width. This will be the middle of the scarf. Repeat with the other two pieces. After sewing the pieces together you should have two long pieces that mirror each-other and are the same width.  Iron the seam so that it lays flat (this will be inside the scarf).

5. Next, find two pieces that are as wide as the scarf wide that you can add as frill at the ends and cut them your desired length. I used leftovers from the back of the shirt.

6. Now it is time to sandwich the batting and the frill pieces between the two main scarf pieces and pin it all together.  (See photo below.) The more you pin the less likely things are to slip when you sew.

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12 comments
Jun 16, 2011. 2:20 PMlady tradey says:
fantastic! love the cat..so helpful aren't they?
You've got such a professional looking result with this hat. Thank you for adding this to instructables.Very inspiring.
Dec 1, 2010. 5:48 PMtbcross says:
just found this but I wanted to say how much I love this ible. Very cool thanks for sharing :)
May 10, 2010. 5:46 PMshrekgirl2 says:
amazing! love what you've done. you can tell how much you loved the shirts' fabric.
really really grate work~~!!
May 5, 2010. 10:58 AMAnaLou says:
I really like how you integrated existing parts of the men's shirt into the hat and scarf. Like the cuffs and the original buttons.

Apr 2, 2010. 10:22 AMgtrachel says:
I love this project!  The hat is adorable.  I couldn't help noticing you have a vintage singer - is it a 201?  I have one, too.  It's a killer machine and also a beautiful piece to look at.  Cheers to cast iron machines!
Feb 23, 2010. 2:32 PMLindie says:
That is really nice!  Great job! :-)
Feb 14, 2010. 6:52 AMMaureclaire says:
Love it !!! Soooo creative !!!
Feb 12, 2010. 4:25 AMKMOM14 says:
Looks great!
Feb 11, 2010. 4:08 AMac1D says:
Cute cat!
Feb 10, 2010. 10:09 PMseamster says:
Hey, that's a nice old sewing machine!

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Author:unexpired(Unexpired Etsy Shop)
Hello! I am a total hoarder and love sharing my passion for making useful things from refuse! If you like my stuff follow me on Instructables and check out my Etsy shop!