Introduction: Neck Gaiter With Fleece Liner

By
About: 87 yo retired engineer, programmer, mathematician. Married to my beloved 62 yrs. Two grown sons.

Neck
gaiters are form-fitting but not WARM. Shopping at Walmart, I saw some fleece remnants that were cheap. Fleece is WARM but, alas, not stretchy. How about a fleece-lined neck gaiter? You will need:

  • A neck gaiter - knit and stretchy
  • Fleece - a 36 inch square should be enough. I cut mine out of a larger remnant.

Step 1: Measure Around Your Face Under Your Chin

Put on the
neck gaiter. (Take your glasses off first. Guess how that occurred to me.)

Adjust the opening around your face. Measure around your face under your chin. I got 26". I added four inches for incompetent measuring and sewing = 30 inches.. I could cut off any excess.

Step 2: Measure Your Head - Forehead to Back of the Neck

Measure
around your head from mid-forehead down the back of your neck below your collar line. All attempts to take a picture without a helper proved to be futile. I measured 16". Add four inches for incompetence = 20 inches. I could cut off any excess.

Step 3: Before Cutting

So the
fleece liner will be tube 26" in circumference and 20" long. Here's the layout before cutting. Ketchup bottle kept the material from sliding off the table.

Step 4: Fold and Pin the Liner

Next, I
folded the fleece with a four-inch flap (to make 26" circumference). I pinned the fold. When I asked my beloved how many pins she would recommend, she said plenty. Because I'm not a very good pinner, I couldn't guarantee getting two layers and not three, I inserted a small cutting board into the pinned tube to protect the third layer. You could use a cookie sheet or anything flat and pin-resistant.

Photo shows after pinning for the seam. Pins have white heads.

Step 5: Sew the Seam

The
liner is now a tube. To sew the seam, I sewed half-way, then turned the tube around and sewed the other half of the seam. My inexperience made the seam a little uneven but as long as it would go over my head … anyway it doesn't show. So now I tried the liner on

Step 6: Test the Fit of the Liner

It fit

well. Now to whack away the excess. I decided to keep the fold so the "turkey skin" on the front of my neck would be WARM. I decided to keep the excess length in front so I wouldn't have to zip my jacket all the way up to stay WARM. So I cut away the excess in back. Using the shoulder seams as a guide, I slit both sides up four inches.

Step 7: Mark the Cut Line in Back

Then I
marked a smooth curve to the 16" forehead to collar mark (over the top of the head).

Step 8: Cut Away the Excess in Back

Remove the excess liner fleece to the marked line. The liner is now complete.

Step 9: Sewing the Liner Into the Gaiter

The relaxed circumference of the gaiter is
much smaller than the circumference of the liner. My original design, allowing for my sewing skills featured tacking the top of the gaiter and liner at four points around the tube.

Here are the first two tacks - indicated by the crossed threads. One at the chin; the other at the forehead.

Step 10: Sewing Around the Top

After
sewing the quarter points, donning the tube was a mess. Sewing all around the top of the tube meant stretching the gaiter to line up with the liner while guiding the seam line while managing the sewing machine - way beyond my skills. My beloved agreed to do it.

Result: Note the "bib" in front.

Step 11: Tack the Gaiter and the Liner at Bottom of Center Back

On and off
a coupla times … the bottom of the gaiter needed to be tacked to the center back of the liner. You can't see the tack - black thread, dark blue gaiter.

Step 12: Donning Instructions:

  • Take your glasses off first. Guess how I discovered this.
  • Hold the back-of-the-neck tack.
  • Dive in head-first.
  • Keep pulling fabric down over your head until you see daylight
  • Pull the front of the gaiter down around your chin.
  • Push and pull until everything is arranged
  • Put your glasses on.

Step 13: Doffing Instructions:

  • Take your glasses off.
  • Pull the gaiter up over your chin.
  • Pull fabric up hand-over-hand until you are released.
  • Put your glasses on.

Step 14: Windup:

You and I could wish for a better looking model.

Camouflage was my only choice at Walmart. A light solid color would have provided better contrast in the photos.

Stay WARM!

Step 15: