Easy Breezy Beaded Scarf Tutorial

I love accessories.  Scarves especially.  I found this lovely fabric at JoAnn Fabrics and wanted to turn it into a scarf, but I also wanted it to have a little more body to it, so I invented this beaded scarf.

It's really easy and could be done with any fabric and beads.  So easy, in fact, I wrote a tutorial for you.

All you need is some fabric, beads, and matching thread.  The piece of fabric I started with was "58 x 46" (it was the end of a bolt) and I used 42 beads.  Probably a package of 40 to 50 should work out perfectly or whatever you have in your stash. 

I wanted to make the most out of the fabric I had without putting a seam in it, so I cut a large piece from the center and on the bias (roughly 20 inches wide, but I didn't measure it), like this...

You can save the two corner pieces for your stash.  Then I used my sewing machine to stay stitch all the way around the edges of the fabric:

Now make a rolled edge stitch by hand along the same edge.  All you do is fold the edge under twice along the stay stitch and loosely stitch it in place.

I tried to do this part by machine, but the fabric didn't cooperate and I thought the hand stitching looked better.

Now I'll show you how to make these beaded gathers.

 

Thread your needle with a long piece of thread, but don't knot the end.  Start from the back of the fabric and bring your needle through to the front...

Now weave the needle back into the front of the fabric about a half inch away and then back through again another half inch away...

Now slip a bead on the end of the needle.

Then weave the needle back in and out of the fabric again, keeping the stitches about a half inch apart.

Carry the stitch to the back again...

Then flip the fabric over and pull the thread through.

Pull the thread tight and make a knot.  Then make two more, just to be safe.

Snip the ends about a half inch from the knot.

Flip over the fabric again and... VOILA!   A beaded gather!

Now repeat all over the fabric, but space them out so that they are in rows about 6 inches apart and stagger them.  I alternated rows of three and four gathers, like you can sort of see in this really sad drawing...

 

Maybe this pic is more clear?

 

A bunch of beads and gathers later and... HOORAY... you have a new beaded scarf!