DIY Tutorial: Tubular T-Shirt Scarves

Last Updated on October 9, 2019 by Kim - Cal State

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Winter is just around the corner, and you know what that means: scarf season!

Yes, one of the best parts of winter’s arrival is my favorite style basic: scarves. They’re easy to throw on and a definite staple for fall. Problem is, scarves cost money, so being the economically responsible person I am, I decided to whip up not one but TWO scarves from one shirt, and best of all, they’re FREE!

So do you know what time it is? That’s right- get your scissors out, girls: it’s DIY time! I’m going to show you how to make a fringed scarf AND a tube scarf from one t-shirt, all for $0 dollars. Eat your heart out, American Apparel.

What You Need:

1. An oversized, old, and/or unwanted t-shirt
2. A marker (or something to make marks with)
3. Scissors

How to Make the Fringe Scarf

Step 1:

Take the shirt of your choosing and turn it so the side you want to be visible is on the inside.

If you want to hide the decal or whatever, make sure the decal is on the outside and vice versa. However, I just want to make a note that if you use a shirt with a design on it, the design colors will probably become visible one way or another because the fringe will flip sometimes. So If you want a solid colored fringe scarf, use a shirt with no design on it.

Step 2:

Measure out about 10 or so inches and make a mark in the center of the shirt. Then make a mark on each side of the shirt about one inch above the bottom of each shirt sleeve. Connect all three dots in an arch-like shape (see above).

Step 3:

Cut off the shirt sleeves. (This makes it easier to cut out the scarf shape.)

Step 4:

Cut along the arched line you drew earlier and pull apart. (Make sure you cut both layers!) Put the bottom half aside (we will use it later).

Step 5:

Make a mark under the center of the neck hole and then measure about an inch away from both ends of the neck hole and make two other marks. After you make the marks, connect them by drawing another arch. (Don’t stress, it doesn’t have to be perfect, it’s going to be round no matter what.)

Step 6:

Cut along the arch line you drew and pull apart.

Step 7:

Starting at the center, cut a straight line until you get to about half an inch away from the top of the fabric. (Make sure you are cutting both the bottom and the top layers.) Then measure about 2 centimeters to the left or right and cut another line. Repeat this until you get the whole piece of fabric looking like the above picture.

Voila! Scarf 1 Complete!

It should look something like this:

My scarf has lots of colors because the inside of the shirt I used had red and blue designs on the shirt.

I really like it – it’s very Parisian. However, if you want your fringe scarf to be one solid color, try and find a shirt with no design on either side in the color of your choosing, or get creative and experiment with shirts with different patterns.