Trying To Keep Warm...

Going to college in northwest Missouri during the winter was brutal. We students affectionately referred to the trek between the residence halls and campus 'The Tundra', due to the cold, whipping-winds that cruelly smacked us in the face. It would get so cold, I remember burying my face in my coat, peeking through a tiny opening just so I wouldn't smack into something

(I learned that lesson the hard way).

This isn't a post of me whining how I walked up hills in the snow both ways to class (although I did). Rather, these frigid Iowa days made me wish I would have had one of these cowl neck scarves to keep me warm back in the day...

(picture courtesy: Shopstyle)

They really are perfect! I pretty much live in them all. day. long. For the most part, they are keeping me from complaining of how freezing I am and wishing I were going some place warm for the winter.

You can find cowl neck scarves (or infinity scarves) anywhere, including some really adorable ones on Etsy, but I'm sort of on a budget, so I decided to DIY my own...

*I broke out my trusty vintage sewing machine, and set to work. I grabbed a scarf I already owned, matched the ends together (if there is a patterned side, flip your scarf over so the seam will be on the inside or UN-patterned side) and sewed a straight stitch across the ends. You will probably want to switch to the sturdiest needle (I think it's purple) to get through the layers without breaking your needle:

To keep it from being a bulky seam, be sure to sew no more than a 1/4 inch. When you are finished, you should have one continuous loop:

Simply slip the scarf over your head, twist once to wrap it a second time and voila!

What's nice about DIY-ing your own, is that when the cowl scarf fad ends (sad face), you can simply remove the stitching with a seam ripper and it's back to business as usual!

*Don't have a sewing machine? You can also do a simple hand stitch across the seam to hold the ends together. Or, if you just want to hold it temporarily for more flexibility, use safety pins.