Living in California…I am not really privy to all of the winter fashion trends that much of the world is accustomed to. My idea of winter means a light rain jacket layered over a softshell or sweatshirt and maybe our normal riding gloves. Hats and scarves rarely make it into the picture. However my recent trip to Chicago revealed a big trend that I quickly became obsessed with (still on trend after a full winter of love last year): the Blanket Scarf.
I purchased one of these at Zara thinking it was brilliant to have a blanket I can carry with me always (particularly for movie dates or cool evening dinners). It is this big, fluffy monstrosity that really is only sorta practical, but I love it anyways. My next thought was “This would be great for the barn…if it was more manageable.” I set out to find fabric just a day or two after returning to California so I could make my own…sized down version. This is likely the easiest DIY project I’ll ever share!
I chose a lovely menswear style fabric that is soft, warm, but not too fluffy or thick. You can pick any fabric you want…as long as it’s woven and not a knit (there are some beautiful plaid flannels out there this time of year). I recommend you go with a coupon if possible (my fabric cost less than $5).
1. 
All you need is scissors and your fabric of choice. Your fabric yardage depends on your desired size. I had 1 yard cut which ended up being 1 yard x 1.5 yards. You can easily size up and if you want a square, check your yardage ratio before cutting. I decided for a rectangular shape. I was looking for something more manageable I could wear to the barn on the colder days so I didn’t want it too big.
2. 
Trim the finished edges off the fabric so you can create the fringe. Try and keep this as straight as possible so you don’t end up having to trim later. Try and trim the unfinished ends as straight as possible too if you have a pattern that helps you see the weave. It’s likely the cutter at the fabric store won’t have done a perfect job. If it’s not straight, you’ll run into a little problem…but not one you can’t handle (see #4).
3. 
Start to pull threads from the end of each edge to create fringe. The straighter the cut with the weave of the fabric, the easier this is to do (please note, the fabric I bought made it super hard to judge the weave direction, so it was harder to do a straight cut).
4. 
You’ll notice quickly if your edge isn’t straight – your fringe will not be uniform (if you cut perfectly straight with the weave of the fabric, you won’t have this problem). You can always go back and trim up the fringe to be straight later. Note this photo is of the edge mid-trimming. You can see on the top that the fringe is not even at all…and so I am fixing it by trimming an even edge starting from the bottom. IWe lost maybe an inch total to my scarf by having to trim up the edges.
5. Done! Easy! Now you’ve got a custom scarf for the barn that didn’t cost more than a few bucks and you won’t be so worried about ruining it. Enjoy!