How to Make a Scarf From a Sweater Sleeve

Use the sleeves of old sweaters to create warm soft scarves.

Sweaters keep your arms and torso warm, but just as with other types of garments they wear out over time and styles change. The warm knit fabric of a sweater that's no longer in style or with a hole in the armpit isn't useless. Recycle your worn and out-of-date sweaters into new scarves to keep your neck warm during the cold winter months by repurposing the sleeves.

Things You'll Need

• Old sweater
• Scissors
• Sewing machine

Instructions

1. Machine wash and dry the sweater if it was only hand washed and laid flat to dry in the past. This tightens the knit of the sweater slightly, making it easier to work with.

2. Cut both sleeves of the sweater at the shoulder. Turn one of the sleeves inside out.

3. Tuck the right-side-out sleeve in the inside-out sleeve lining up the top edges and the seam of each sleeve, if they have seams.

4. Sew around the top edges of the sleeves with a straight stitch to attach them to one another. Sew around the top edges again with a zigzag stitch that falls just off the edge to encase the cut edges of the sleeves.

5. Pull the inside sleeve out from inside the other sleeve. This will also turn the inside-out sleeve right side out to complete the scarf.

References

• Uncommon Goods: Recycled Sweater Sleeve Scarf