This usamimi tutorial is a reader request post, see I’m slowly making my way through them all!
Lately everywhere I turn around someone is wearing one of these funny little pointy scarves…
Image found via Google, credit to the owner (who I couldn’t find). I make no claims to own this photo and would be happy to remove it should the owner have a problem with it’s use.
Apparently the points are supposed to look kind of like bunny ears depending on how they’re worn. They seem to be really popular in Gal fashions at the moment! I don’t know how much these go for but if they’re anything like other imported accessories they can get pretty pricey! Anyway a couple of you have requested a tutorial on how to save some money and make one so here it is! ^_^ What you need for this particular usamimi tutorial:
I decided to go one step further on the saving money front and instead of using fabric I saved time and effort by using a pair of stockings that I bought but didn’t end up fitting 😀 They had a cute patten so I’ve been looking for another way to use them and this is perfect! |
So first step! If you’re using fabric, measure out how long you need the scarf to be (measure around your head and then add extra for the point little ears) and cut two long rectangles. Because I am using stockings I’ve skipped this step.
Now cut the ends into points. I folded mine in half to ensure that the ends were exactly the same shape.
If you are using normal fabric then sew down the straight sides to form a long tube (don’t sew the ends yet!). If you’re using stockings then you already have a long tube like below ^_^
Now get your thin wire ready! I am using 2 lengths of wire because the wire I had was too thin to shape the fabric properly. So cut a length of wire that is long enough to go all the way around the outside of your tube. Leave an extra few inches so there is room to tie the ends together.
Turn your tube inside out. Fold the wire in half.
Using your needle and thread, sew up the pointy end. Use a plain old running stitch, nothing fancy. I’m hand stitching because my sewing machines are all in storage but if you can use a machine or an over-locker I would definitely suggest it!
Now let’s start adding the wire, this is what will make the ear parts nice and stiff. Line the wire up with the point and starting from there use a blanket stitch to attach the wire to the edge of the fabric. When you stitch you should only pick up a few threads from the fabric, this will ensure that when you turn it inside out you can’t see gigantic stitches.
Keep going all the way down the side until you reach the other open edge. If you started out with fabric that you sewed together then you might just be able to weave the wire through the stitches you already made.
When you get to the other end use a running stitch to close up one side and then continue with the wire up the edge. You should have a little wire overlapping the edge which we will use to close it up later.
Now repeat along the other side but stop when you reach the opening.
Now using the hole, turn the whole thing inside out…
This is roughly what you should end up with…
And as you can see I have left over wire poking out from the top.
Cut the wire down so it’s only 1cm longer than the tip, then twist the two ends together and fold them down. And you end up with this:
Now hold it flat, fold the raw edges in and sew up the gap like in the picture below. Try to hide your stitches as much as possible by only poking through a tiny bit of the exposed fabric. Make sure to sew the points of the wire really well so it doesn’t pop through ^_^
You hopefully end up with something like this…
Which will hold it’s shape like this!
And when you put it on you will look something like this XD
So there you have it! They are really quick and easy to make and very popular right now ^_^ Let me know if you give the usamimi tutorial a go!