For this project you need:
1 yard* each of the shawl color of your choice and a backing fabric.
NOTE: The wider the fabric the better. (*Ideally you can find 2 fabrics that are both 60" wide. Unfortunately for me one was 56" and one was 42" so I had to get 1 2/3 yards of my backing fabric).
2 1/2 yards of fringe
White fabric (this will be for the flame so size is entirely up to you. Mine ended up being about 14x11 so well under a yard.
Thread, machine, scissors, all that
To start fold the fabric in half. You want the end result wide and long so double check your folding before you cut. Cut it in half diagonally and you're pretty much halfway there. Version 1.0 did not have a backing fabric, I just sewed on a flame and a fringe and called it a day.
Since I wanted to try to have nice seams for version 2.0 I decided to have a backing fabric. Once your main piece is cut out, pin it to your backing fabric and cut that out too. Set that aside and grab your shawl fabric. Before we sew these together we want to get the flame on there so the stitching doesn't go through the backing fabric.
Buttons printed out a flame template but I couldn't find a good one that would print out as large as I wanted it. I drew my own freehand for version 1.0 and just decided to trace it onto parchment paper from that version. Cut it out and pin it to the white fabric that you've chosen. Cut around that and you're ready to start sewing
NOTE: Buttons is White Ajah. When I made HER version 1.0 shawl I just drew the flame on with fabric marker. I believe she'll be doing a tutorial on how she manages that little issue so I'll leave that for her.
Shawl 1.0 has a linen flame and since I just straight stitched around the edge of it, I'm already getting some fraying. So this time around I used a VERY short zig zag (.5) instead of a straight stitch. This gave it a very applique look to it. It takes a lot more time but I am thrilled with how it actually turned out and I don't think fraying will be an issue.
Now it's time to grab that backing fabric and pull out your fringe. I wanted to try a shawl sandwich this time, where I layer the right side of the shawl fabric, the fringe (hanging inside the shawl, NOT OUTSIDE), and the right side of my backing fabric. You should have just a nice straight edge to sew. Once you sew those together flip them right side out and you should have a wonderful seam and fringe hanging out.
Once I verified that everything was hanging the way it was supposed to, I flipped the whole thing inside out again and zig zagged over my original stitch just in hopes that holds better.
The only issue I think I have with doing it this way is the point of the shawl.
I tried to do my best to make it pointy and it didn't turn out all that great. So I just took an extra scrap of fringe and sewed it across the point so the seam wasn't exposed/ugly.
At this point you should have a giant shawl pocket. You've sewn up the fringed sides but the top is still a gaping hole. I debated bias taping the top but really didn't like how it made it look cheap and home-made. I opted instead to fold the top seams in and straight stitch across. I am glad that was what I decided. I think it looks a lot more authentic this way.
And there you have it. I was a bit obsessive with my pinning and a bit lazy this week so this project took me a LOT longer than it should have. If I sat down and tried to go from start to finish this probably would have only taken an hour or two. I think Buttons did hers in one sitting so we'll get a more accurate time frame when she gets her version up.
What Ajah are you guys? Anyone made any shawls before with other mediums? There are some pretty nifty knitted ones. Let us know!
~Pockets
