Download ArticleDownload ArticleThis article was co-authored by Shaelynn Haning. Shaelynn Haning is a Tailor & Business Owner based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Shaelynn is the founder of the highest-rated and most-reviewed alterations and tailoring service in Oklahoma, Tallgrass Tailor, employing a team of skilled craftsmen and women from across the country and the world. Shaelynn is a member of the State of Oklahoma Education Careers and Technologies Board and a member of both the Custom Tailors and Designers Association and the Association of Sewing and Design Professionals. She is the host of The Sew Show with Shae, an entertaining and educational sewing channel posting weekly videos on YouTube. Shaelynn earned her BS in Apparel Design and Product Development from Marist College.
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Scrunchies were once popular in the 90s, and are fast making a comeback. They are cheap and easy to make. If you enjoy wearing scrunchies, consider making a few. This way, you will be saving lots of money, and you'll be able to match them to your favorite outfits better.
Steps
Find a hair tie. Try to get one of those fabric coated hair ties instead of a rubber band. They are much sturdier, and will last must longer.
Cut a rectangle out of fabric that is 4 inches (10.16 centimeters) wide and 18 inches (45.72 centimeters). For a plain scrunchie, use some cotton or jersey knit fabric. It can be solid colored or have a small print on it. For a fancier scrunchie, try some stretch velvet instead.Advertisement- Fold the rectangle in half lengthwise, with the right sides together. Don't worry; you will be turning the fabric inside out, after you sew it.
- Place the hair tie inside it the rectangle. You will need to scrunch the fabric up in order to get it to wrap around the hair tie. When you are done, the long, raw edges of the rectangle should be outside the hair tie. The folded part should be on the inside. The hair tie should be sandwiched inside the folded rectangle, touching the right sides of the fabric.
- Pin the corners together to keep the fabric in place. Pin the top right corner to the bottom right corner. Pin the top left corner to the bottom left corner. You can also pin the fabric along the long edge, if you'd like.
- Sew along the long edge, using a ½ inch (1.27 centimeters) seam allowance. Try to use a thread color that closely matches the fabric's color. You can do this by hand, using very small stitches, or on a sewing machine. Do not stitch the narrow ends together. When you are done, you should have a tube around the hair tie. Again, you may have to scrunch the tube up to get it to fit.
- Remove the pins when you are done.
- Turn the tube inside out so that the right sides of the fabric are facing out. Attach a safety pin to one of the narrow edges. Tuck it inside the tube. Scrunch as much fabric as you can onto the safety pin, and pull the pin through the tube. Keep doing this until the safety pin reaches the other side of the tube. When you are done, the seam should be on the inside, and the right side of the fabric should be facing you.
- Remove the safety pin when you are done.
- Tuck both of the narrow raw edges into the tube by ½ inch (1.27 centimeters). Make sure you do this on both sides of the tube. This will help give you a nicer seam when you are done.
- Bring the two edges together until they touch, then sew them together using a ladder stitch. Make sure you sew all along the edge of the tube, and be careful not to sew through the hair tie. You will need to do this by hand.
Finished.
- Cut a piece of fabric that is about 4 inches (10.16 centimeters) wide and 18 inches (45.72 centimeters) long. For a plain scrunchie, use some cotton or jersey-knit fabric. It can be solid colored, or have a small print on it. For a fancier scrunchie, try some stretch velvet.
- Fold it lengthways, right side in. When you are done, you should end up with a long, skinny rectangle that is it 2 inches (5.08 centimeters) wide and 18 inches (45.72 centimeters) long.
- Sew along the long, raw edge using a ½ inch (1.27 centimeters) seam allowance. You can do this by hand or on a sewing machine. Do not sew the narrow ends shut just yet.
- Turn the fabric tube inside out to hide the raw edge. Attach a safety pin to one of the narrow ends, and stick it into the tube. Scrunch as much fabric as you can onto the safety pin, then pull it through the tube, bringing the elastic with it. Keep doing this until the safety pin pops out on the other side. When you are done, the seam should be inside the tube, and the right sides of the fabric should be on the outside.
- Remove the safety pin when you are done.
- Cut a 6 inch (15.24 centimeters) long piece of narrow elastic. Try to find something that is about ¼ (0.64 centimeters) wide.
- Attach a safety pin to each end of the elastic. One safety pin will help hold the elastic in place, and the other with help guide it through the fabric tube.
- Attach one of the safety pins to one of the narrow ends of the fabric tube. Be sure to keep the elastic attached to it. This will hold the elastic in place as you feed it through the fabric tube.
- Push the elastic through the fabric tube until it comes out on the other end. Use the safety pin as a guide, just like you did when turning the fabric tube inside out.
- Pin the two ends of the elastic together. Spread the tube apart so that you can see the two ends of the elastic. Remove the safety pins, and pin the two elastic ends together using a regular sewing pin.
- Sew the two ends of the elastic together using tiny stitches and a ½ inch (1.27 centimeters) seam allowance. You can also overlap the two ends of the elastic by ½ inch (1.27 centimeters) and sew them down. Be careful not to sew onto the fabric.
- Remove the pins when you are done.
- Tuck the narrow, raw edges of the fabric tube inside by ½ inch (1.27 centimeters). Make sure you do this on both sides of the tube. This will help give you a nicer seam when you are finished.
- Bring the two narrow ends together, and sew them to each other using a ladder stitch. Sew all the way around the edges; be careful not to sew through the elastic. You will need to do this by hand.
Finished.
Community Q&A
- QuestionHow do I do a ladder stitch?
Community AnswerFold the raw edges of both ends of tube inside so that the edges are folded. Next, put needle through one of the folded-inside parts and take a couple of very small stitches on the inside. These work like knots. Third, pull the needle to the outside. Fourth, pinch the two ends together. Fifth, push the threaded needle through both edges right up near the fold. Next, pull the needle back toward you over the fold. Repeat Steps 5 and 6, making stitches close to each other and close to the folded edge. Pull each stitch so it is snug against the folded edges but doesn't scrunch the fabric together. Continue to the end of the tube. Last, make a small stitch and put the needle through twice. Pull tightly, cut. Done. - QuestionI cut the fabric 18" long and the elastic 7" long. The finished product was really tight. My question is, how wide is the hole on the scrunchie?
NoodleBrainCommunity AnswerThe opening scrunchie holes that you thread elastic through should be about 1 and 1/2 inches. - QuestionHow do I know which fabric to use?
MichelleF2Community AnswerLots of fabrics would work for this. However, try not to use very heavy ones, such as denim or corduroy, as they won't scrunch that well, and will present problems when trying to use the scrunchie.
Tips
- You can make a mini scrunchie using a short piece of elastic, and a smaller piece of fabric, about 8 inches (20.32 centimeters) long, and 1 inch (2.54 centimeters) wide.[1]Thanks
- Scrunchies tend to be looser than hair ties. If you have very thick hair, tie your hair off with a hair tie first, then wrap the scrunchie over it.Thanks
- When sewing, make sure that you knot off and lose threads, and to snip the tails as close to the knots as possible. This will give you a nicer finish.Thanks
Things You'll Need
Using a Hair Tie
- Hair tie
- Fabric
- Matching thread
- Scissors
- Sewing needle
- Sewing pins
- Safety pin
- Sewing machine (optional)
Using Elastic
- Elastic
- Fabric
- Matching thread
- Scissors
- Sewing needle
- Sewing pins
- 2 safety pins
- Sewing machine (optional)
Expert Interview
Thanks for reading our article! If you’d like to learn more about sewing, check out our in-depth interview with Shaelynn Haning.
About This Article
To sew a scrunchie, start by cutting a 4 inch by 18 inch piece of fabric and folding in in half. Then, wrap the fabric around a hair tie so that the folded edge is on the outside and the fabric is inside out. Next, pin the corners and edges together to keep them in place. Once everything is pinned in place, sew along the long edge, leaving 1/2 inch for seam allowance. After sewing the long edges, attach a safety pin to one of the narrow edges and pull it through the tube until the seam is on the inside. Finally, sew the edges of the tube together, tucking in the raw edges. To learn how to make a scrunchie with a piece of elastic, read on!
Reader Success Stories
"I was using a tutorial I found on Pinterest. It was helpful, but the scrunchie I ended up making was a bit small. I used Google to find additional help and found this site. This article said to use an 18" fabric length instead of the 10" used on the Pinterest article. I will try that in a few minutes."..." more
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