This is about the time of winter when I feel the most blah. Every day I wear pants tucked into my boots with a winter coat, scarf, hat and mittens. I get tired of that uniform, so I decided to mix it up with a lively, easy scarf that I can wear with or without my coat. I found the colorful scarf that inspired this project at The Salvation Army thrift store, 1601 W. 23rd St.

Supplies:

oblong fashion scarf (silk, polyester, etc.)

coordinating fleece

straight pins

sewing machine

thread

hand-sewing needle

Instructions:

Lay fleece right-side up (if there’s an obvious right side) and scarf right-side down on top of fleece. Cut fleece to same size as the scarf. Pin layers together, taking care not to make holes in delicate scarf fabric. If the fashion scarf has a tag, remove it.

If your fleece isn’t as long as your scarf, fold scarf in half and cut two pieces that size, plus 1/4-inch to 1/2-inch for seam allowance. Sew the two halves of the fleece together along one short side.

Leaving 1/4-inch seams, sew layers right sides together. Start near the middle of one long side, go around all sides and finish on the same long side, leaving a gap of about 3 inches.

Turn layers right-side out and press. Press under the edges along the gap as well.

Slip stitch the gap closed by hand. I’m no pro at this stitch, but it seems less noticeable when I use fewer, longer stitches. Press again if needed.

Now you have a scarf that’s both warm and fashionable. You may not want to take it off even when you’re inside, especially if you work in a cold building like I do!