To scrunchie or not to scrunchie?
Is it scrunchy or scrunchie?! Google comes up with both so let’s go with scrunchie today!
These fabric-covered pieces of elastic have experienced a recent resurgence. I haven’t fallen in love with the traditional scrunchies this second time around but I do love their scrap busting qualities!
I recently moved one of my scrap stashes into plain sight in my sewing area and it has got me itching to crank out some quick and satisfying stash-busting projects.
So to the scrunchie I turned. Below you’ll find a quick tutorial to sew up your own scrunchie and also my favourite twist on a scrunchie. I looove this version and have been using it daily since I made my own.
Plus there are THREE other variations I came up with once I started digging amongst my scraps and the creative juices got flowing. I’ll be gifting some of these to three little girls coming to visit tomorrow and I’ll be keeping the rest!
Let me know in the comments below if you’ve sewn a scrunchie or if you’re going to now!
Aims x
What you need:
Needle and thread (optional sewing machine)
Safety pin, bodkin or loop turner
Elastic 12 – 20 cm long
Fabric (see each tutorial for how much)
Test the length of elastic you need on your hair.
OR, use that one favourite hair tie! Everyone’s got one right? It seems to magically hold your pony tail in place just perfectly while others are a struggle to get that last loop around or they are too loose and your pony needs constant adjustment through the day.
This is your chance to re-create magic. The perfect hair tie!
I ended up using about 16cm long elastic.
Classic scrunchie:
Fabric strip: 7 – 10 cm wide and three times as long as your elastic (36 – 60cm long)
Play with the proportions as much as you like! Wider for more drama, skinnier = more subtle, longer for a dense gather, and the shorter the strip, the flatter it will be!
I pieced mine together with the scraps I had on hand. I found two pieces that would make up around 40cm in length, neaten the edges and sew them together.
Grab your piece of fabric, fold one short edge to the inside by around 5mm (1/4 inch). Press.
Fold the strip in half, length ways with right sides together. Press and stitch the long edges together with 5mm (1/4 inch) seam allowance. I like to use an overlock stitch but as long as your fabric isn’t too prone to fraying, a simple straight stitch should be fine!
Use a safety pin or of you have one a bodkin or loop turner to turn the fresh;y sewn tube right side out.
Psst. If you don’t have a bodkin or loop turner yet – get one ASAP! It is one of my favvvourite sewing tools. It lowers the frustration levels and makes tube turning SO much easier.
Take your elastic and your new bodkin (or safety pin ;P) and feed the elastic through the fabric tube.
Align the elastic ends and zigzag to joint them. Alternatively if you’ve leave around 2.5cmm extra length, you can simply knot the ends together tightly.
Before you sew the fabric ends together, try the scrunchie on for size and make any adjustments you might need.
Finally, insert the raw edge into the over turned end and hand stitch to secure.
Wear with pride!
Skinny scrunchie:
This is THE scrunchie for me. It doesn’t leave kinks in my hair, is elevated compared to your humble hair tie but doesn’t give me 80s and 90s flashbacks!
Fabric strip: 4cm wide (for ¼ inch or 6mm elastic), length 3x length of you elastic (approx. 36 – 60cm)
I put mine together from a small scrap piece of fabric and joined them like I would bias tape.
Then construct it exactly the same as the classic scrunchie above!
A big tip at this point is to insert a safety pic into the other end of your elastic so that when you use your bodkin to pull the elastic through the tube it is less likely to get lost inside the tube. If I want to be extra sure I pin the elastic to the end so there is no chance it can be pulled inside.
Faux bow scrunchie:
Construct either the classic or the skinny scrunchie as above and then cut a rectangle 25cm x 10cm. You can play with the widths to make a larger or smaller bow as you like!
If you want some structure to your bow, cut it from a lightly interfaced piece of fabric. (You can interface after you cut out your bow piece but I find interfacing the fabric first is quicker and it doesn’t warp!)
Mark the center of the rectangle with chalk or a fabric pen.
Fold the rectangle in half, right sides together so the two short pieces meet and stitch them together.
Align this seam with the center mark of the rectangle.
Stitch top and bottom edges leaving a 3cm gap in the center of one edge.
Turn the bow right side out through the gap and hand stitch closed.
Take your bow piece and fold the long edges so that they meet in the center. Fold the edges back once or twice more to create a classic bow shape and stitch in place with a couple of hand stitches.
Cut a rectangle 5cm x 7cm. Fold one short edge to the inside and press, fold it lengthways and stitch along the long edge. Turn the tube right side out, moving the seam to center back and press.
Position your bow on top of the seam on the scrunchie and hand stitch in place.
Wrap the tube around your bow and scrunchie. Insert the raw edge into the folded end and hand stitch in place.
Voila!
Faux tie scrunchie:
To my surprise, this tuned out to be my second favourite of the bunch! I love the jauntiness of the ties and can’t wait to pop it on with my dress in the red colour way of this fabric!
Construct either the classic or skinny scrunchie as above and then draft a simple bow shape.
This will be constructed similarly to the bow scrunchie above but we’re swapping the bow piece out for a tie!
Cut two tie pieces.
If you want structure to your tie, cut them from an interfaced piece of fabric.
Lay the tie pieces right sides together and stitch around the outside leaving a 4cm gap in the center.
Turn the pieces right side out through the gap and hand stitch closed.
Then cut a rectangle 5cm x 7cm. Fold it lengthways and stitch along the long edge. Turn it right side out, fold one end to the inside and press.
Position your tie over the seam on the scrunchie and hand stitch in place. You can just lay it flat but I chose to wrap it around for a bit of an angle to the ties.
Wrap the tube around both the tie and scrunchie. Insert the raw edge into the folded end and hand stitch in place.
You’re done!
Scarf scrunchie:
Gotta love a bit of drama! And you could absolutely make these ties longer and wider to your hearts desire.
Draft a scarf shape to your liking. Mine were approximately 40cm long, 4cm at it’s skinniest and 10cm at it’s widest.
This was driven by the size of the scraps I had – I basically worked out what the longest and widest shape I could get four identical pieces of was and went with that!
If you have larger scraps you could cut your pieces on the fold either lengthways or along one of the sides and save yourself some stitching!
Place the pieces right sides together. If you want and angled shape on the bottom cut it out now and then stitch around three edges, leaving the top narrow edges unsewn.
Turn the pieces right side out through the gap. Turn one end to the inside and press. Insert the raw edge into the turn one and hand stitch closed.
Press and decide if you want to top stitch your edges or leave them as is.
Tie your scarf over the seam on the scrunchie and secure with hand stitching.
Now you have up to five different hair tie/scrap busting options!!
Let me tell you, these are SUCH satisfying and quick sews. Use them to shake up your look or give them away to those you love!
Let’s connect! Sign up to my newsletter and also receive a 10% discount off your first purchase:
