Design Threads: How to Make Your Own Scrunchies

With 2020 being coined a slight ‘write off’ year, we’re heading back to the golden age of the 90s where platform sneakers, double denim and Madonna reigned queen. This week for Design Threads, we’re back at our kitchen table and bringing back the 90s with an accessory so fantastic, anyone can wear one – the scrunchie.

Here is our ‘how to guide’ for creating your very own scrunchies…

You will need:

– A long strip of fabric –
– For a small sized scrunchie, roughly 55cm x 10cm wide,
– For a large scrunchie, 55cm x roughly 20cm (but as with all good things, bigger is better, so the wider you go the more voluptuous the scrunchie will be)
– Needle and thread
– A safety pin
– Good quality tape elastic – we advise measuring a cut slightly larger than your wrist
– Scissors
– Pins
– An iron

2. Fold the fabric in half with the face of the fabric inwards and pin length ways so the fabric doesn’t slip.

3. Using your needle and thread, stitch the length of the fabric panel on the raw edge – a back stitch is the easiest here, but anything that will secure it neatly will be fine.

1. Cut your fabric to the length and width you want. Fabric wise, we advise going for a relatively light weight fabric so it scrunches better. In our case, we salvaged some old scarves, tea towels and pyjamas just in case a craft project like this came up. We even used some fabric samples from the Design Studio including our favourite Arsene fabric by Pierre Frey.

4. Iron the tube flat so it is nice and neat and therefore easier to work with.

5. Grab your safety pin and attach it to one end of the tube. Gently thread it back through the tunnel so the fabric tube starts to turn itself back the right way out.

7. Once you are out the other side, hold both ends of the elastic and adjust your scrunchie so the fabric is evenly distributed and check you have a good stretch.

6. Now attach the safety pin to one end of the strip of elastic. Just as on step four, start to thread it back through the tunnel, carefully bunching the fabric by hand as you go.

Top Tip: Do not pull the elastic taught, this will mean there is no stretch left for you to use it. Gently bunch fabric with your fingers as you go.

8. When you are happy with this, tie the two ends of elastic together in a tight knot and nudge it round slightly so that the knot is not visible.

9. Bring the ends of the tube together and tuck one slightly inside the other. Using your needle and thread, carefully invisible stitch the two ends of the tube together.

Top Tip: Fold one end of the tube over so you don’t have the raw edge showing and it looks lovely and neat.

Voila you’ve created your own scunchie! Now it’s time to play the Spice Girls!