Many of y'all have asked for an ITH scrunchie, but unless you have a giant machine, it's simply not possible! So let's make one together on the sewing machine.
You'll need a little bit of fabric, some thread, a safety pin, and some 1/4" elastic (if you're going to make lots of these, it's much cheaper to buy a big spool!).
The size of your fabric is fairly flexible. You want it to be between 15 and 22 or so inches wide and between 3 and 5 inches tall. I'm using scraps from making pajama pants, and the scrunchie fabric piece is 18" wide by 4 inches high.
Fold your fabric in half, right sides together, to make a long, narrow piece. Sew a 1/4-1/2" seam down the open long side, leaving a small 1-2 inch gap about 2-3 inches from one of the ends. Back stitch at the beginning and end of the gap because this will be the turning hole. It does not need to be a very wide turning hole unless you're using super thick fabric such as velvet. This turning hole could have been half as large.
Grab the end opposite from the turning hole (not the one I'm holding in the pic!) and start turning the tube inside itself as if you were going to turn it right side out. Except you're only turning it halfway. Stop when both ends meet and your tube is half the length. Make sure you don't twist the tube while you're working it through. Match up the seams on the end. Lay one seam allowance in one direction and the other facing the opposite way to reduce bulk in the joint. I have the ends slightly offset in this photo to show seam allowance direction.
Match up the ends, and take the tube back to your sewing machine. Use the smallest foot you have. If you are using a 3" tall piece of fabric, you are not going to have much wiggle room at all, and it might be easier to sew this seam by hand. Put your sewing machine foot inside the tube. Set your machine speed as slow as it will go. Carefully stitch around the circle of the tube from the inside. (This trick works for any narrow openings--doll clothing, baby clothing cuffs, etc.)
Adjust the tube's position as you sew. You may need to stop every few stitches on your first scrunchie. Keep your fingers away from the needle! Continue sewing all the way around the inside of the tube until you have a complete circle of stitching with a little overlap.
At this point, you are probably thinking something has gone terribly, terribly wrong, but this is how it should look.
Lay the tube down and find the turning hole. Reach in and grab the "inside" tube. Pull it out through the turning hole.
And like magic...
Press the turning hole "flap" edges to the inside, and carefully press around the entire scrunchie tube.
Cut a piece of 1/4" elastic 8-9 inches long. Mine is 8 inches.
Attach a safety pin to one end (or use a bodkin if you're fancy) and feed it through the turning hole.
Hold the other end until you pull out the safety pinned end.
Tie the ends in a knot or stitch them together on the sewing machine.
Keep the bulk of the scrunchie scrunched up away from the turning hole. Smooth it out nice and flat, and close the hole. You can do this on the sewing machine (use matching thread) or by hand. Glue doesn't work as well in my opinion because it leaves a hard edge. I mark the end of the turning hole with a pin so I know where to stop sewing.
Trim the threads and smooth out your scrunchie! Make an ITH Hair Tie to add a little flair--this is the small tie size that is made in a 5x7 hoop. Once you stitch it according to the directions, you simply tie it on your scrunchie!
All finished!
The scrunchie matches pajama pants, so I made a coordinating ITH sleep mask from Designs by Little Bee to complete the look.
This is such a quick project. You can whip out adorable scrunchies in no time. These adorable scrunchies come together in no time, and you have an easy, inexpensive gift. If you want to include extras, toss in a fun face mask, some crazy flavored lip balm, your favorite hand cream, or some fuzzy socks!
Go make all the scrunchies! Please come show them off, ask questions, and hang out in the POP Facebook group. We can't wait to see what you create!