- 1). Select your fabric. Consider the time of day when you will wear your shawl, what you will wear it with and the season when you will wear it. Before purchasing your fabric, find a mirror in the fabric store, unroll a couple of yards of the fabric from the bolt, and wrap it around yourself like a shawl to see if you like the way it looks.
- 2). Reduce the cost of your shawl in half by selecting fabric that is at least 48 inches wide. Ask the salesperson in the fabric store to cut a 2 1/4 yard piece of fabric. (Make sure the fabric is at least 48 inches wide.) Shawls are typically 24 inches to 28 inches wide and 78 inches long.
- 3). Create a straight edge on one of the cut ends of your fabric by pulling two to three crosswise threads from your fabric. Cut along the line created by the missing threads. Measure 78 inches from the straight edge that you created, mark the location with a pin and cut straight across your fabric.
- 4). Fold the fabric in half, lengthwise, with right sides together. Pin the loose edges of the fabric together. If you wish to add fringe to the end of your shawl, cut two pieces of fringe that are the width of your shawl. Place the braided edge of the fringe along the crosswise edge of your fabric, between the two pieces of fabric, and pin the edges together.
- 5). Starting at the folded edge, sew a straight seam five-eighths inch away from the open edges of your shawl. Leave a 6-inch opening in the middle of the lengthwise edge of your shawl. Trim the corners of your shawl one-quarter inch away from the stitching line.
- 6). Turn your shawl right side out by inserting your hand inside the 6-inch opening of your shawl and pulling the fabric through the opening. Gently press your finger, or the end of a pair of scissors, into the corners of the shawl to make the corners square. Use a steam iron to press the shawl. Hand stitch the 6-inch opening together.
- 7). Embellish your shawl with beads, sequins or decorative stitching, if desired.
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