Give your home a bit of lighthearted Asian flair with this simple bureau scarf. Pointed and tasseled ends, rich brocade fabric, and Chinoiserie embroidery mingle to create a look that works as well with shabby chic decor as it does with Eastern elegance.
Experiment with different fabrics and embroidery designs to create a scarf to perfectly suit your decor.
Supplies & Materials:
- 2/3 yard cream polyester shantung
- 1/2 yard pink crepe-back satin
- 1/2 yard green crepe-back satin
- 1/2 yard brocade
- Medium weight cutaway stabilizer
- 2 tassels
- Large piece of paper (newspaper is fine)
- Temporary spray adhesive
- Air-erase pen or other marking tool
We used the Branching Out with Chinoiserie designs listed below, but there are many home decor designs that would work great for this project.
The designs used in this tutorial include:
- A Branching Out with Chinoiserie Design Pack
These designs are also available in the following design packs:
- Chinoiserie Birds in Branch 1
- Chinoiserie Birds in Branch 2
- Chinoiserie Birds in Branch 3
Finished size:
34 inch by 14 inch rectangular top; 48 inch total length. The rectangular top is made up of three 10 inch squares, surrounded by a 2 inch border, with triangles on each end. Adapt these measurements as you please to suit your own needs.
Using an air-erase pen or other removable marking tool, mark three 11 inch squares on your fabric. Mark the center of each side of the square, and connect these marks to meet at the center of the square.
Spray a piece of medium weight cutaway stabilizer with temporary adhesive, and smooth the fabric on top. Hoop the fabric and stabilizer together by aligning the marks on the hoop with the marks on the fabric. Attach the hoop to the machine and load the design. Move the hoop so that the needle is directly over the center point of the fabric. Embroider the design.
When the design has finished, trim away the excess stabilizer on the backside of the embroidery.
After all three fabric pieces are embroidered, cut out the squares along the lines you marked earlier.
Lay two of the squares right sides together and sew them together along one side. Press the seam open.
Repeat to attach the third square to the first two.
Of the shantung, cut two 3 inch by 11 inch rectangles and two 3 inch by 35 inch rectangles.
Sew one 3 inch by 11 inch rectangle to each end of the bureau scarf, right sides together. Press seam open.
Sew one 3 inch by 35 inch rectangle to each long side of the bureau scarf, right sides together. Press seam open.
From a large piece of paper, cut a right triangle with the longest side 1 inch longer than the width of the bureau scarf. Our scarf is 15 inches wide, so our triangle is about 16 inches on the long side and 11 1/2 inches on the short side. Using this paper as a pattern, cut two triangles of the brocade fabric.
Pin the triangles to the ends of the bureau scarf, right sides together, and stitch in place.
Press seams open.
Lay the bureau scarf top on top of the polyester shantung, and pin it in place. Cut an identical shape out of the shantung.
Lay the top and bottom pieces right sides together, and pin edges together. Stitch, leaving a 6 inch gap for turning.
Clip corners, being careful not to cut stitching.
Turn the bureau scarf inside out, so that right sides are showing. Carefully press seams flat. Press under 1/2 inch along the gap, too.
Topstitch all the way around the edge of the bureau scarf to close the gap and finish the scarf.
Hand-sew a tassel to each end of the scarf.
