Fleece Neck Warmer/Headband

Since I plan on riding my bike to work throughout the winter I decided I would need something to keep my neck warm that wouldn't fall off or get all tangled up. This doubles as an ear-warming headband when my neck gets too hot; all you need to do is fold it to the desired width.

Making the neck warmer only requires a minimal amount of fleece scraps and sewing time for a practical and nice-looking product.Since it was so quick and simple to make, I made a few for my family on my flight home this Christmas!

Materials:

1. Fleece
2. Needle
3. Embroidery thread
4. Scissors
5. Pins

You may also choose to make this using an overlapping stitch on a sewing machine, in which case you don't  need the thread and needle.

1. Find fleece scraps that, when sewn together, are about 20-inches long and 5-inches wide, depending on the size of the head you are making it for.
2. Trim the edges so everything looks even, and is the same width all the way around on all pieces.
3. If you want a rounded overlapping edge make sure to put both edges of the longer piece together before trimming in order to make it as symmetrical as possible.
4. Lay your pieces out the way you want your finished product to look and pin the pieces together.
5. Don't worry if the edges don't match up perfectly well, it is best to wait until the end to do any final trimming.

This over-edge stitch leaves a nice finished look, but any stitch will do. Here are the steps for the stitch I used:

1. After knotting the end of your thread, stitch from the front side of the inner fleece layer to the inside of the head warmer this under the outer layer of fleece to hide your knot.
2. Swing the needle around the edge of the head warmer and stitch through both the outer and inner layer of fleece from outside to inside.
3. Then stitch from the inside through the inner layer of fleece right at the edge of the outer layer of fleece.
4. Stitch back through both layers of fleece in the same place as in step 2 and then back to the outside in the same place as in stem three.
5. Moving the needle up the seam about 1/8 inch, pierce the needle through both layers of fleece to the inside and make a shallow stitch that comes back to outside at the edge of the outer fleece. *Make sure the thread is under the needle as shown in the pictures below before pulling the thread taut.
6. Repeat step 5 until you reach the end of your seam.
7. Tie the thread off by stitching though the inner layer of fleece making an "x" and tying knots.

Now all you need to do is trim the excess fleece away, but no need to stop here!

If you want a thick neck warmer feel free to make two layers and sew them together using the same sewing technique described in step three. You could also continue the stitching all the way around the edges or add decorations like buttons, ribbons or felt cut-outs - get creative!