Make a fake fur stole: free sewing pattern :: Craft ideas

You will need:

Fake fur: 110cm x 20cm

Lining fabric: 100cm x 20cm

Cutting out the fur

You need three fabric pieces to make the main body of the stole – and an extra piece which will form the tuck-in loop. So…

1. From your piece of fur, measure and cut out a piece that is 90cm long by 20cm wide. This is the main part of the stole. Out of the remainder you also need to cut out a smaller rectangle measuring 15cm x 12cm. This will be your tuck-in loop.

2. Now you need to cut your 90cm piece of fur into sections: To do this, measure 22cm in from one end. Cut up this line. Then take this shorter piece and measure 9cm in from one end. Cut up this line. You should be left with 3 pieces: one measuring 68cm x 20cm, one measuring 13cm x 20cm and one piece measuring 9cm x 20cm. See diagram at bottom of page.

Making the tuck-in loop

Take your piece of fur that measures 15 x 12cm. With right sides together, fold it in half so the two 15cm raw edges match. Pin down this side and straight stitch 1cm in from the edge. Turn the right way round. You should have a short furry ‘sausage’. This will be your tuck-in loop.

Attaching the tuck-in loop to the main fabric

Take your longest piece of fur and at one short end, place your loop in the centre, matching end raw edges. Pin firmly into place and stitch 1cm from the edge.

Now take your 13cm x 20cm piece of main scarf and, right sides together, place this over the loop end (so the loop is sandwiched between two pieces of scarf). Pin in place and stitch from one edge to the other.

Turn the scarf over to the furry side. You now need to take your 9cm x 20cm piece of fur and, right sides together, place it over the end of the scarf, again, sandwiching the loop into place. Pin the edges and straight stitch 1cm from the edge.

When stitched, it should look like this…

Sewing the lining

Measure your stole and cut a piece of lining the same size. With right sides together and the lining side uppermost (ie. you’re pinning on the lining side), pin the edges of the stole and lining together.

With the lining side on top, stitch the two layers together 1cm in from the edges, leaving a 10cm gap in the centre of one long edge in order to turn it the right way round (you’ll handstitch this shut at the end).

NB: if you sew with the fur side uppermost and the lining on the bottom, the fabric can slip a lot and it’s very frustrating. Sewing with the lining uppermost solves this problem.

Trim the corners and turn the stole the right way round (so the seams are inside). Handstitch the 10cm gap shut. Press lightly on the lining side with a warm iron (test on a scrap of lining first to make sure your lining doesn’t shrivel up if the iron’s too hot).

Try it on for size and twirl!

Stitching tips

• When you’re cutting long haired fake fur, cut only one layer at a time.
• Slip the scissors through the backing fabric when cutting, otherwise you end up giving the fur a trim at the same time.
• Remember that fake fur has a pile so when piecing pattern pieces together, make sure the nap is going the same way.
• When you’ve sewn a seam, run a knitting needle down the edge of the seam – this will pull out the hairs that have become caught in the stitching and will fluff it up at the edges.