Artsy Summer Scarves

I design artsy summer scarves. Typically the designs are adapted from previously created original art. But sometimes I create original designs exclusively for scarves.

(Click on any scarf mannequin to go to that scarf’s feature page.)

This is the scarf that started it all–“Dogwood Trio.” Someone saw the original artwork and asked if I could put it on a long, black scarf. At the time, I didn’t do scarves. But I thought it was a great idea, and so pursued it.

Scarves like the above simply have an existing work of art on one end (what I call “single-tailed”) or both ends (“double-tailed”). Most require a transition of some kind between the art and the solid color of the scarf.

The “canvas” for a long scarf is a very long rectangle–four and half times as long as it is wide. Of course, typical art is never this shape. So–if I want to fill the entire scarf with art, I have to modify it somehow. And one way is to select only one section of a larger work.

For this long scarf, “Exultation,” I selected a section as large as half a scarf and then filled the other half with its reflection.

Another way to fill the “canvas” of a long scarf is to fit the original art on both ends and then create adjacent reflections toward the center. This is how I adapted “Jack Baubles” for a scarf–except in this case I moved the original art in from the end just enough so that the center-line of the scarf exactly split the two “baubles” in the middle. This creates one seamless design for the whole–with a pair of perfectly round orbs in the center.

In a variation of the above, this design was adjusted to move the “flower” closer to the end of the scarf, then reflected to fill half a scarf.

Sometimes I use both the art and its reflection on the ends and then create adjacent reflections toward the center.

The next image is the modified original art with its reflection. This goes on the end of the scarf. Then, the scarf “canvas” is filled with six reflections of it. So the complete scarf design is composed of twelve copies of the original (in various orientations).

Designs can begin with even smaller elements, which are modified, reflected, and duplicated in even greater numbers to cover the scarf. In both of the examples below, I’ve also “softened” the sharp edges of the original element to make it more suitable for a scarf.

For more, follow the links below:

Summer Scarf Fabric Options

Summer Scarves Gallery