DIY bandana scarves for children

How a sense of achievement contributes to your satisfaction: a simple sewing project for beginners

These self-sewn scarves spice up any outfit and make the little robbers look very cute. They are also a practical drip catcher during teething or when learning to drink from a glass.

Do you need a small gift for a friend's daughter or son and want to make something yourself but don't have much time to prepare? Then this scarf is the perfect project for you, which is also a quick success for sewing beginners!

A scarf in a matching color enhances any (children's) outfit and also keeps them warm on cooler or windy days. It is also nice to combine a scarf with trousers made from the same or similar fabric. You can also find instructions for other children's clothing here.

You don't need any previous sewing experience, all you need is

• a sewing machine

• Muslin fabric (or cotton fabric)

• Thread in a matching color

• scissors

• small label if you like

Step-by-step instructions

• Cut a square piece of fabric. Perhaps you have a suitable piece of fabric that you would like to use for this. The size will of course depend on the size of the child. If you only have smaller pieces of fabric available, you can also put several pieces together to make a mosaic, e.g. you can sew two triangular pieces together to make a square so that the front and back of the scarf differ in pattern and/or color, then you have an even more versatile accessory for turning.

for size orientation:

Newborns up to 2 years: 35x35 cm

1 to 2 years: 40x40 cm

2 to 5 years: 50x50 cm

Adults: 70x70 cm

• Lay the square right sides together across the corner and sew once around the open side. Depending on the fabric quality, it is advisable to neaten the edge so that it does not unravel afterwards. Don't forget to leave a small turning opening at the side.

• Turn the scarf over the opening. A turning aid can be useful to shape the corners nicely. But if you don't have one, it doesn't matter, because scissors will ultimately serve the same purpose...

• Then close the turning opening either by hand or with a simple seam on the sewing machine.

• After ironing, the scarf is finished and ready to wear :-)

You can add a small label for a special and individual touch. The labels in the pictures are cut from imitation leather and decorate the finished scarves. As they are decorated on both sides, my children can choose which motif (e.g. heart or star) they would like to see that day when they get dressed in the morning. Of course, the labels are not just decoration for neckerchiefs, but a nice extra for everything you sew yourself. You will soon find detailed instructions for the labels on my blog.

You can also decorate the scarves (for children and adults) with borders or lace or combine different fabrics. You can find more ideas for scarves and shawls for big and small here. Of course, there are no limits to your imagination and I look forward to you sharing your creations with me.

Holding a self-made work in your hands is a sense of achievement. A sense of achievement makes us satisfied, proud... and perhaps they even make us happy. It is satisfying to have accomplished and created something, to hold a result in our hands. Our reward system kicks in, dopamine is released in our body and we feel good. The mechanism doesn't care whether it's a huge success or a small feeling of achievement between the door and the door. The biochemical control circuits that determine how we feel are the same.

In everyday life, we may sometimes not see our small and large successes, which is why we don't feel satisfied - especially if we have the entire list of things not yet done or not achieved as desired in our heads instead. We often get into the habit of thinking in terms of efficiency and rush after our to-do list, focusing on what is still undone and forgetting the other side. However, focusing on the side of what has been completed relaxes us, makes us happier and therefore indirectly contributes to efficiency.

A small new routine can become a game changer for you: Make yourself aware of your successes! And it doesn't matter what the success is or how big or small it is. It is YOUR success and you define what success means to you. There is no big or small success, there is simply your personal success, which you define as such. I'm not talking about what is often referred to as success in society, it's not about professional success, a career, absolute wish fulfillment or the best possible results. Success can, for example, be the fact that you have taken the time to look for beautiful things on the internet. Or having walked to work today. Or having a glass of water in the morning. Or pausing for a moment right now to think about what success means to you.

Mindfulness suggestion

If you briefly reflect on your successes each day (reminder: there are no small or big successes!), you can actively contribute to your satisfaction. Write down briefly every day what your success(es) were and reflect on them briefly. You will see that such a success diary will make a difference to your self-perception after a short time.

These scarves will not only give you a sense of achievement at the moment of completion. Every time your child wears the scarf (and my children almost always wear one because I find them so practical... and beautiful... ), it will remind you of your success and can give you a little wave of satisfaction.

If your children's cuddly toys and dolls are also enthusiastic about your children's scarves, you can find instructions and ideas for scarves for cuddly toys here, so that they can go with your children in a partner look.

If you fancy sewing some scarves too, sit down at the sewing machine and in less than half an hour you'll have one or two beautiful scarves in your hands for your little rascals (or perhaps a larger version for yourself?). Please leave me a comment with your suggestions and wishes - I look forward to hearing from you! Feel free to share this post with friends who might also be interested in sewing in the future :-)

A hug and see you soon!