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By Laura Drinan
Hometown Weekly Reporter
As the chill of the November evening whipped at the Medfield Public Library, a handful of workshop-goers were making creations to combat the cold. Adult services and technology librarian assistant Bri Ozanne led an infinity scarf workshop on the brisk night of November 7 to show participants how to upcycle old shirts into cozy creations.
As a former art teacher, Orzanne brought her knowledge and skill to assist one beginner seamstress on her project. Having prior experience with sewing, the other participants immediately set to work, using tattered tees to create chic, colorful infinity scarves.
While Orzanne herself has only made three of the infinity scarves that the group was working on, her years of sewing experience allowed her to carefully advise the crafters on how to cut the old clothes and use the pattern she provided.
She instructed the participants to make 11-inch squares out of the old fabric for a chunky scarf. Arranging the squares on the table as they cut them, the crafters soon got an idea of how their patchwork infinity scarves would come together.
“When I started working here, I started looking online for fun projects to do and I found these,” Orzanne said as she unfolded one of her completed scarves. “I just thought, well, those are adorable! And I really like the idea of upcycling. I love using found materials, so you don’t have to go buy things. These shirts would have just been thrown away, and now we’re making beautiful scarves.”
After one participant received a one-on-one sewing lesson with Orzanne, she quickly sorted through her bag of old clothes to find a color palette to work with. Others steadily worked on their scarves, creating a pink and brown color palette and a gray and purple theme.
Although the scarf crafters weren’t quite ready to wear their scarves outside by the time the event ended, they were inspired to go home and finish their upcycled fashion statements.
“We are really ramping up on our programming. Starting in the new year, we’re probably going to have one to two programs a week,” said Orzanne, who is currently planning an upcycled apron-making program. “People should keep an eye on our calendar on the website, because there’s going to be a lot of fun stuff coming up.”
