How to Make a Ski Neck

Ski neck gators have many advantages over scarves, especially when skiing, where loose apparel can snag on trees along with creating resistance -- something many skiers try to avoid. Making a ski neck gator is easy, and you do not need a pattern to make one, although you do need to measure the neck of the person who is wearing it, to sew one that rests against the skin for comfort and warmth. The best fabric for a ski neck gator is lightweight knitted polar fleece, since it's warm and stretches over the head.

Things You'll Need

  • Polar fleece or microfleece
  • Measuring tape
  • Scissors
  • Pins
  • Sewing machine
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut a 20-inch square from a piece of knitted polar fleece or other warm, knitted fabric for an adult male. You can use the tape measure for the circumference of the neck, and the length for children and women, who typically have shorter, thinner necks. Multiply the length by two and add 1 inch at the bottom for the seam allowance.

    • 2

      Add extra inches for the width of the ski neck -- some of it for the seam allowance and the rest to allow you to get the ski neck over your head. You can experiment with how wide to make it by using the uncut knit fabric to see how much you need to get the fabric over your head. Take an edge of the fabric and put it around your head, pulling it slightly. Mark the length you with a pin and cut the size you need, being careful to cut the width for the ski neck across the knit fabric so it stretches.

    • 3

      Fold the fabric over so the direction of the stretch goes across the neck warmer. If the fabric has a right side, fold it so the right side faces the inside. Pin the bottom in a few places to hold it securely.

    • 4

      Sew a 1/2-inch seam with a narrow zigzag stitch, to add flexibility to the seam; backstitch at the beginning and ending of the seam. Backstitching on a sewing machine involves going forward and backward over a few stitches to anchor the seam so it doesn't unravel. Remove the pins.

    • 5

      Turn the ski neck warmer inside-out, and fold it over to create the back seam. Pin it in a few spots and zigzag a 1/2-inch seam, backstitching both the beginning and end of the seam. Trim the threads and remove the pins. Turn the ski neck so the right side faces the outside.