Giant Banana Peel Wearable

I had this idea to make a scarf/hat/wearable for my SO, and after thorough research (aka Googling) I felt I had an original idea. My first step was to research the product (eat a banana and look at the peel) and figure out how to put it all together in a recognizable form.

A banana peel in its simplest form is made of four main pieces joined at one end: two thicker "banana" shaped pieces with two thinner pieces separating them. Each piece needs bright yellow on the outside, and a creamy white inside.

Besides the individual peel shapes, the iconic banana peel shape requires at least one black end.

So here's what we need:

1. Yellow thread
2. Yellow fabric
3. Creamy white fabric
4. Sewing thingies: a sewing machine (or a needle and plenty of time on your hands), scissors, sewing skills
5. a pencil
6. Fabric medium and acrylic paint OR fabric dye OR fabric paint and some kind of brush/sponge

Step 1: Draft Your Pieces and Cut Them Out

Put yellow thread in the machine and make a yellow bobbin to match.

Lay out your fabric (I had about 2 yards of each, but probably could have gotten away with 1 yard each). Examine your reference sketches and draw on the back side of one of your colours.

You can copy the crescent shape to save time.

Now, put your individual yellow pieces on the other fabric, face to face, and trace them. Cut them out. You should now have 8 pieces.

Step 2: Sew Each Piece

Match up the pieces (one white and one yellow) front side to front side and pin around the sides. Try to get the pins to pull out away from the machine.

Sew along the edges using a regular straight stitch, while removing pins.

Go all the way around except for the tip. Finish the stitch. Then inverse the piece by pulling the end through the opening, and stitch the opening closed.

Step 3: Connect the Pieces

Stitch the top pieces together. Do the top section first as shown in the second picture. You'll connect four edges so the pieces all connect. Then stitch across all the tops to complete the shape.

This just looks okay, but wait until we finish it with the black tip. Just what you've been waiting for!

Step 4: Important Details

Get some black fabric paint, or make it from Fabric Painting Medium, like this (Golden GAC-900), mixed with a highly pigmented acrylic paint (like this Fluid Golden Carbon Black). Mix a generous amount in a container, like this empty tub of delicious Organic Miso Paste.

You can paint it all by hand, or dip the whole thing in. Either way, you're going to have to let it dry for a long time.

For the long, thinnest piece you can create a stem shape by sewing the tip inside out. See the last pic and compare to the finished pics in the next step.

Step 5: Finished.

Now go wear it on your head and shoulders, and slip into - and out of - any social situation. Trust me, you'll be very appealing.