When I transferred to my new school, I left my store-bought movement scarves behind. I spent last year without them since I had no music budget. This year, I decided to make my own. My students LOVE moving to music with these scarves, so when I went into JoAnn Fabrics and saw that tulle was on sale for $1.33 a yard, it was a no brainer. I got 5 yards for a grand total of $6.65 or $0.17 a scarf!

One great thing about tulle is that it won’t fray! Even though the fancy nylon movement scarves from the music catalogs come hemmed, I found that after a year of use, the hems would wear off anyways. These DIY scarves aren’t as thick, but they will get the job done just as well.

Getting Started

1. Look for tulle in the store where you see the fabric for formal dresses. Tulle is usually doubled-up, so I got 10 yards as opposed to the five that I ordered. 
2. Then I just cut them with fabric scissors. Movement scarves are usually between 14? and 27? squares. I prefer cutting them larger than smaller. 
3. You won’t need to iron them, but just in case you do, the material will melt unless you place a towel over the tulle. 
4. If you do decide to hem these for whatever reason, place a piece of tissue paper under the tulle or else it will bunch up under the foot of your sewing machine.

Compare Costs

Music is Elementary 12 scarves = $15.95
West Music 12 scarves = $25  
Music in Motion 12 scarves = $24.95
Homemade 40 scarves = $6.65

Breakdown Per Scarf

Music is Elementary = $1.33
West Music 12 scarves = $2.08
Music in Motion 12 scarves = $2.08
Homemade 40 scarves = $0.17

Movement Activity

Laurie Berkner’s “Rocketship Run” is a great song to use with movement scarves. I have students use their scarves as rocketships, and during the 5-4-3-2-1 countdown, they lower their scarves to the ground and on “Blastoff!” they throw them in the air! During the verses, they “fly” their rocketships to the sun and the moon. On the verse about going to the stars, they pop their scares in the air and try to keep them up (like when you have a balloon, and you don’t want it to touch the ground). On the verse about going home, they take their scarves back to their seats and do one last “blastoff.” My students love this, and I hope yours do too!