Make Men's Bow Ties
A bow tie can be a great way to add personality to your wardrobe. Pair a classic black silk bow tie with a tux for the prom or go geeky-chic with pinstripes or polka dots, a jacket and jeans. Rather than buying a bow tie or borrowing one from your father, make one yourself. Grab a swath of vintage fabric, find a bow tie pattern, which are available free online, and get creative.
Instructions
1. Cut out the pattern pieces. The bow tie pattern contains two pieces printed on one large piece of tissue paper. Cut along the solid line of each piece so they can be pinned to the fabric. Refer to the piece with the long tail as piece A and the short tail as piece B.
2. Cut out the fabric. Fold your fabric in half with the raw edges together. Lay out each pattern piece on the bias of the fabric (against the fabric's grain). Pin each pattern piece to the fabric and cut along the pattern's edge. When you are finished, you will have two fabric cutouts of both A and B.
3. Cut out the interfacing. Pin the pattern pieces to the interfacing and cut along the edge of the pattern piece to create one interfacing cutout for each pattern piece.
4. Attach the interfacing to the fabric cut outs. Lay out one A fabric cutout on your work surface with the wrong side facing upwards. Place the interfacing piece A over the fabric cutout so that the edges of both pieces line up congruently. Iron the pieces securely together. Repeat this step with interfacing B and fabric cutout B.
5. Sew the bow tie together. Take both pieces of fabric cutout A and pin them together with the right sides inward. Starting at one edge of the tail, sew around the perimeter of the piece, leaving an opening at the bottom of the tail. Trim the seam allowance down to 1/8 inch. Repeat this step with fabric cutout B.
6. Turn each piece right side out. Pull the bow tie through the opening so that the right side of the fabric is shown. Insert a chopstick or a capped pen into the opening and press along the seams and corners until they are fully extended and crisp. Press the pieces with an iron.
7. Close the openings with a slip stitch. Tie a knot at one end of a piece of thread and insert the other end in a sewing needle. Fold the edges of the opening on the bow tie inwards to form a hem. Starting from under the fold, slip the needle through the crease of the fold and pull the thread through. Puncture the crease on the opposite fold at an adjacent point. Slip the needle under the surface of the fold for about 1/4 inch and pull through. Continue slipping the needle through the alternating folds until the opening is stitched closed. Knot and trim the thread.
8. Attach the first slider to piece A. The sliders are the metal or plastic hooks that make the bow tie adjustable. Slide the tail of piece A through the slot of the first slider and it pull through. Feed it over the center divider and through the second slot of the slider. Slide the slider down to the midsection of the tail.
9. Attach the second slider to piece A. Feed the tail of piece A through one slot of the second slider. Fold the tail underneath the first layer and pull it back through the first slider, creating a loop. Fold the loose end back towards the loop and slip stitch in place.
10. Connect piece B. Slide the tail of piece B through the open slot of the second slider. Fold the loose end underneath the first layer and slip-stitch it in place.
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