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DIY FRI.
It’s DIY FRI. again, where every week I try to post something you can do yourself rather than buy, which is a money saver, and can be VERY REWARDING. Some of these posts are crafts, sewing projects, homemade cleaners, homemade health aids, tutorials, and the like.
I LOVE hand-me-downs! One day a dear friend gave me some boys clothes for my two year old boy, and in the clothes I found this:
I thought that it looked like someone took a man’s tie and re-fashioned and re-purposed it into a boy’s tie. Genius!! I asked my friend, and she said that maybe a family member back in Hungary made it and handed it down to her family.
It inspired me to find a tutorial on the internet. I found this one and read it and read it again.
I asked JSarr and my dad for all of their ties that were 
stained or they didn’t want. My dad has probably worn ties three times in the last two decades. My husband on the other hand used to wear ties five days a week and had many opportunities to stain some ties so he had a few to give up.
For almost a month my sewing machine and ties sat in our dining area waiting to be re-fashioned. I admit I was afraid to dive in and do it. Sometimes you just have to go for it, though. As soon as I dug into my project, I thought of a different way to try to make the ties. I ended tried several different ways, following no tutorials, and here are the three best ways I came up with.
Keep in mind I have an almost-three year old, so one standard man’s tie will make two ties with some leftover material, especially if one of the ties is made with elastic around the neck.
What You Will Need:
- a man’s tie
- matching thread
- hand sewing needles
- scissors
- pins
- a big safety pin for tutorials #2 and #3
- thin elastic for tutorials #2 and #3
Tutorial #1: This tutorial is super fast! With this tutorial you can create an actual tie that you need to actually tie a knot. I love that it uses the end of the adult tie (which is usually cleaner if you are re-purposing it) because you don’t have to re-size the wide area.
Tie the tie around your little guy's neck, using the skinny end as the front. Decide where you want the end of the tie to be, and then add one inch and mark it.
Make the cut where you indicated.
Open up the end of the tie.
The filling will make it bulky, so cut an inch of it out (sorry it's a blurry pic).
You can cut some of the silk out so it's less bulky, too.
- Hem it, folding it over twice so the rough edges are hidden. I hemmed it by hand since I was out and about, but you use the sewing machine to sew it.
Fold in the two sides up to make a point, and hand sew down the middle of that small one inch portion and all the way across.
Tie it! Now you are done! BTW, it's REALLY hard to get a clear picture of a little two-year-old wearing a tie. I tried 46 times to get this picture, no joke!
Tutorial #2: If you don’t actually want to tie a tie, this tutorial uses elastic around the neck.
I think it’s the hardest of the three tutorials because you have to use the wide side of the tie and re-size it, but by doing so, you can make use of almost the entire man’s tie and have two ties if you want matching ties. Also the wider end is good to use for older boys.
This tutorial took me about an hour since I hand sewed the tie. It would probably go faster if you machine sewed the tube.
I am starting with a leftover tie portion from a different re-purposed tie.
Fold the tie in "half". Determine how long you want the front & back of the tie, and take into account that we are including the distance of the knot portion (which is about 1''). I wanted my tie from the top of the knot to the bottom of the tie about 8 inches. The back of the tie might be 5 inches. So altogether I have a 13'' portion that I have cut.
Remove the labels.
Take out the felt or whatever material that is in the tie.
If you have another tie, you can use it as an outline for a tie. Since this part won't be seen you can mark this to get the right size you want.
Cut it out. Don't worry if it's a bit wonky.
Insert it back into the tie.
Soon you will sew the silk back together, so fold over the silk and determine if you need to cut off any extra bulky silk. Make sure you leave enough silk to be able to sew the two long ends together.
Now cut the extra bulky silk.
Start pinning the two long sides together.
Cut out about an inch of the felt fabric inside so it's less bulky.
Hand sew the two sides together. I am not worried that my line is totally straight since it's the back of the tie (I would have ironed this if I had easy access to an ironing board to get a straight line).
I cut a triangle of silk away so the end is less bulky.
Fold raw edge in. Pin, and sew (you can use a machine for this part).
Pin up the ends to make a point. My pin job is kind of ugly, but you can smooth it as you go. Hand sew.
The main part is now done.
Fold it the way you want it to hang on the handsome little guy.
Take some silk and fold it around the tie for the knot portion.
We are going to make a loop and flip it inside out to hide the seam, so make sure you have what will be the inside of the knot on the outside now. I am really sorry if this is confusing. Hopefully the pictures help. E-mail me for further instructions if you need.
Gather the bottom portion so it is tighter than the top of the knot.
Finish gathering the silk so it looks like a knot, and pin it. Right now you are looking at what will be the inside portion of the knot.
Here it is, pinned in the back.
Sew down where you pinned. I hand sewed it since I was out and about, but you could machine sew this.
Cut the extra material off, leaving about 1/4'' from the line to the edge.
Turn the loop inside out to hide the raw edge of the seam.
Cut your elastic so it just fits around the dress shirt collar. Make sure it's not too loose or too tight so it won't be a hazard. Hand sew the ends of the elastic together. If it's too loose, you can always sew it a bit tighter.
Put the elastic in the fold of the tie.
Twist the tie at the fold so both back sides will lay against the chest of your handsome lil' guy.
Pull the knot portion up (you can use a big safety pin for this if it helps), making sure the seam of the knot portion faces the back. In this picture I forgot to twist the tie, so make sure you twist it to look more authentic.
The finished product with the twist!
Tutorial #3: This tutorial is also super fast. It is a combination of tutorial #1 and #2, as it uses the skinny end of the tie like tutorial #1, but it also uses the elastic as in tutorial #2.
Grab a tie. Fold it in "half", determining the length of the front and back hanging portions. Add an inch to your desired length, and cut. Mine is about 13'' total.
Open up the last inch or so of the tie, revealing the felt.
Cut about an inch of the felt away.
You can hem the raw edge up at this time if desired. It makes the process easier: learn from my mistakes:). Fold up both edges to make a point. Pin it, and sew it down, making sure you don't sew all the way through the material.
Cut about 3'' for what will be your knot portion. Now flip it so you are looking at what will be the inside of this knot portion.
Make sure the knot portion fits around the top of the tie, & mark it (you can look at tutorial #2 for more directions). Sew it at an angle so it looks more like a knot.
Flip the knot portion so you see the front/right side of the material. If there's material that sticks out, you can sew it into the knot to hide it.
Cut your elastic so it fits around the dress shirt collar. Make sure it's not too loose or too tight so it won't be a hazard. Hand sew the ends of the elastic together.
Put your elastic loop through the tie.
Twist the tie so it looks more authentic.
Fold the twisted tie in "half".
Pull up your knot portion adjusting it so it looks like a knot. Use a big safety pin to pull it through if needed. And here is the finished product!
Wow! That’s a lot of pictures. I really hope the pictures help, especially where I have a hard time articulating exactly what I mean.
Have you re-purposed before? Have you made new clothes from old clothes? We would love to hear from you! Feel free to comment. Get free e-mail updates by subscribing here. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
Have you read…?
- DIY Repurposing Old Clothing to New Clothing
- Upcycled Towel to Bib Tutorial
- Accountability & Wisdom: The Vegetable Garden
- DIY: Grow Your Own Green Onions In the Windowsill
- DIY: Starting Our Garden
- Repurposed Tights to Headband Tutorial
- Repurposed Tights to Boys’ Underwear
- Repurposed Shirt to Skirt Tutorial
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This is great! I was going to try something similar for my sister’s wedding. They ordered ties for all the groomsmen so I was going to make a mini one for my son. Thanks!
Hi Lisa, You are welcome. They are so fun to make! Thanks for visiting!
Thank yo so much for linking this up to our Crafty Showcase. We’ve enjoyed looking at it all this week and watching all the clicks were you getting on it from the link up. So I’m here to tell you CONGRATS that this post was one of our Designer Top Picks and is being featured in our Feature Friday post. We are featuring you on our blog today, facebook page, twitter and pinterest! Stop over and see your feature!
Don’t forget to stop in on Saturday-Thur and link up some more of your awesome ideas.
Have a super weekend and a fab summer!
Susie @Bowdabra http://bowdabrablog.com/2012/06/08/feature-friday-bowdabra-top-showcase-picks-2/
You are welcome for linking. Thanks so much for featuring me!!
Wow – nice job! Your tutorial is so detailed and I love all the pictures. It makes it much easier to understand.
I’m so glad you linked up at Romance on a dime. I’m pinning this!!
Thanks so much Betsy! Have a blessed day!
This is such a great up-cycle! Those boys are SO cute, too! Thanks for linking up with us on “Strut Your Stuff Saturday!” We hope to see you next week! -The Sisters
What a great idea!! But I really just had to tell you that your little guy could be my nephew ten years ago. I had to take and double, then a triple take when I saw him. Wow, I guess everyone’s got a twin out there. Such a cutie!!!
Thanks Jeannie for visiting! That’s so funny about the double. We think he’s a cutie, too! He’ll be 3 in 10 days!
What a lovely project and such a cute little boy! Thanks for entering the competition on my blog. I’ve extended the deadline now until 31st July if you have more projects you want to enter. Is it OK if I use one of your photos for the roundup post?
Yes, Wendy! Use the pics and link back here. Thanks!
I love this idea. My kids are grown, so I can’t use it any longer. Just a thought though..You could also trade these with other mom’s for new choices. I’ve found another good use for old neck ties as well. They can be used to make gorgeous quilts! A great idea for a guy. Thanks for sharing all your wonderful links and idea’s. I’m retired and alone many hours a day, and throughly enjoy all of them..
Hi Jill, Thanks for your ideas and for visiting!