Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Bow Ties




Bow ties for little boys are soooo cute!  I've always been intimidated by them but this project was so easy!  It took me about 30 minutes.  I got my inspiration HERE but I didn't use her tutorial to make mine.  This is how I made mine.

1-Cut 2 pieces of fabric, and one of felt, measuring 4" by 6".  For the Bow.  The felt helps the bow keep its shape.


2-Cut a Piece of fabric 4" by 2". For the center.


3-Cut a piece of fabric 3" wide and then the neck measurement of person the tie is for (with the shirt on) and add an inch for seams. The one I made for Max was 15".   I made it a little big because he doesn't like his tie too tight around his neck.  I don't really blame him.

4- You'll also need some Velcro.  I used the long strip, self sew kind.
DO NOT USE THE SELF ADHESIVE KIND.  It gums up your needle and does not work.

THE BOW
Place the 2 pieces of fabric (right sides together) and 1 piece of felt together, with the felt on top.  Sew around 3 sides leaving one open so you can turn it.  I left a short side open.
Turn it so the felt is in the middle.
Turn the un-sewn side in about a 1/4 inch and sew the remaining side closed as close to the edge as possible.
Then fold the bow in half long ways and sew an inch line.
When it is open it will look like this:

THE MIDDLE PIECE
Now take your piece of fabric measuring 4" by 2" and fold it in half (right sides together) and sew one of the short sides and then the long side.  
Turn it inside out.  I used the stick that comes with stuffing to poke inside of it to help turn it, but you could use a pencil, pen, chopstick, scissors anything long and pointy and skinny.
Turn the un-sewn side in about 1/4 inch and sew closed.
Sorry about the picture

Wrap this short piece around the middle of the bow part like this:

The sew JUST the middle piece together, while it's around the bow (with a needle and thread. ) It's kind of tricky.  You don't want to sew the middle part to the bow or you won't be able to put the neck piece through the middle part.


THE NECK PIECE
Now you're ready to sew the neck piece.  You'll do the same thing you did with the middle of the bow.  Fold the fabric 3" by however long the person's neck was plus an inch.  (15" in my case.) Right sides together. 
Sew one 3" side and then the long side.  
Turn it inside out.
Fold the  un-sewn side in about a 1/2 or 1/4 inch in, and sew closed.
Press the piece flat with an iron.
Sew on the velcro 
Thread  the long neck piece through the middle piece.


Then bribe your little guy (or big guy) with Cheetos to put on the dreaded "church" shirt and new bow tie!









1 comment: