I love me a lady tie.
It's so Annie Hall (read: eccentric) and yet also so Pretty Woman (read: sexy).
These made-for-a-man-but-even-better-on-a-woman ties in a recent Madewell catalog especially caught my eye. They sourced them from a yummy, dapper little tie and scarf company called The Hill-Side and priced them at $76 (for the floral one) and $83 (for the tweed and chambray ones). But I thought it looked like an easy thing to recreate, especially with the chic square ends. And why not take a girly fabric and make a guy's style a girl's own? No sewing machine required.
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| Photo Sources: Madewell, The Hillside |
Supplies Needed:
Scrap fabric
Scissors
Self-healing mat, rotary cutters, and rulers (optional)
Card stock or other heavy paper
Pins, thread and needle
Iron and ironing board
Fusible web tape
Cut a strip of fabric that's 4.25" X 60". (I used a self-healing mat, clear ruler, and a fabric pen to measure and make my markings before cutting.)
2) Use your cardstock to create a 2" wide piece of paper. Fire up your iron and pin this piece of paper in the center of your fabric. Fold fabric over the paper and iron to create precise creases.
3) Remove the paper and tuck fusible tape inside the creases. This way you'll give your tie more weight and substance and most importantly guarantee a crisp, even edge.
4) Press your tie to melt the fusible webbing to form a permanent bond.
5) Continue with this process up the length of your tie: iron around the paper pattern, remove paper, add fusible webbing in the creases, and then iron again.
6) Also use fusible webbing to secure both ends of your tie.
7) Hand-stitch the underside of your tie. This takes awhile. I think I watched two episodes of Breaking Bad while I did this last night.
Tie your knot, and you're done! Need to know how to do that? There are apparently four different knots you can choose from. I watched this sort of awkward man do a 'four in hand' knot on YouTube. Enjoy. Please let me know if you make one. I think they'd make great gifts for dudes, too. :)
