Every year The Hubs’ company hosts a Christmas party for the management. It’s always a swanky, dress-up affair at a gorgeous hotel or palatial estate, and I search for months for that one perfectly flattering dress that will make me feel amazing for the night. Well a few years ago The Hubs decided he was bored of the whole necktie/suit look and wanted to switch it up some.
So I played around with the shape and eventually drew up the perfect bow tie pattern. The first one complimented by dress and we loved being able to coordinate our dress that night.
It’s been so fun to create custom neck wear. I’ve even been able to get him to wear holiday bow ties! And he likes getting to pick out the fabric himself.
Tying them is really pretty easy. A quick Google search landed me on some YouTube videos and we were off! I love the classic look of a bow tie on my handsome man.
And now that we’ve got Ollie, he’s letting me make them matching bow ties!! They were so handsome at my brother’s rehearsal dinner in February.
(And I made Ollie a little seersucker pant and vest outfit for the wedding. He was 2 weeks old and SO ridiculously precious!)
Are you ready to start making some amazing custom bow ties for yourself and the men in your life? Great! Below you’ll find everything you need for the Men’s Bow Tie Tutorial.
First, you’ll need to download the pattern piece. Set your printer margins to 0, DO NOT SCALE the image before printing. And before cutting, make sure the 1″ box measures exactly 1″ to ensure your piece is the correct size.
bow tie pattern pieces
Cut out the pieces on the black lines and connect them together to get 1 long piece. You just need 1 pattern piece, cut your fabric according to the directions.
To make the right size tie, you'll need the neck size of the man you're making the tie for. You know when you buy dress shirts and they come in size {16 34/35} or {17.5 36/37}, well the first number is the number you'll need to make the bow tie.
You'll need:
-1/4 yard of fabric of choice. I've been using woven cotton.
-1/4 yard of Pellon 950F ShirTailor interfacing
-matching thread.
Cut 4 pieces from your fabric and either 2 or 4 from your interfacing. The plaid and ornament bow ties I only interfaced 1 side of the tie. The blue polka dots I did both sides and other than making it thicker, there wasn't much difference between them.
Lay the interfacing fusible side down on the wrong side of your fabric, matching the pieces.
The interfacing instructions say to use a damp press cloth to properly adhere the fabric to the ShirTailor.
Take 2 of your tie pieces and placing them right sides together, sew along the short, skinny end using a 1/4″ seam allowance. Repeat for the other 2 pieces. Open them up and iron the seams to one side.
Now you just have 2 long pieces, so lay them right sides together and pin down the length of the bow tie.
Sew around the entire perimeter of the tie using a 1/4″ seam allowance, leaving a hole 2 or 3 inches wide right in the middle to turn your tie through.
Clip the corners on a diagonal and cut slits around the curves so they’ll lay smooth when you turn it.
The easiest way to turn your tie is to pinch it at the end so the sides come away from each other,
then use a chop stick to push the end down and out the 2″ hole you left in the middle of the tie.
It will be a wrinkled mess when you get it turned! That’s okay! Hit it with your iron and use a LOT of steam. It’ll flatten right out. You’ll need to use your chop stick to make sure your corners are poked out and the seams are flat.
Then using matching thread (I used contrast so you can see it), sew up the hole you left for turning. You can whip stitch it closed if you want, but it’s hidden under the back of the collar, so it’s not necessary.
You’ll need to iron the tie after each wear to get it nice and flat again, but it’ll come out perfect over and over. I love that it can be washed, since it seems everything in my life is covered with spit up, spaghetti sauce, or snot.
Now go, and tie one on!
The post Men’s Bow Tie Tutorial appeared first on Sew Like My Mom.