Bow Tie

My niece, Lily has been setting the fashion bar high in our family for the last 7 years; so it wasn't much of a surprise when her brother, Drew, decided to set his own fashion standards. He started wearing ties and bow ties. What a great idea because who can resist a dapper young dude in a bow tie?!

Jayhawks + bow tie = LOVE

He will have your daughter home before 7.

So when I was cruising around Pinterest and came across this tutorial, I was super excited. I thought re-purposing an old necktie into a bow tie was a great idea! Then I saw this tutorial for using whatever fabric you wanted and it was sized for kids. Drew is into Batman right now, so if I could find some Batman fabric, it would make the perfect bow tie for his birthday! Since our fabric options are very limited in Hutchinson, KS, I didn't find any Batman fabric in time; however, I found 2 ties at the Goodwill I thought he would like.
I used the Make It and Love It tutorial as a guide. I had to modify it since I was making it for a 5 year old.

Goal: to go from adult's necktie to child's bow tie

Here's what I did:

#1: Choose a necktie and get it toddler-approved.

#2: Remove the label and that other piece. I saved the patterned piece for later.

#3: Decide what size- this is 2 1/2" x 8 1/2", which is still pretty big for a child's size

#4: After you cut the ends, you may have to remove some of the original stitching. You will have to refold or you will have one side wider than the other.

#5: Pin it, so it doesn't move while you are sewing it up.
(I see now I still had one side wider than the other.)

#6: Use your best hand-stitching skills. Mine... not so great! :o)

This is where I had to take an unscheduled break to have my toddler's head hand-stitched...

2 stitches

#7: Fold your piece in half and use some more of your beautiful hand-stitching skills.

 I forgot to photograph #8. Take that little piece from the back, fold it and sew it together.
I would also add a step #9, which is listed in the guide tutorial, I just missed it. From Make It and Love it: "...scrunch the center of the fabric with your fingers and slide your knotted thread through some of the fabric at the center and wind the thread around the scrunched center several times.  Pull it tight.  Then knot it in place so the winding doesn’t come undone." It would have made my finished bow a lot neater.

#10: Pull your bow through the center piece.

Now I couldn't decide how to attach the neck band. I kept playing around with ideas, but I didn't like any of them. I couldn't figure out the best way to attach it. I liked the idea of using velcro for easy on and off, but I really didn't want to hand sew them on. Then I ran across this tutorial for a faux bow tie using elastic... VOILA!

#11: add elastic

Drew, the happy recipient (even if it was 2 weeks later). Of course, now Tate wants 1... or 2... and what about making Drew and me matching super hero bow ties! We NEED them!