DIY: Bow Tie (tutorial + free pdf pattern + a giveaway!!)...
Now, look...I hate to be the first to mention it. You know what I'm referring to. "That" time of year that is fast approaching. I can't quite bring myself to say "that" word yet. It's far too soon. So lets just talk about gifts. Nuff said? Nuff said! If like me you like to give the occasional handmade gift, you'll probably find it relatively easy to come up with something for a female friend/relative. But blokes?? Well, that's a little trickier I find. They're trickier to buy for and definitely trickier to "make" for, as a rule. Ah but hang on a minute! Bow ties look set to stick around for a while, so if your man is game enough to wear one, how about whipping up a cute little number to pop in his C*****mas stocking? They're super quick to make and you can easily squeeze one of these out of a fat quarter or indeed a modest size remnant. So a great way to stash bust too. Bonus!
You'll need a light weight fabric. (I used about 2/3 of a fat quarter) Mine came from the Riley & Blake Range from Elephant in My Handbag. This moustache print makes for a perfect, quirky take on a classic bow tie. You'll need to interface your fabric with a lightweight fusible interfacing; then print off and assemble the free pdf pattern (link at the bottom of this post). I cut mine from card to enable me to trace around it rather that pin it on the fabric....
Once the reverse of your fabric has been interfaced, trace 4 pattern pieces directly onto the interfacing. 2 in one direction, 2 in the other. (eg 2 with the fat end to the left, 2 with the fat end to the right), to ensure the pattern lines up when you come to join your pieces. Of course this is because I was working with a FQ and therefore didn't have the width to cut on the fold. But with a larger piece of fabric you could cut on the fold so you end up with 2 complete pieces (as opposed to 4 pieces that need joining) and skip the next step...
RS together, stitch the skinny ends together with 1/4" seam allowance. Press the stitching line then press seam allowances open...you'll now have 2 bow tie pieces. Front & back...
RS together again, stitch the 2 pieces together with a 1/4" seam allowance. Leave approxa 3" gap for turning...
I used my chunky wooden knitting need as a kind of pressing aid to press all the seams around the outside of the tie...
Now all you need to learn is how to tie the thing! There are loads of tutorials out there. Mine is technically tied incorrectly. At some point I'll get around to learning how to tie it properly, but this pic adequately conveys the finished tie for now!
You can download the free PDF pattern here! Make sure you print with no scaling/actual size. When it comes to sizing your bow tie pattern, you'll need to know the neck size of the person you are making for. You can lengthen or shorten "piece B" before joining it to "piece A" to get the correct length of tie...
Now as it happens, I have a couple of spare FQ's left over. "Moustaches on White" by Riley Blake (the multi coloured one in the pic) and "Moustaches/Beards on Cream" (The bottom one in the pic) from the Manscaping range by Michael Miller. So essentially I have two FQ's to giveaway to two lucky peops! To be in with a chance of winning simply go to Elephant in My Handbag, have a mooch, then leave a comment below sharing your fave fabric (and if you like, what you would make with it!) Giveaway is open worldwide and closes for entries on Sunday 17th Nov at midnight (GMT)....
