"Ties to the Past" Quilt

My mom and I recently attended a Quilt Show put on by the Kaleidoscope Quilt Guild of Lemon Grove.

I was blown away by a necktie quilt by Rita Anaya.
Ms. Anaya was kind enough to send me a photo of her quilt, since my camera was recently stolen.
There is a label on the back of the quilt that tells about it, and includes some of the interesting labels off the tie backs.

She said, "The ties belonged to my Dad who lived here in San Diego and some from my uncle who lived in Texas. Both passed away several years ago."

The wonderful thing about necktie quilts is the emotional layers, including a layer of whimsy in fun fabrics, a layer as a time capsule, and a layer of remembrance.
Often, necktie quilts are memorial or mourning quilts.
Necktie quilts tell a story--of the year the ties were made and the prevalent styles and colors of that time, and they also tell of the people who wore these ties...and how they were important to us.

Ties Quilt

Stephanie, at Make It a Wonderful Life, posted this fun quilt made for her father-in-law, from his large collection of ties.

Ties Font!

There's a fun font available that makes letters out of neckties.
See the info on the blog 973 Third Avenue.

Cool Shirt

(click on image to enlarge)

I wish I could find a better photo, but I am really intrigued by Ade's shirt (bottom right, the red shirt).
This is the top ten of So You Think You Can Dance, by the way.

But this shirt appears to be embellished with a tie as a vertical element down the front, and the collar also seems to be edged in the tie.
I'd love to know who designed this.

Methods and Ideas

Lots of ideas for using parts of ties in your sewing project, posted on my purse blog today.

What a fun idea

Reupholster a switchplate!
Idea from Craftzine

Tutorial on Eco-artware

Make a Pillow from Neckties

Tutorial by Carol Sews

Make a purse from neckties

I have another blog that is devoted to making purses.
Every two months or so, I post a challenge and ask readers to make a bag according to a theme.
There's no prize involved or anything, it's just for fun.
Too, my aim is to get people to think outside the box, to try new skills, new textures, new materials.

The current challenge is to make a purse using neckties.
I will be posting a lot of ideas.
More information at The Purse Project.

Dye eggs with Silk Neckties

Since it's almost Easter, I thought I'd repost about Necktie Eggs (original post from my Woof Nanny blog)

Vintage Lilac posted about this idea from Martha Stewart.
There's a video tutorial on Martha (if it doesn't link, search "Silk-Tie Easter Eggs")
Monogram Momma also has a tutorial.

I got together with my friend Jen, and we dyed Easter Eggs using pieces of silk neckties.

It was so much fun unwrapping the fabric packages to see what magic was inside!
Definitely an oohs and aahs moment.

Look at the lily!


Three of the eggs didn't color, because one tie was polyester (oops), and the other two were hand-marbled designs in swirled colors. Perhaps somehow the colors had been permanently set, so the design didn't transfer.


We'll have to find ways to best wrap the eggs, because where the fabric folds or pleats, the egg remains white.
It was really easy though, really fun, and we'll definitely do it again next year!

Necktie Valentines

This fun idea is from Craft Stylish (thanks to Cindy for sending me the tutorial link)

Glam Frocks

Fun dress from the Junky Styling show at last year's London Fashion Week, as seen on Treehugger (I only now found the photo).
"This strapless dress was made of men's ties and tartan, sewn together, into a long gown with a swishy skirt."

And some amazing designs were showcased on WhipUp (thanks Aimee for the link).
Etsy seller Glamarita makes ball gowns from men's ties

Tie Seats

The idea of upholstering furniture in neckties fascinates me.

Mag Ruffman has a tutorial on her site, Tool Girl.

The DIY Network also has a tutorial.

Diane from Della Mano Designs teaches a class in Maine (more info here).

If you want to buy a chair with its seat already woven, Globalicious has several available in her Etsy store (this one is a rocking chair)

There are no rules that weaving has to be in a straight line.
If the avant garde is more your cup of tea, perhaps you'll be inspired by this Art Chair by Tracy Deramus.
Daddy's Fattys Armchair was created by weaving vintage neckties onto a vintage Harry Bertoia chair.

I previously posted about Alabama Chanin's woven chair seats.

You can always upholster without weaving.

Inspiration from Country Living Magazine, March 2008
Sandy Stone used vintage neckties stitched to a foundation backing to upholster a 1950's chair.


This amazing ottoman was made by Meg Jewell

Necktie Art

54 Ties, 2008

Artist Charles LeDray uses everyday items in his art: toys, necklaces, pieces of clothing.
His pieces speak of clothing and its impact on our individual identity.
More info here.
Necktie skirt

Grateful Thread will take custom orders using your textiles, and make woven pieces like this wall hanging to "preserve personal memories"

Isaac Amala and Liz Simpson assemble sculptural pieces using neckties.
One their blog, they explain this material choice: "Neckties, idiosyncratic in design and personality, are normally viewed independently of one another. As cultural objects, they bring to mind the world of professionalism, formality, conservatism and business. In our current body of work, we examine the necktie as a formal material rather than formal wear. While we don't necessarily aim to strip the ties of their popular psychological weight, we seek to better understand and ultimately reveal their properties. Organized into gradients, the neckties become agents of the painting process. As building blocks, they function much like tapered pixels - bridging micro- and macro-narratives, embracing the tension between the individual and the sum total. We continue to employ numerous configurations while exploring the physical and associative impact carried out by these forms".

Pass Through Without Any Noise, 2007The gallery describes this piece: "Using thousands of acquired neckties, Isaac Amala and Liz Simpson create large scale sculptural installations. In the popular consciousness, neckties often promise little more than modes of conformity. As a building block, however, these elongated, quadrangular textiles offer a radical trajectory from the world of banal business transactions to one of soft craft, and flamboyant geometry. The forms also highlight our formal wear's most formal elements: through color interaction, repetition of shape, and by considering and transcending the original associations inherent to the materials."
Note there are additional necktie pieces on the blog link.

Seema Nusrat experimented with neckties draped into figural forms.
"(She), in her soft sculptures, all made up of wrapping neckties around abstract figures is making a statement about cultural images." (source)"‘Yellow Mellow’ was a structure made with all kinds of yellow ties. Seema had marvelously created an irregular figure of a woman without any facial features. Initially the artist noticed human figures from where she began looking at drapes without figures and capturing what she observed". (source)

It's a snake!

Really cute article about making toy snakes out of neckties, by Jill M. Nicolaus, courtesy of a wonderful gardening website called Dave's Garden.
(linked with permission)

Even more fun kid's clothes

Adorable halter top and jeans skirt, again by Andrea
(aka abracapocus pocus cadabra)

Precious necktie halter and skirt
I love how the sun peeking through reminds me of a fairy!