Tie the Knot

Season 12, Episode 4 of Project Runway featured clothing sewn with neckties!
The challenge presented to the Project Runway designers was to use bow ties as inspiration, and to incorporate at least one tie into their design.

This episode was sponsored by Tie the Knot, an organization founded by actor Jesse Ferguson and his husband Justin Makita.
Tie the Knot advocates for gay marriage.
The organization name plays on the double meaning of tying a bow tie, with the euphemism of "tying the knot" in marriage.
They release a seasonal collection of neckties "to advocate for the civil rights of gay and lesbian Americans throughout the United States and to look damn good while doing it."

(Jesse shown here with PR's mentor, Tim Gunn)

This is what the designer's came up with in the one-day challenge:

Bradon's halter top was the winner of this challenge

Alexander's design featured a fancy collar

Dom's dress had a fun bodice embellishment (as well as hair styled in a bow)

 Kate's outfit played on the curved shape of a bow tie

Justin's dress also acknowledged the untied bow tie's shape

Karen used the tie as an edging detail

The judges weren't fans of Sue's design

You can view all the 13 designer's entries on Project Runway's "rate the runway" page
There is a zoom feature to better see construction details.

Card Tutorial

There's a tutorial on how to make an envelope for a small card from a necktie, on the Urban Threads website.
Urban Threads sells unique and modern embroidery designs, both hand and machine styles.

Upcycled Necktie Rugs

One great way to recycle old neckties is to make rugs.


Dreamweavers’ "Executive" rug made from upcycled silk blend ties saved from the cutting floor.
See color selections here
According to Lifestyles Furniture's website, "Who said going green couldn’t look good? One of our best selling rugs, The Executive is thickly plush, with deep softness provided by its unique pile. The mix of silks and polyester fabrics are upcycled neckties. Each piece of our Executive rug is cut and sewn by hand, filled with hypo-allergenic poly filling, pieced together and backed with a non-slip action backing. The rug is stain-resistant, colorfast and 100% machine washable"
This article by Attic Mag talks about the Dreamweaver necktie rugs, along with rugs made from recycled tee shirts, belts, and shoelaces!

I've written previous posts about rugs that are listed in the sidebar, but I'll re-post the links here for easier reference
Woven rug

Another by Weaver Girl

A floor runner that I would love to learn how to make

Rag rugs by Sandy Voss

Braided rug how-to

Circular rug by Maylina


Another by Eileen

I'm not able to pull the photo, but the patchwork mat by Stephanie of Little Birds could be made with neckties.
If you're worried about wear and tear on silks and polyesters, you could maybe encase the mat in clear vinyl.
An idea anyway.

Steampunk Corset Dress

Fun corset dress costume by Erica Young
Tutorial on Instructables

Google is tied up

Fun image on Google today, for Father's Day.
To read more about how Google artists interpret holidays and special events, see this article from CBS news

"Toward the Threadbare"

I totally screwed up and forgot to post this while it was current.
I so apologize.
The photographs, however, are still inspirational.

An art installation using ties appeared at the Janice Charach Epstein Gallery in West Bloomfield, Michigan, October 17 through December 17 of last year.

San Francisco artist Isaac Amala contacted me about the exhibition, saying it was a collaborative effort featuring new sculptural installations by himself and artist Liz Simpson.
I posted about another of their installations previously.

He said, "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 formal material rather than formal wear.
While we don't necessarily aim to strip the ties of their popular associative weight, or their distinct, secret histories, 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 m
acro-narratives, embracing the tension between the individual parts and the sum total. Our collaborative practice continues to develop site-specific configurations - exploring numerous architectural, physical and psychological intersections that our matierals and each new space present."







You can read more about the artist's work on their blog, issac & liz.

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.

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!

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)