Tie Pole

Here's a ridiculously belated post about something that happened in my own backyard, here in Ocean Beach.

I guess you can say this is the necktie version of a yarn bomb.
Pretty cool, I say.
Read more here

Art Quilts

This year's San Diego Quilt Show featured two quilts sewn with neckties.

"Bow Ties" by Cindy Barger used ties in the bow tie quilt pattern.
She used her husband's ties after he left his "dress-up job". She said the quilt made better use of the ties.

"Necktie Mandala", by Peggy Caballero, used strips of silk from a customer's father's neckties in a mandala shape.

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.

Pinterest

I haven't had a chance to catch up here yet, but there are more necktie ideas on my
Pinterest board, Sewing with Neckties

I hope to blog all the ideas eventually!

Special Event Tablecloth

Oh my gosh, I didn't mean to take so much of a break!
Contrary to what you might have been thinking, I have not abandoned this blog.
I just haven't had consistent internet access.

 Wendy contacted me to tell me she's making a tablecloth for her wedding!

Very very cool.
I love to hear about your projects, and it's fun to hear about people getting excited about sewing.

Wendy wasn't sure how to complete the center.
Eileen's rug gives a nice idea

Mirror Mirror....

Thanks to Pinterest (God, I could spend HOURS on that site!), I've found some tie projects that I hadn't seen previously.
Laura, of Dishfunctional Designs, posted about these amazing decoupaged mirrors by Podged on Etsy.

Sadly, I can't find an active link to Podged, so if anyone knows, please give me a heads up.

Laura posted more awesome ideas which I will discuss in future posts.
Yes, I am determined to get back to regular updating of this blog.

Unique Quilt

Gorgeous tie quilt I saw on eBay. The seller described it as "...It looks like it was made in the 1950's or 1960's from the ties that had gone out of fashion at that point...The backing is white cotton, and the face is entire made of ties"/ "...It measures approximately 46" square" The seller claims it was purchased "about 20 years ago from Jon Lundberg's Vintage Men's Haberdashery, which used to be located in Kensington California."/

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

Read all about it

Pretty exciting--this blog was mentioned in an online story by Associated Press writer Jennifer Forker
find it here

Let there be Light

Nancy Gamon made this unique lampshade--such a fun idea, and quite attractive too!

You can find her designs in her Etsy shop (including embellished neckties, scarves and headbands made from neckties, and more)

Extraordinary Quilt

Absolutely amazing quilt made by Stacey of
Peppermint Pinwheels, she calls this quilt Silk Orange Peel.
(flickr link)

Stacey says, "The tie silks I used were actually either samples or remnants from a factory that made neck-ties. They weren't ever finished into ties, but were about 4-1/2" by 12" (app.) pieces.
To make the quilt I used a paper-piecing technique, but used muslin instead of paper to add stability. I also used a pattern by quilt-maker Karen K. Stone."

I noticed that Karen Stone suggests using scraps from neckties and the paper-piecing technique in at least two of her patterns:
Enticement

and
Untitled

A new take on a dress from ties

Nina said she was inspired by this site (thank you!), and made this gorgeous dress.
She even won second place in a recycled fashion contest!

Woven chair seat

"Un-tie" Chair, by Peter Raphael Russo (2009)
Walnut, birch plywood, neckties

Wearable Ties

Christine's dress, as seen on Kira's Crafty Life

Woven bodice dress by Denise Applegate-Schober

I adore this one, but couldn't find any information about it other than it's linked (in a goodgle search) with I'll Fly AwayI later found the image on Flickr.
The photographer's sister Alison made the dress.
She says, "The main part of the dress was made from a pattern and then the flounce was replaced with a collection of ties. Dress itself has invisible zipper in the back and is fully lined and has light boning. I collected the ties in shades of blues to match the main part of the dress.The fabric was a roll end which was going cheap"

More Quilt Designs

Necktie Quilts.
Click on highlighted text for more information

Art Quilt by Jana Morgan.She describes it as "men's neckties, hand-dyed fabrics, thread and yarn on canvas"
and "This piece is made up mostly of men's neckties that I wove into a thick fabric, hand-stitched together with other hand-dyed fabrics, cut into squares, reconstructed into a grid, stitched to canvas and drew over with machine stitching. I invested months of meandering, free-associative stitching into this painting / crazy quilt. Both the long process and the final form reflect my personal response to / map of the flows and restrictions of everyday life (daily driving) in Los Angeles"

"Tied to Thad", String Quilt by Martha Herbert

Striped ties quilt by Cheryl Gerhart

Quilt from her boyfriend's ties, by Feng Shui by Fishgirl

"Leo's Ties of a Life", as posted on Offenburger

Unique pattern (click on image to enlarge) that was in a quilt show in Hemet, 2008, called "Preacher Bill's Ties", by Glenda Alexander (I saw it posted on Threads in Time)

Memory Quilt by Donna Sinrud

Photoshop Ops

From a Photoshop contest a couple of years ago, featured on Freaking News.