Thursday, June 9, 2011

DIY - Making Fat Ties Skinny

I've been thinking about trying this for a while, and the other day I just did it. Then I messed it up, so I googled it, and got some great tips from this site; http://www.designmom.com/2010/08/diy-skinny-ties/. Then I tried again. Because I'm somebody with really no sewing skills other than fixing buttons or broken seams, I cheat a bit but I think it's ok.

So, read on brave reader, read on.
These are three ties. The one on the left is my skinniest tie. The one in the middle is my favourite tie, and the one on the right is the one I'll be working with. 




So, the first thing is up, is flip the tie over and take these bad boys off. 
Gone.  

Kablammo. 


Free and clear. And under control. 


Now that those things are out of the way, rip the seam all the way up until you hit the skinny part of the tie. Every tie has got one. I used a pair of scissors, but you can find seam rippers at Wal-Mart, or even Value Village. 

Now, that white thing that's inside is what gives the tie it's shape. So, here you'll untuck it from it's flap. 

Now that it's untucked, I laid my favourite tie on top so I would have an idea of how much to remove. I think it was about a half an inch on each side. I'm probably wrong, though. 

I went up both sides with a sharpie marker and made dots so I could pretend I was playing connect the dots while I fixed this tie. 

Cut one side off. 

Cut the other side off. Now, if you're a Speedy Gonzales, slow down. If this thing is misshapen, so is your tie. Gear down, big rig. 

Once you've got your cutting done, stick it back in there. (That's what she said.) 

Fold over the side that used to be under and iron it into place. 

Fold over the other side and iron IT into place. 

Unfold it one more time to get it together. 

My secret weapon. I can't sew well, so this makes it easier. 

Lay that Stitch Witchery down where your sides are going to meet. 

Fold it back over. 

Cover it with a wet towel. 

And IRON THE BITCH! 


After all is said and done, you've got a tie that's skinny with minimal work. Down the road I may look into learning to sew it up proper, but for now this does the trick! 

1 comment:

  1. i don't have a tie to skinny up for anyone...but enjoyable read!!

    ReplyDelete