Versatile Collar and Tie

I have a tiki man that my grandfather carved out of a tree stump a long time ago.  He greets people entering my apartment.  I’ve never really decorated him before (with the exception of Christmas) because I think he’s pretty cool by himself, but I thought it might be fun to dress him up!  Now, as most people cannot relate to the difficulty of finding the perfect attire for a 3-1/2 foot tall tree stump, I decided to design this tie to suit several purposes!  The tie features an adjustable hook and loop closure and fits everyone from the tiki man to dogs to full grown men.  This picture is my 11 month old nephew checking himself out in a mirror (again, taken by Mr. B’s Photo Shoot).  This project uses the collar from an old button down shirt.  I haven’t decided what to do with the rest of the shirt, but I’m sure it will show up on this blog at some point.  I am open to suggestions!

Materials needed:

• Collar from an old button down shirt
• Fabric for tie
• 4″ of hook and loop fastener (can use more or less depending on your intended purposes)
• Piece of paper, ruler, and pencil to create a template for the tie (or you can freehand if you want)
• Sewing machine
• Iron

Instructions:

1. Cut the collar off on an old button down shirt.
2. Trim this collar as shown in the following picture.  This will remove unnecessary bulk from the finished product.  The extra tab will allow you to attach the collar later on.
3. Use a small zigzag stitch to finish off all the edges you just cut.
4. Fold the collar so that the back of the collar is in half and the front of the collar folds completely over the extra tab.  Iron this fold.  The collar should retain a slight curve.
5. Cut the collar in half and use a zigzag seam on each half to close up the newly created raw edges.  The folded over collar should now be directly sewn to the underside of the collar.
6. Lay the two pieces out so the collar meets in the front and the extra tabs are overlapping slightly.  Sew a straight line through both tabs to attach the two pieces together.
7. Time to design your tie.  You can make yourself a pattern using my template instructions or freehand a drawing.  Just be sure to cut two pieces of each.  If you use the template, make sure you place the pattern on the fold.
8. Pin the right sides of the tail together.  Sew a 1/4″ seam around all edges except the 2″ top part.
9. Turn the tail right side out and sew a 1/8″ seam around all sewn edges.
10. Lay one piece of the knot on your table with right side up.  Lay the tail on top lining up the edges that measure 2″.  Lay the second piece of the knot on top of the pile with right side down.  Pin in place.
11. Sew a 1/4″ seam around all edges of the knot except the 3″ side.  Trim the corners on the 3″ side close to the seam to remove excess bulk.
12. Pull the knot up so the fabric is right side out.  Fold the top edge in about 1/4″ of an inch.  Pin in place.
13. Sew a 1/8″ seam around the entire knot.
14. Pin the tie in place on top of the extra tabs of the collar and under the collar flaps.  Sew a small seam to attach the tie to the collar.  Make sure these stitches will be covered by the collar flaps.
15. Lay the hook side (the rough side) on the outside of the collar close to the back seam.  Pin in place.  Lay the loop side (the soft side) on the inside of the collar close to the opposite back seam.  Pin in place.  Stitch around both pieces to secure in place.
16. Your tie is finished!  Here is a collage of everyone sporting this accessory!  (I apologize for the glowing dog eyes)