The velcro bow tie tutorial

Who doesn't love bow ties? They look adorable on little boys and dashing on men. And it was perfect for a wedding event! They literally cost a buck or two to make and take up 20 minutes max. And you can make any buddy match, like brothers or two cousins (what I did) or a father and son. Hmmm, I'm thinking next father's day Ollie, Beck, and Danny will get matching bow ties...too much? 

Supplies:

small amount of fabric (great project for scraps), preferably a stiffer material like cotton. If it is a less stiff material you will have to add interfacing to it.

3" of velcro

sewing machine

thread

scissors

pins

iron

Instructions:

1. Measure and cut out the bow tie material, it is 4" to 6" and add a half inch of seam allowance (the bigger this is the bigger the width of the bow in the end). The length will be 7" to 8" and add a half inch seam allowance (the bigger this is the wider it will be). I did 4.5" X 7.5" (this included seam allowance) and it was perfect!

2. Fold the material in half so it looks skinny and long (hot dog style) and sew up the side a quarter inch.

3. Iron the seam into the center.

4. Fold again the other direction (hamburger style), and sew up the side.

5. Turn right side out and iron that new seam into the center.

6. Crease the center of the bow with your fingers, making the material look like a bow tie.

7. Stitch the bow tie crease into place.

8. Measure and cut out the middle piece of the bowtie. I did 1.5" X 6".
9. Fold it in half so the two small ends are touching (hamburger style). we are folding it twice to make it a little thicker, so we don't need any interfacing.
10. Fold again, but the other direction this time (hot dog style). So there will be a fold at one of the ends. Sew up the long side.
11. Iron the new seam in the center.
12. Wrap the little piece around the center of the bow tie, measure where you will sew it. Leave a little tiny bit of slack because we are going to add the velcro tie in it.
13. Fold in half and sew where you marked.
14. Flip right side out and slide it onto the center of the bow tie, leaving the seam hidden in the back (last pic on right). 

15. Measure the person's neck you are making it for and cut out the piece for the velcro tie. I did 1.5" X 12" (for toddler size), but this will be longer (not wider) depending on the size of person's neck. This is the only part that will be changed depending on the size of the person.

16. Fold in half so the longer ends are touching (hot dog style) and sew up the side.

17. Turn right side out, iron the seam to one of the sides to make it look seamless. Then top stitch both sides.

18. Fold the ends into a triangle shape and top stitch over it, make sure the ends are folded in on opposite sides of the tie (i.e. in order for the velcro to fit together properly, one end needs to be folded up over and the other down under)

19. Looks like this.

20. Sew 3" of velcro on the ends covering the triangle you sewed. Make sure to test out the velcro's positioning, so if you sewed the ends properly, the velcro should touch perfectly. I made sure that the end that would face the neck would be the soft part of the velcro.

21. Pull the center piece onto the tie and tack it down. in the center.

22. Pull the tie back in and reposition it in the center. Tack it down.