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Necktie Place Mats and Napkin Rings

comments (9) February 3rd, 2010     

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Sister_Diane Diane Gilleland, contributor
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Cut the pocket and napkin ring.
Fuse the napkin-ring fabric.
Photo: Sloan Howard
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Make dinner a necktie affair with stylish, place mats and napkin rings made from men’s ties. The ties provide the place mat’s sophisticated border and clever flatware pocket not to mention a dapper matching napkin ring. Raid the closet—or your local thrift shop—for ties in handsome colors and patterns. Look for complementary fabrics, and keep in mind that each place setting needs two ties. When you’re looking for the right mix of ties, keep your eyes peeled for the wide ones: skinny, ’80s-style ties are quite fab, but they won’t supply enough fabric.

To get this great look, just deconstruct the ties, cut them up accordingly, and then spend a little bit of time at the sewing machine and ironing board. Finally, you’ll make and attach the bias-tape tie fabric to the edges of the mat.

What You'll Need:
• Bias-tape maker, 2-inch (Clover-USA.com)
• Decorative button, 3⁄4 inch
• Fusible web
• Hand-sewing needle
• Iron
• Lightweight fusible interfacing, 1⁄4 yard (CreateForLess.com)
• Linen/cotton blend fabric for place mats, 1⁄4 yard (RobertKaufman.com)
• Neckties, two
• Ruler
• Scissors
• Seam ripper
• Sewing machine
• Thread to match fabric and neckties


Prep the tie and place-mat fabric
Before you cut the pocket and napkin-ring pieces, you have to remove the material from inside the tie.

1. Deconstruct the ties. Use a seam ripper to remove any labels sewn on the back of the tie. Then, remove the seam along the center back, and pull out the padded material from the inside of the tie.




2. Cut the pocket and napkin ring. For the flatware pocket, cut 6 inches off one tie’s wide end, measuring from the tip. From the other necktie cut 8 1⁄2 inches off of the skinny end for the napkin ring.



3. Prepare the place-mat fabric. Cut two, 13 1⁄2-inch by 18 1⁄2-inch rectangles from the linen/cotton blend fabric. Cut two, 12 1⁄2-inch x 17 1⁄2-inch rectangles of lightweight fusible interfacing. Following the manufacturer’s instructions, fuse the interfacing to the wrong sides of the fabric pieces, leaving 1⁄2 inch of extra fabric on all four sides.




Sew the place mat and napkin ring
Fuse and sew on the pocket; then create and attach the border pieces for the finished place mat. Then, complete the napkin rings.

1. Fuse and attach the pocket. Open the back of the fl atware pocket, and place a small piece of fusible web in the center. It should be just large enough to cover the area where the sides overlap. Fold the sides back over the webbing, and press the pocket to fuse the layers together. Fold over a 1⁄2 inch double hem on the cut edge, and hand-stitch the hem in place. Arrange, pin, and then edgestitch the fi nished pocket on one of the fabric rectangles.



TIP - Neckties are constructed from several bias-cut pieces sewn together, so if your ties have diagonal seams somewhere in them, ignore them; they aren't that noticeable


2. Create a bias tape. Press the remaining necktie fabric flat. Trim the edges to create two, 3 7⁄8-inch-wide strips, at least 33 inches long. Sew the strips together end to end with a 1⁄4-inch seam allowance. Feed the strip through the bias-tape maker, following the package directions. Press the fabric fl at as it emerges from the biastape maker. Next, fold the finished tape in half lengthwise, and press it again.




3. Attach the bias tape. Wrap the bias tape over the placemat edge at the center top. Pin the tape around the edges of the place mat, mitering the corners. Start and end at center bottom. When the ends meet, fold the raw edges under 1 inch, and trim off any excess tape. Stitch along the bias tape edge to attach it to the place mat. Hand-stitch the bias tape ends together at the bottom where they meet.




4. Fuse the napkin-ring fabric. Open the sides on the back of the napkin-ring piece, and place a small strip of fusible web in the center. Fold the sides back over, and press to fuse the layers together. Machine-stitch a 1⁄2-inch hem at the cut end.




5. Attach the button. Make a 1-inch buttonhole in the pointed end of the napkin ring. Sew a button to the squared end. Fold the piece into a ring, and button to secure it.

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Comments (9)

Zaponka writes: amazing idea! a lot of silk ties http://zaponka.net.ua/
Posted: 5:14 am on April 15th
kimmey writes: TOO CUTE. GRAT WAY TO USE A TIE.
Posted: 7:45 pm on August 25th
harrietnightshade writes: This is very creative!
Posted: 8:20 pm on April 28th
ladykatz writes: My sister kept my dad's ties when he passed away last summer and this is what I will do with them - wonderful idea!
Posted: 2:07 pm on February 4th
M65D67D69D70D74 writes: What a great idea for old ties. My Sewing Guild is having a placemat challenge in Oct. of this year. My comment on the yardage needed is that your numbers are not correct. The instructions call for 1/4 yd of fabric and interfacing. 1/4 yard is only 9 inches. The required cutting for the placemat is 13 1/2 by l8 1/2. Otherwise it is great.
Posted: 8:33 am on February 4th
ChildfreeTrophyWife writes: This is so nice. I will definitely be making some of these. I've posted the link to this tutorial over on the 'Sewing with neckties' flickr group (http://www.flickr.com/groups/34628626@N00/) because I know they will like this as much as I do.
Posted: 8:42 pm on February 3rd
bubblear writes: Hi: In response to Quiltwoman - where can I also get the quilt design that you spoke about - the crazy quilt, made with old ties. Thanks
Posted: 7:42 pm on February 3rd
quiltwoman writes: What a great wayto use up old ties..especially now that he is retired and more casual in his lifestyle. I also have a box of old ties that someone gave me to use in a crazy quilt. I think I like this better...very clever.
Posted: 3:32 pm on February 3rd
thecreativemaven writes: This is so great! I can totally see this for a little boy's birthday party, or a father's day celebration.
Posted: 2:40 pm on February 3rd
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