How to Make a Recycled Necktie Scarf

comments (8) August 25th, 2008     

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Now you can get at the interior padding, which should pull right out. (Hang onto this stuff, by the way—it's a great batting for small quilting projects!)

Use a seam ripper to remove the lining that's sewn to both ends of the necktie.

Both ends of the tie will have some lining sewn to them. Just turn each end inside out, as I've done here with the skinny end of this tie. Then, use your seam ripper to take out the seams and remove the lining.

Most neckties are made of more than one piece of fabric. You can usually just ignore these piecing seams.

This is a good moment to notice that most neckties are pieced together. This one has two diagonal seams in it, placed so they'd be at the back of the neck when the tie was tied. For the most part, they aren't too noticeable in this scarf project, so I'll ignore them.

Repeat this process with the other seven neckties, and iron all the silk pieces.

Time to begin piecing. I'm making a series of wide and narrow stripes here, but you can cut and piece your silk into any patchwork configuration you like. There are just two important things to remember:

• Neckties are cut on the bias, which means that your silk pieces will have a lovely drape, but they'll also be a little stretchy. We'll talk about this challenge in a minute.

• On a related note, a necktie will have been stretched somewhat during its useful lifetime of being tied and untied. So sometimes the silk you liberate from a tie will be a bit stretched out. You can actually see this in the pattern printed on the silk. If this is the case, you can stretch it in the opposite direction to help it return to normal.

Use a ruler and rotary cutter to cut two end pieces. Each one should have two square corners.

For the pattern I'm making, I need the two endmost pieces of the scarf to be square. Use a rotary cutter and ruler to create a 6-inch-wide strip with a squared end. The other end retains the diagonal edge of the original necktie.

Place the pieces side by side, right sides up. Match the angled edges.

posted in: fabric, blue, red, scarf, necktie