Boy's Bow Tie Tutorial

Hi Everyone!  I originally shared this Boy's Bow Tie Tutorial as a guest post over at the Frugal Girls.  I wanted to post it on my blog in case you missed the original...

Now, on to the tutorial:

Last week, I made my little girl a knot dress for Valentine's Day.  I also wanted to make my son something to wear to school for his Valentine's party.  (He likes to dressing in a "preppy" style- he is only in 2nd grade, but he already knows what the little girls like!)  I asked him if I he wanted to wear a bow tie to school on Valentines Day.  I told him it would have Velcro on the back so it could be easily removed.  He liked the idea so I got to work...


The original version I made, was a little small in my opinion, so I remade it in a slightly larger version better suited for a 6 to 13 year old.  (The smaller version is the one he wore in our Valentine's day pictures.)  I will include the measurements for both sizes for those who want to make a bow tie for a smaller child.

The great thing about this project is that it is simple enough to hand sew if you don't have a sewing machine. The instructions are exactly the same no matter how you make it, but a sewing machine will take this 40 minute project down to about 10 or 15 minutes...

Smaller size bow tie

Our Valentine's Day Pictures really turned out cute!

If you are interested in making the knot dress in the pictures below, you can find the tutorial and a free printable pattern here: Knot Dress Tutorial.

Here is how to make the bow tie:

Materials:

• Scrap fabric (a fat quarter would be great)
• Ruler
• Scissors
• needle and thread (I also used a bit of glue, but glue is optional)
• Velcro 

Instructions:

For the larger bow tie cut your fabric pieces to the measurements indicated below:

For a smaller bow tie, cut the main square to: 5.5 inches tall by 8.5 inches wide.  Cut the neck band to 16 inches by 2 inches and the fabric loop is the same.

Fold the bow fabric in half, longways, right sides together and sew a seam along the edge:

Flip the fabric right side out, and move the seam to the middle, as shown.  Use your fingers to "finger press" the sides flat.

Fold the bow fabric in half again, seam side out, and sew another seam along the edge:

Flip the bow fabric around again, so the seam is on the inside, and finger press the edges flat.

Find the middle of the bow fabric and scrunch it into a bow shape.  Add a few stitches to the middle to hold the bow's shape in place.

Grab the loop fabric, fold in half longways, right sides together and sew a seam along the edge.

Flip the loop fabric right side out, moving the seam to the center and finger press the edges flat.

Fold in half again, seam side out, and sew along the edge.  Flip the loop right side out, so the seam is on the inside.

Slip the bow through the loop, so the loop covers the center stitches.

Grab the neck tie strap, fold in half longways, right sides together and sew the seams marked in red below:

Flip the strap right side out and press flat with an iron.

Use a safety pin and thread the strap through the loop on the back of the bow.

Cut a your Velcro into about 3/4 to 1 inch pieces.  You will want the scratchy side of the Velcro to face out.  Attach the scratchy Velcro piece to the strap on the side with the finished edge.  You can hand or machine sew the Velcro in place.  (I got lazy and use hot glue, it adheres very well if you don't let it cool too much before attaching it to the fabric.)

 Hold the bow tie in place and mark where to put the second piece of Velcro.

Fold the unfinished edge in where you marked it and sew along the edge to close the opening.

Attach the second piece of Velcro and you are done!  Isn't it cute?

Let me know if you have any questions and I will do my best to help you!

If you have a chance, please stop by my blog and say hi!  You can also find me on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest!


Thanks again Heidi, For letting me visit and share this tutorial with your readers!

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