bow tie instructions

7/29/2019 Bow Tie Instructions

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Angela OsbornAdventures with needle & thread

Bow Tie

Your beau will be the epitome of sophistication in this dashing bow tie. The

dapper style of this classic bow tie will have him feeling like a true gentlemen.

It fits a 43 cm (17) neck, but you can easily add or subtract a little from the

pattern at the centre back to make a different size if need be.

www.angelaosborn.com.au Angela Osborn, 2012. All rights reserved.

This pattern and all written instructions, diagrams and photos are intended for the personal use ofthe purchaser only and may not be copied, sold, shared with any third party or reproduced with the

intention of selling or profiting in any way from the designs contained herein. These originaldesigns remain the property of Angela Osborn, so please do not sell anything you make using

these designs in Australia or anywhere else.


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Hello! Welcome to your new pattern. I hope you have fun making your new

bow tie! Remember to read all of the instructions, take your time and have

regular tea breaks. Tea is an important part of the creative process!

Difficulty Rating: Beginner.

Suitable for beginners.

Brief guide to your Angela Osborn pattern:To use your pattern you will need to print off the PDF pattern. Open the document using Adobe

Reader. If you dont have Adobe Reader, dont panic, it can be downloaded for free fromhttp://www.adobe.com/products/reader/. When you print out your pattern, always make sure yourprinter has plenty of ink and paper. Make sure the page scaling is set to none, (or 100% ifexpressed at a percentage). This ensures your pattern will be printed off in the correct size.

This pattern is designed to be printed on A4 paper, which measures 210 mm by 297 mm (8.27inches by 11.69 inches). As the United States and Canada use a different paper sizing system, A4paper may have limited availability in these countries. For these customers, I recommend using USLegal sized paper, which measures 215.9 mm by 355.6 mm (8.4 inches by 14 inches). It is slightlybigger than A4 so the pattern will print correctly within the page. Do not use US Letter sized paperas it is shorter than A4 and some of the pattern may be cut off.

Read through the booklet and make sure you have everything you need before you commencemaking your project. It might seem like a lot of information, but I think you will find it helpful. Onceyou have all you pieces laid out on your fabric, making sure all the grain lines are parallel to theselvedge, pin the pattern in place and carefully cut out the pattern in your fabric.

Read the super helpful glossary of stitches, techniques and pattern symbols to help youunderstand all the markings on you pattern and the different sewing techniques that you mightcome across in the sewing instructions. Now you can follow the sewing instructions to start makingyour bow tie! Yay! Remember to follow the instructions carefully and take your time.

Fabric and other bits and bobs you will need:

80 cm of lightweight fabric such as gingham or quilters cotton, which comes in lots of cuteprints. You need a large amount of fabric because its very important that the tie is cut onthe bias. If you use the seamed version of the pattern you can cut the tie out of a smallerpiece of fabric (about 40 cm), you will just have a seam at the centre back of the tie.

80 cm of lightweight iron-on interfacing. (Or 40 cm if using the seamed pattern.) Thread to match your fabric Chopstick or narrow paint brush (for turning the tie through) General sewing requirements

Angela Osborn

Bow TieReference No: A12-101

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Angela Osborn, 2012. All rights reserved.



http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/http://www.adobe.com/products/reader/


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Super Helpful Glossary of Stitches,

Techniques and Pattern Symbols

1. Grain line:

Grain lines are indicated on all patternpieces. The grain line must run parallel tothe selvedge of your fabric. Making sureyour grain lines are aligned accuratelyensures your fabric will sit nicely and notwarp or twist in an undesirable way.

2. Selvedge:

The selvedge is the self-finished edge thatruns along both edges down the length ofa roll of fabric. The selvedge is formedwhen the fabric is made and it preventsthose two edges from fraying. The grainline of a piece of fabric runs parallel to theselvedge.

3. Seam Allowance (S/A):

Seam allowance refers to the distancefrom the edge of the pattern piece to whereyou need to sew the seam. This patternincludes 1 cm (3/8) seam allowance on alledges unless specified otherwise.

4. Notches:

Notches are important points on thepattern indicating the S/A or markingspecific points that need to be matchedtogether. A notch is usually a small trianglesticking out of the pattern. It takes a littlebit more time to cut around these notches,

but they are very helpful in piecing yourpattern together.

5. Right Side/Wrong Side of Fabric:

Fabric is woven with an intended right andwrong side. Your pattern and instructionswill often refer to the right side of the fabric,such as when cutting out or when sewing.The fabric needs to be sewn with the rightsides together. Sometimes the pattern willspecify that a piece needs to be cut rightside up or wrong side up (these piecesonly need one cut out, i.e. not a pair).

6. Pin:

Pin each seam, matching notches asnecessary, before stitching the seam.Carefully remove pins as you sew. If yousew over a pin you may damage or breakthe needle of your sewing machine.

7. Ironing:

As you sew each seam, press it carefully

with your iron on a setting appropriate forthe type of fabric you are using. Clip intothe seam allowance when necessary toensure the seams lie flat and neatly. Formore on clipping seam allowance, seeLayering.

8. Layering/Trimming Seam Allowance:

Sometimes the seam allowance needs tobe trimmed to reduce bulk and achieveneat, flat seams. The type of seam and

whether or not it is curved will determinethe best way of trimming or layering theseam allowance. With all methods oflayering and trimming, be sure to only cutin the seam allowance. Do not cut acrossthe seam or the stitching will come apartcreating a hole in your project. Oh no!

Angela Osborn


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8.1. Layering straight seamallowance to reduce bulk

8.2. Layer seam allowance and trimcorners to reduce bulk and tomake it easier to turn thecorners through.

8.3. Clip concave curves to allow theseam allowance to fan outaround the curve and lay flatwhen turned through.

8.4. Clip little triangles out of the

seam allowance of convexcurves to allow the seamallowance to lay flat whenturned through.

9. Back Tack:

At the beginning and end of every machine

stitched seam or row of stitching, you mustalways stitch backwards and forwards for afew stitches. This stops your seam fromcoming undone. Do this for every seamunless specified otherwise.

10. Interfacing:

Interfacing can be sew-in or iron-on. Iusually use iron-on interfacing, which is

also referred to as fusing. It is used to addstrength and stability. Press interfacing tothe wrong side of the corresponding fabricpiece. Always test a scrap of interfacing ona scrap of your fabric as sometimesinterfacing can make certain types of fabricpucker. If this occurs use a sew-ininterfacing instead of an iron-oninterfacing.

11. Double Thread/Single Thread (handstitching):

When sewing by hand, you can sew witheither a double or single thread (seediagrams). Either way, you need to knotthe end before you start sewing. I usuallyuse a double thread because it is stronger,especially when sewing on buttons.Occasionally if hand sewing a hem in avery fine, light-weight fabric, I will use a

single thread. If sewing embroidery, youshould use a single thread (even though itmay have multiple strands.)

12. Hand Stitching Starting Off

Always knot the end of your thread(whether double thread, single thread orembroidery floss) before beginning anyhand stitching. Start by passing the needlefrom the wrong side of the fabric to theright side so the knot wont be visible on

the outside. The knot anchors your workand prevents it from coming undone. If youare working with a loosely woven fabricyou might find that the knot pulls throughthe fabric. If this is the case, you may alsoneed to do a couple of tiny stitches on topof one another to anchor your work.

Angela Osborn


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13. Hand Stitching Finishing Off

When you have completed your stitching,or run out of thread, you need to finish offsecurely. If you simply cut the thread thereis nothing preventing it from unraveling.After youve sewn your final stitch, sewthree tiny stitches on top of one another (inan inconspicuous spot) and then cut thethread. This secures your stitches firmly sothey wont come undone.

14. Ladder Stitch:

Sometimes you will need to sew things byhand and it needs to be very neat and

almost invisible. For example, whensewing closed an opening or to join 2folded edges of fabric. The most commonstitch used for this purpose is ladder stitch.With the 2 folded edges butted together,sew them together with a horizontal stitchgoing from one piece to the other, with avertical stitch going up inside the foldededge. Then draw the needle back out tocreate another horizontal stitch across tothe other side. Pull the thread firmly as yougo and it will draw the folded edges

together. Finish off with 3 tiny stitches ontop of one another in an inconspicuousspot, then cut the thread. Use a doublethread to make it extra strong.

15. Running Stitch

Running stitch, a.k.a. the easiest stitch inthe world is a versatile stitch that can beused decoratively, to join multiple pieces offabric together, or even to gather fabric if alonger stitch length is used. All you do ispoke the needle up through the fabric,

back down through the fabric a shortdistance away, then back up, keeping thedistance between each stitch even andrepeat. Its that simple! A longer, looserrunning stitch can be used to gather fabric- just pull the thread to gather the fabric.

16. Back Stitch

!! Step 1

! Step 2

! Step 3Back stitch is an ideal stitch for sewingseams by hand as it is very strong and

Angela Osborn


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Insert needle wherefirst stitch ends


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secure. I like to use a double thread whensewing back stitch for seams to make itextra strong. Back stitch can also be useddecoratively. In this case, dont use adouble thread and use embroidery floss(the number of strands you use is up toyou and will depend on the size of yourproject and the desired effect). Start bysewing one stitch, then pull your needleback up a short distance away (the lengthof one stitch away). Instead of movingforward, poke the needle back downexactly where the first stitch finished,bringing the needle up in front of thethread. Continue in this manner. The back

might look a little funny, but the frontshould be a row of evenly spaced stitchesthat all line up perfectly, each onebeginning exactly where the previous stitchfinished.

17. Whip Stitch

Whip stitch is a versatile stitch that can beused to join two pieces of fabric, such aswhen closing an opening, to hem things, orto attach things. To sew whip stitch, simplysew over and under from one of the piecesof fabric to the other as shown in thediagram. This stitch is not as invisible as

ladder stitch, so keep your stitches tiny andclose together for a neat finish.

!

!

Angela Osborn


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Bow Tie Sewing Instructions

1. Start by printing off your pattern. Thepattern file contains two different versionsof the pattern, both of which will makeexactly the same bow tie. The onlydifference is that one of the patterns is forone long piece (the entire length of the tie)and the other pattern is for half the lengthof the tie so you will have a seam at thecentre back. Using the seamed pattern willallow you to cut the pattern out of a smallerpiece of fabric. Choose which pattern youwant to use and cut it out of the paper,taping the pieces together along the dotted

lines. More detailed instructions for stickingthem together are written on the actualpatten pieces.

2. The pattern is to be cut on the bias. Thebias is the diagonal grain of the fabric andhas more give than the straight grain. Bycutting the tie on the bias you will end upwith a tie that has a bit of give. This makesit easier to fit a variety of neck sizes, it willbe easier to tie and more comfortable forthe wearer.

3. You will notice criss-crossing grain lines oneach pattern piece. Just line up one ofthese lines with the grain line of your fabric(it doesnt matter which line you use) andpin in place. Once it is cut out the biasgrain will run along the length of the tie.Cut it out according to the instructions onthe pattern piece, including cutting it out ofinterfacing.

4. Iron the interfacing onto the fabric. If youare using the seamless pattern you willneed to iron one long tie piece of

interfacing to one long tie piece of fabricand you will have one other long tie piecewithout interfacing. If you are using theseamed pattern (as I am in the photos) youwill need to iron two interfacing pieces totwo tie pieces and you will have anothertwo tie pieces without interfacing.

5. If using the seamless pattern, skip thisstep. If using the seamed pattern, place thetwo tie pieces (with interfacing) togetheralong the centre back seam. Make sure theright sides of the fabric are facing together

and the notches match.

6. Pin and sew with 1 cm (3/8) seam

allowance and iron the seam open and flat.Repeat with the other pair of tie pieces(without interfacing).

7. Trim off the little triangles that are pokingover the edges.

Angela Osborn


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8. Place the two tie pieces together with theright sides facing together and pin all theway around the edge, leaving a gap of

about 10 cm (4) at the centre.

9. Sew all the way around with 1 cm (3/8)seam allowance, leaving the gap open.Trim away some of the seam allowance allthe way around the tie except for along thegap opening.

10. Trim the seam allowance across thecorners. Clip into the concave curvedareas and cut little notches out of theconvex curved areas, as shown. For moreon clipping curves, refer to the layeringsection of the glossary. Take your time totrim and clip the seam allowance as it

really makes a difference to how the tie willsit once its turned through.

11. Turn the bow tie through to the right side,using a chopstick if necessary to poke thecorners through neatly.

12. Iron the bow tie flat, folding in the seamallowance along the gap.

13. Pin the gap closed and then hand stitch itusing either ladder or whip stitch.

Angela Osborn


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14. Iron the bow tie again and it is finished! Ifyou are feeling super nice and have someleft over fabric, you could make a pocketsquare to go with it. Simply cut out asquare of fabric measuring 23 cm (9) by23 cm (9) and fold over 5 mm (3/16)along each edge. Fold over a further 5 mm(3/16) and sew all the way around thehem. Now you have a thoughtful andstylish handmade gift for the man in yourlife! If youre not sure how to tie a bow tie,try a search on youtube - there are heapsof videos that can show you how to do it!Take your time and remember that thistraditional style of bow tie is not supposedto look perfectly symmetrical, unlike a pre-

tied bow tie. An imperfect knot is part of thecharm!

Angela Osborn


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