Pleated Necktie Necklace

I wanted to point out something new I'm doing, in case you haven't noticed. You know how there are, like, a kazillion amazing blogs out there? And you're always looking for great new ones to read? Here's my little way to help you find some of them--check out my sidebar there . . . I'd like you to meet my Blog Crush of the Week. Every week, I'm going to feature one of my favorite, recently-discovered blogs that I think you'll love, too! Last week was Sarahndipities. This week it's Natty By Design. You'll love them both, I promise. 100% money back guarantee. So keep your eye on that spot if you want to find new blogs that you will love to add to your reading list!

Speaking of my sidebar, how would you like to have your ad on this here bloggy? Have an etsy shop to promote? A blog that deserves some extra attention? A home business you think is da bomb? If you're interested, shoot me an email and we'll set it up . . . I'm now taking sponsors! maybematildaquilts(at)gmail(dot)com

All right, on to the real stuff. In case you missed this project last week over at Running with Glitter, here's my tutorial for the quirky and cool Pleated Necktie Necklace!

 I used one of my husband's old castoff ties (by the way, is your husband's closet stuffed with really awful old neckties that make you want to scratch out your eyeballs? Jeff's collection is a doozy.) to make a fun pleated necktie necklace:

 

I think it's pretty dang cool, if I may say so myself, and I wish I could take credit for the idea but I stumbled across this picture on Pinterest (are you addicted? Is there a support group I can join?) and had to wipe the drool off my keyboard. It is awesome:

via

Since I couldn't find it for sale anywhere (correction! Here is it, in this etsy shop! If you have a few dollars to spare, go buy it from them! Unfortunately, I don't . . . dang husband wanting to be a doctor, racking up the student loans . . . but I do have a lot of old ties. I love to support handmade, but sometimes, well, sometimes I just plain can't), I went to town on Jeff's old tie and I think it came out pretty well!

Want one? Sneak into your husband's closet while he's otherwise occupied and get to work!

(Click "read more" to learn how I made mine!)

Start by removing the tag and little loop thingy on the back of the tie:

Then start folding your tie into pleats and pinning them in place, starting at the fat end of the tie. You want the pins to go through just the bottom and middle layers of the pleat and not all the way through to the top of the tie. As you're making your pleats, make sure that you're folding them into a curved shape as the tie gets narrower.

 

After pinning the pleats in place, I very lightly ironed it so that they would hold their shape while I was sewing (be careful ironing it--I found out the hard way that ties burn really quickly and easily!)

 

Now we're going to sew the pleats into place. You don't want the stitching to show on the front of the tie, so you'll only be sewing through the back of the pleats--just fold the tie so the right sides are facing and stitch a straight line where you pinned from the top of the tie to the bottom.

(Do you see how I'm only sewing the pleats on the back of the tie? Now there will be no stitches on the front!)

As you get further from the fat end of the tie and the curve becomes more pronounced, you'll need to angle your sewing line to allow the pleats to curve. This was kind of hard to photograph, but you'll get what I mean once you get there.

Carefully (carefully!) iron the pleats down flat, drape it around your neck, and decide on a button placement. Sew a button onto the fat tip of the tie through to the skinny end of the tie and cut off any excess length. (It looks like the necklace is really short, but I have no trouble pulling it straight on and off even with the ends sewn together.) (Janelle over at Of Pinks and Fairy Tales made one of these necklaces already, and she actually sewed a buttonhole to make the necklace removable--check out her post about it to see how she did it!)

(This necklace makes me feel very scholarly, for some reason, and I guess this is the face that happens when I'm thinking deeply.  Thank goodness that doesn't happen very often!)

Isn't it cute? I love the tie I stole borrowed from my husband's closet; I hope he doesn't miss it. I think it makes such a great statement piece--with a simple tee and jeans, this necklace really shines!

I'll be linking this project up at some fun parties--check them out!