Making a Bow Tie with Hand Dyed Silk

My husband LOVES to wear bowties.

I've been thinking about making him a tie from my hand dyed fabrics for over a year.  I worried and fretted, but finally took the plunge and ordered raw silk from Dharma Trading.  It is a sturdy fabric that will hold up well. I dyed a third of a yard with indigo blue (pr-168) procion mx dye.  Click here for instructions on dyeing silk.  Use the instructions for Immersion dyeing for protein fibers on page 5.

I found this post online and used it for inspiration and direction.  

I used an old tie to create a pattern.

After folding the dyed fabric in half I placed the pattern along the fabric's bias (at a 45 degree angle) and traced it twice.  The tie will lay nicer when tied by being cut on the bias.  I also traced the pattern twice on to a double layer of lightweight interfacing.

After cutting out all four pieces, I ironed the interfacing to the wrong side of the silk.  

Which side is the wrong side, you ask?  

It was the side I didn't like as much!

I clipped all the points and curves (not pictured) and then turned it inside out.

It's a little rough getting all that fabric through such a narrow piece 

but I managed without anything breaking!  Next came poking out all the corners and giving it all a good ironing and stitching the opening closed.

 

I was very pleased with how it turned out.

I tied it and placed it on his nightstand so he could see it as soon as he woke up.  He liked it and even wore it to work where he was given many compliments.  He has requested several more in various colors and designs!