One of Ralph’s requests for his birthday was skinny ties. They are surprisingly hard to find — either too long or too expensive for a 13-year-old’s wardrobe. So a few weeks ago, I had an idea: I would buy some old fat ties at a thrift shop and take them to a tailor to have them altered. Brilliant, right?
But then, of course, I forgot about the idea till 3 days before his birthday. At which point, I tried to rush and make it happen. I found 5 great ties at Goodwill and sped them to the tailor. There, I was told it would take 10 days and cost $37 each to skinny them up. Blech.
But since I had the ties in hand, and since they only cost $1 each, I figured I’d try it myself. If I failed, oh well, a $5 failed project is not the end of the world. As it turns out, the first one ended up great (it’s the silvery striped one above)! So I took pictures while I remade tie number two — and now I can share the instructions with you, in case you’re curious.
Here is the before shot. In the tutorial, I took the polka-dot tie and made it as skinny as the stripe tie:
Here is the after shot:
DIRECTIONS:
1) Turn your too-wide thrift store tie upside down. Un-stitch it:
Keep un-stitching till you get to the skinniest part of the tie:
2) Pull the tie form fabric out of the lining (there is probably a real name for this, but I don’t know what it is). This is the piece of the tie that helps keep the tie shape.
3) Trim one side of the tie-form fabric. I free-handed it on the first one, aiming for a finished tie that was about 1 1/2 inches wide. But for the other 4, I traced a skinny tie with a pen right on the tie-form fabric:
4) If you traced it, then cut out the second side. If you’re free-handing it, turn the cut piece upside down to get a matching cut on the second side:
5) Your tie-form material should now look like a skinny tie. Tuck it back into the lining:
6) When you unstitched the tie, one side was overlapping the other, Starting with the side that was being overlapped, trim off some of the silk, tapering the trimmed piece as the tie narrows:
7) With an iron set for silk, press the trimmed silk so that it folds itself along the tie-form fabric:
8) Fold under the cut edge and iron again, so that the ironed piece is narrower than the tie-form fabric:
9) Now it’s time to iron the second side. Note: you may not need to trim the silk on this side:
10) Tuck under the edge of the second side and iron once more. Aim to get the seam in the middle:
If you turn the tie over, it should now look like this (but don’t iron the front, you might damage the silk):
11) Next, using a needle and thread, stitch up the back of the tie. Take your stitches through both the back flaps and catch a bit of the tie-form fabric, but be careful not to reach the front of the tie. It’s pretty easy to hide the hand stitches between the back flaps:
12) If your tie came with a piece for tucking the tail into, you can reattach it now:
And that’s it! In case you’re curious, the first tie took me about 45 minutes. But the next 4 only took about 30 minutes each. I turned these:
Into these:
Other notes:
-Three of the ties I worked with were silk. One was wool. One was polyester. The silk ties were by far the easiest to work with.
-Ralph LOVES his new ties.
-Also, as I progressed, I got better at getting the new back seam centered. The navy and brown stripe tie was my last one and it’s the best as far as the back seam goes:
I hope you enjoyed the tutorial. Happy sewing!
P.S. — I like this image because it shows two of the dated tags. They remind me of my Dad’s ties when I was growing up:
{ 88 comments… read them below or add one }
great job!
I love it! Amazing re-do!
What a fun project. I am glad they were a success. I just had to laugh when I saw that skinny ties are back in with guys now. When I was serving as a missionary, about 7 years ago, “fatty” ties were all the rage. Ah, the fickle fashion industry!
Love this
Good job Mom! Hope he really enjoys them!
This is a great idea! One thing I have noticed on ties that I have hand sewn together for my husband is that the stretching that occurs when he unties his tie often breaks my hand stitching. Just something to keep in mind.
I love the polka dot tie.
I agree that the reusing of the old ties is terrific. And as for your hand stichting breaking, if you looked at store boughten ties the thread is incredibly thick. It may be a 30 wt if not greater. I’m sure if you are using a thread weight comparable to that used in the industry and are grabbing more than a few threads of fabric with each stitch.
Great idea! My husband loves skinny ties too. We find them at thrift stores and estate sales fairly often but this a great tutorial. I’ll definitely give it a try sometime.
Skinny ties are back? Glad I kept mine from the 80′s.
I just did this last week for my husband. We went to some friend’s 50th wedding anniversary party, which was this amazing sock hop. Anyway, I made the tie for my husband- so he’d at least have SOMETHING to dress up with (as opposed to me- who went all out with crinolines and all). Great tutorial. I love that you encourage your kids’ great sense of style.
PS. $37 per tie? Who are these tailors!?
I hope you don’t mind if I post about this tomorrow on my blog. I don’t have boys but I could see this working for a more casual look for an adult too! Really good work Gabriel!! Ralph is lucky to have such a crafty mother.
that just might very well be simple enough to try! thanks for the instructions.
Though not 13, or a fan of skinny ties I admire your creativity. If you know where I can find a smoking jacket & cravat for a 2 month old please shoot me an email… we’ve got a passport photo to take.
Gabby- Please, pretty please, show us some pictures of your little man in these ties. I just can’t picture it; T-shirt with a tie, undone collar shirt with a tie, what?! I just love the confidence and style Ralph has to pull of Goodwill ties. So cool. Thank you- Emily in Minneapolis
So many things to love, starting with a 13-yr-old boy who wants skinny ties for his birthday. Love the ties you chose and the result – thanks for sharing!
I’m not sure which is more cool…the fact that Ralph wanted ties for his birthday or that you were able to make them yourself :) I love this!
Awesome! I love that this is something I can do with my limited hand stitching abilities!!!! My boyfriend has an overload of ties he never wears…I bet he would love to have some of them re-vamped into a skinny tie he’ll wear more (of course, I’ll get permission first, heh heh). This is a fantastic tutorial – thanks!
You know, that’s how Ralph LAUREN got his start – look it up!
This is fabulous! I’m going to try it for my 10-yr-old.
I hope someday I can be that kind of mom!
Genius!
Oooh, those vintage designer ties in my husband’s closet are calling for an update… Great tutorial! Thanks so much for sharing this!
what a great idea!
Thank you so much for this. My son is only 3 1/2 years old, but I think I might try to make one for him as well.
I love that he wanted skinny ties for his 13th birthday-so cool. Way to pull through Mom!
Oh snap! Loving this, Gabrielle. I wonder if my nephews need some skinny ties…
I absolutely adore this!! Can’t wait to try the tutorial. The husband has a birthday this month – he’ll love this. :)
Linds
You are so talented and they look great! Now if I can just figure out how to make them longer for my 6’8″ husband, I’ll be all set! :)
Love it! You should totally sew the tags back on – they’re awesome. How many other 13 year olds have YSL ties?!?!
Awesome! I can’t wait to try it :D
Great DIY tutorial! I sometimes do not understand DIY steps for projects. But I can see the process in my mind when I read your instructions. Gifted mother and gifted writer!!
This is a great idea! My son is always asking for skinny ties and I have been unable to find any that fit his nine-year-old frame. I’m going to give it a try.
I feel certain this is going to be the coolest thing I see all day. Genius is right. Just a great idea. I’m thinking about skinnying some up for my daughter to use as belts – I see such great ties at the thrifts.
You have done it again, Girl — I’m so excited to tackle tie alterations! My husband’s new job requires him to dress up more for meetings, and his closet is full of outdated “fat” ties. My 9-year-old begs for ties, too; go figure? So I’m definitely bookmarking this one for future reference. Thank you!
Genius! I have young boys who can never find ties they like in the kid section – GW and SA here we come! Thanks…
This is GENIUS!!! I linked to your tutorial over on Craft Gossip Sewing:
http://sewing.craftgossip.com/tutorial-remake-a-wide-necktie-into-a-skinny-tie/2010/09/01/
–Anne
What a sweet idea! I would love a tie for my one-year-old…I bet I could make a little tiny one with a thrifted men’s tie!
Genius!!! I love it….posting a link for you from my site :)
Jana
Love it! what a clever idea. I’m totally going to do this for my 13 yr. old. He’ll love it.
My son would also love these for his end of November birthday…better start now!!! Thanks for the great idea, you make it look so easy!
This is an amazing tutorial!!! Thanks for sharing! My boyfriend will be happy :)
What a fabulous idea! I am featuring this tutorial on my design blog tomorrow – elleapparelblogspot.com.
My husband is going to be thrilled!
This is great! I love vintage thick ties but my husband likes the thin type. I’ve been buying vintage tie silk from Sew What’s New Fabrics on Etsy to make ties but this is so much easier! Thanks so much!
Is there anything you can’t do? Great job! ;) I bet Ralph loves them!
How fun! My 12 year old son snags my collection of skinny 50s vintage ties for himself, which I don’t mind since he takes good care of his (and my) ties. But he is such a dapper young man, this will be perfect for him. Now, if only someone had a tutorial for making a large men’s blazer into a size for a 12 year old, we’d be in business. ;-)
Thanks for sharing this!
I had done the same last month , around 3 ties which my husband had not used at all saying they were too wide, were made usable by doing so, it never stuck me to do a tute on it, never believed there would be so many users in a similar fix. Hmm will post tute for anything which shall help anyone. that’s the least i can do. Thanks for inspiration
Very cool and easy to follow tut. I’ve always liked the look of skinny ties versus fat ones.
Fantastic idea! They came out beautifully.
very cool!
Great idea, I have piles of ties as I have been collecting them for a quilt, Someday. Smile Thanks For sharing. Doti
first of all how cool is it that your son wanted skinny ties, and secondly that you found some ties at my all time favorite store the G-Dub! I have the name of a great local seamstress for the next time!
Very cool project and love the fact that Ralph wanted something so stylish for his BDay!!
I think this is such a great idea I listed it at the intro to my shop. Let me know if that was not ok. thanks Doti
ooooohhhh love my Rowenta too!
My boyfriend loves skinny ties, I’ll definitely try this! Thank you so much for sharing!!!
I love this idea! I will be posting a link to this from my blog, Craftosterone.com
Thanks for the information, idea, and great photos!
Oh, forgot to mention, the white stuff in the tie is called interfacing.
Brilliant! The project, the explanation, and most of all the caring. I hope Ralph knows these are made of love.
This is great! Thanks for sharing. I was looking at buying a few but with what I would spend on 1 could get a couple. Also, DIY is life!
Keep up the great work!
This is a godsend! My little brother is 13 and has been asking for skinny ties – they’re so expensive to buy for a 13 year old though! I love this! Thank you so much for sharing!
THANK YOU SO MUUUCH!!! Skinny ties are oddly difficult for me to find. This is much more efficient.
Thanks.
Wow, great job! Wonderful tutorial!!! Thanks – I will try this out.
Great post, awesome idea!
“Pull out the tie form fabric out of the lining (there is probably a real name for this, but I don’t know what it is)” …it’s actually sew-in interfacing.
Very good and simple tutorial. I am planning to make a tie for my brother. This tutorial will help me.
Thanks for step by step! I had some issues trimming the edges off, but the tie will work well for my boyfriend’s Don Draper costume!
Loved it!
Now I can continue to steal ties from my grandad. (He has pretty good tie-taste, who would have thought THAT?)
Love this! Great blog!
AH! This is so great! What a terrific tutorial!
My boyfriend just gave up 7 or so favorite ties because they were too wide for him. With a new job he’s in the market for new ties. Thanks for the great idea & the perfect congratulatory gift :)
Awesome! Amazing what a needle, thread, and a little love can do. Thanks for the tutorial.
Omg I loooove the striped tie and the YSL tie!!!! I love this project. I am a thrift store junkie and this idea is just dynamite! Good job. :D
God bless you woman. This is the most simple solution and it was right in front of me! Thank goodness you have the sense and the knowhow to do it!
I second what Erin said. An obvious tie fix, but I was too dumb to think of it. Good job.
awesome! my husband likes skinny ties but they are so hard to find. thanks for this great tutorial!!
Those are awesome! I’ve always loved skinny ties! Thanks for showing us how you made them. :O)
~ http://www.billiemonster.com ~
awesomeeeeee! i really enjoy this :)
nice work dude!!
c’est incroyable. merci
I love you. This is perfect!
You will never believe that this is exactly what I used with my dad’s old-out-of-fashion fat ties, to give them a new lease of life, a few decades ago, when I was about 13! Thank you for making me feel clever! ;-)
Wow, I am going to make some of these from old ties. Plus, I am going to shorten them a little for my 8 yr old grandson who loves ties. Also, Ross has bright Tommy Hilfiger ties for very little, that kids would love.
Thank you so much for this post! I just made one and it turned out great. Thanks again.
Nicole
**YAAAY** I made a tie from a tutorial for my hubs for our wedding – which he totally loved — but it was a thicker tie (like traditional) and he likes skinny ties for stuff like dates and wearing with sweaters and stuff, so I’m so glad I found this. making a tie from scratch only took me about an hour and 20 mins, but I can’t always find good fabric, so NOW I know what to do to save some time and heartache (at not finding a GREAT fabric)!! THANKS!
Oh! I meant to say also — a nice touch that my husband just thought was amazing was creating a new *unique* band on the back to hold the tail of the tie and on the inside (the part that shows out at the point). I just used a contrasting piece of satin ribbon for holding the tail and a similar (but patterned) piece of scrap fabric for the inside of the tie. His tie turned out black (satin) with an orange tie catch on the back and navy polka dot fabric lining. He raves about the little details every time I go to make a tie (“are you gonna do the same thing for the piece on the back??”)
I would love to skinny down some of my husbands fat ties so my boys (11 & 14) can wear them. I’m wondering though; does the length of a man’s tie not have to be shortened to fit a boy? I remember my son trying on one of my hubby’s ties, and you know the “tail” end of the tie that is tucked behind the FRONT of the tie when a man is wearing it? It hung down lower than the front of the tie. Maybe it just wasn’t tied right?
Awesome Tutorial, Thanks. Just made some for my husband’s birthday. He’ll be so happy that I made him something new (from his old ties) and didn’t spend any money.
Love those ties, think I will try to convert some of my old fat ones instead of always buying the skinny ones. Great tutorial thanks!
I threw an awful lot of large ties away yesterday. N I am seeing this tonight!!
For sure, I’ll be trying this.
Thanx for sharing
amazing job man. . . .!!!!!!!
I love these! They are so great. Skinny ties are so great, and like you said, so hard to find. I love that you have made these out of old ones. I had a hard time making a tie for my father, but this makes it look so easy. Great read.