Crafting Adventures: Double Bow Tie

 My two oldest kids go to a school that requires uniforms- rather formal uniforms, including ties for the boys.  They have a sort of Spirit Week coming up next week where they get an out-of-uniform day, plus several themed days where they get to wear dress code-breaking accessories.  One of those days is red-white-and-blue themed, and so I decided to whip up a quick red, white, and blue bow tie for my Kindergartener to swap out for his regular uniform tie.  Also, it just so happens that Project Run and Play is hosting a Sew Your Stash link-up, so I was inspired to dig through my stash- specifically my scrap fabric pile from past projects- rather than buying new fabric.  I did have to buy one notion for this project, which is the bow tie clip set that I'll show you later in the post.

I have made many a bow tie in my day, including a set for all the men in our wedding party.  I've made several bow ties and regular ("fake") neck ties for my little man, too, using many different methods- snap tape, buttonhole elastic, Velcro... But I've never used an actual clip set to make a "real" clip-on tie before, and for whatever reason, I decided THIS project required one.  Honestly I'm so glad I did it though, because the whole thing looks much more professional than any tie I've made in the past, and the best part is I can swap out the bow and always use the same neck piece (unless I want a different color, of course).  And it was SO EASY.

For this quick project, you need:

-fabric for your large bow

-fabric for your small bow

-fabric for the loop around the middle (this can be the same as one of the bows, but for mine it's different)

-fabric for the neck piece (again this can be the same or complementary)

-a bow tie clip set, which can be found at JoAnn or other fabric retailers

-lightweight fusible interfacing

1. To start, cut your fabric as shown in the image above.  You need 2 large rectangles, 2 small rectangles, 1 neck piece, and 1 center piece for the bow.  I used 10.5"x4" for the large bow, 8.5"x2.5" for the small bow, 18.5"x2.5" for the neck piece, and 2"x4" for the bow center.  (Note that I took this photo with the original pieces of fabric I cut for this project, sorta eyeballing it, but later realized my center piece was too small and had to cut a new one.  The dimensions listed here are the ones you need although the actual piece of fabric shown in the image is obviously smaller than the listed dimensions.)  Finally, cut one piece of interfacing for both of your bows- I went with 5"x3" and 4"x2".  Apply the interfacing to the wrong side of one large and one small rectangle.

2.  Next, lay your two large rectangles right sides together and stitch around 3 sides, leaving one short side open, using a 1/4" seam allowance.  Turn right side out and press.  (To get really crisp corners, clip the corners before you turn it out.)  Repeat with the small rectangles.  

3. Next, take your large rectangle and fold it in half with the wrong side on the outside, lining up the short ends.  Sew those short ends together with a 1/4" seam allowance, press the seam open, and then turn your newly-created loop right side out.  Position it so that the seam is in the center and press flat into a rectangle.  Repeat with your small bow.  In the image above, the small (blue) bow is shown face up and the large (red) bow is shown face down.

4. Take your tiny rectangle, which will be the center loop holding the bows together.  Fold it in half, right sides facing, so that the long edges match up.  Sew down the long edge with a 1/8" seam allowance.  Turn right side out; you will have a long tube.  Fold that tube in half so that the raw edges are together, right sides facing, and sew the raw edges together with a 1/8" seam allowance.  Turn right side out, and press flat so that the seam is in the middle.  You'll have something that looks like the image above (only larger, because this one was my mistake piece).

5.  Place your small bow on top of your large bow and squeeze them into an accordion shape.  Slide the little loop over both bows.

6.  Take your neck piece and fold it in half, right sides facing, so that the long edges match up.  Sew down the long side with a 1/4" seam allowance.  Turn the loop right side out and press flat with the seam running down the middle.

This is the bow tie clip set I used.  I found it at my local JoAnn- I ordered curbside pickup so I wouldn't be tempted to waltz through the aisles grabbing more fabric I don't need- and the package comes with simple instructions on the back.  You can also find packages of bulk sets that will make several bow ties, but I just wanted to make one first to make sure I could handle it.

7.  Follow the instructions on the package to attach the hardware.  I highly recommend putting everything on and PINNING IT first, then attempting to hook it together, BEFORE you sew it in place, to make sure you have everything facing the right way.

8.  Slide the neck piece through the back of the bow tie loop and you're done!  The little slider bar that comes as a part of the hardware set can be used to adjust the strap, so this should grow with your child for quite some time.  I can't wait to see how he looks next week!

I'm entering this post into Project Run and Play's Sew Your Stash linkup.  All of the fabric came from my stash- my scrap stash, that is.  The red fabric was used in this past year's Christmas outfits, the blue fabric was used in my Nutcracker costume, and the white fabric had been hanging around in my stash forever until it finally became the lining in some of our Hobbit costumes.  All of the fabric is from JoAnn.

Made anything for your little guy lately?  Have you ever sewed with a bow tie clip set before?

Much love,

The Geeks

Crafting Adventures: Fancy Pink Dress

 

Every year, the kids' school puts on a Father-Daughter Dance.  This event typically takes place in January or February, near Valentine's Day, so last year, I assumed it would fall at the same time.  I got it in my head that I wanted to sew up a sweet little Valentine's dress for our daughter to wear to the dance, but then I found out that it wouldn't be happening until later in the spring.  Still, I couldn't be deterred, and decided to go ahead and make the dress I had in my head.

I saw this gorgeous dress on Pinterest, via Sew Much Ado:

Her blog post includes a pattern and tutorial for a size 4 dress, but that wasn't the right size for my girl, so I turned to the Oliver + S Building Block Dress Book to draft my own pattern.

To mimic the Sew Much Ado dress, I altered the Building Block Dress pattern following the directions in the book to have an empire waist, keyhole button back, and bell sleeves with ruffles.  I also loved the look of the lace overlay in the inspiration dress, so in addition to a lovely solid pink fabric, I used a tulle overlay fabric for the skirt that featured adorable little velvet bows.  (Both fabrics and the cute pink heart button on the back are from JoAnn.)

For the overlay, I did not double the width the way that I did for the skirt on the solid fabric, so it hangs rather straight instead of being full and gathered at the top.  Also, to keep things looking neat, I used French seams on the side seams of the overlay.  However, I did not hem the overlay- I cut it to the finished (hemmed) length of the solid skirt, knowing this fabric wouldn't fray.  It is perhaps not as neat- my cut lines aren't super perfect- but I felt that hemming it or trimming it with something would weigh it down too much.

I did make a few mistakes with this sew.  For one thing, I way overestimated how big of an elastic loop I would need for the keyhole button back (you can see how it gapes in the above picture).  During a fitting of the bodice, I just became so paranoid that the neck line would be too tight for her, so I cut a super huge loop.  Oops!

Also, the ruffles on the sleeves should probably have been longer.  They are a sort of squat, awkward length at her elbows, but she's a little picky about sleeve length and requested that the sleeves not fall past her elbows, so this is what we ended up with.  Maybe I should have just used wide bell-shaped sleeves with no ruffles at all?

Overall, I'm really happy with this dress.  I know it's taken me a year to post about it, but it's been a busy year!  I have improved a lot in my sewing over the past year, and I'm excited to share more of what I'm making with you here.  My current project is also being made with the Building Block Dress book so stay tuned for that!

Do you have a favorite pink dress?

Much love,

The Geeks

Fall 2022 Wrap-Up

 So, turns out a lot of stuff happened around here between Halloween and Christmas- stuff which I usually document here, but we were just way too busy.  So rather than giving each a dedicated post, I'll just give you a little taste all in one.  (If you follow me on Instagram, however, you did indeed see some of these life updates!)

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Little Bean turned 18 months old, and in her aged wisdom she decided to leave behind her high chair and sit only in a booster seat in a regular chair, using utensils and eating from her own plate just like everybody else.

In November, Mr. Geek and I celebrated our tenth wedding anniversary.  I had planned to write up this sweet list of marriage advice learned over ten years, but instead I'll leave you with this- we had our parents come and stay with the kids for the weekend and we spent two night in a sweet little historic inn half an hour up the road.  That's it, that's the secret to ten happy years of marriage.

 

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Miss Chief celebrated her 9th birthday on the same day as our wedding anniversary.  The day after we got back from our little getaway, we had a big birthday party for her.   She wore a dress that she designed and I made, and she invited all the girls in her class.  It was the first big party we've had since the pandemic started and we all had a blast.

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In December, Mr. Geek and I joined Miss Chief for 3 performances of The Nutcracker with her ballet school.  Every year, they ask for parent volunteers to dance as the parents in the party scene, and since Miss Chief was cast as a child in the party scene, we decided to go for it and join her on stage.  It was a LOT of work but honestly we haven't had that much fun in a long time!

So yeah, that was our fall!  Hopefully I can get back into posting here on a semi-regular basis.  I sewed a lot of awesome things in 2022 and I'd like to share them with you!

What did the end of the year look like for you?

Much love,

The Geeks