Easy bow tie

My son's school is having a ballroom dancing day this week and he needs to wear a bow tie and waistcoat for his dancing lesson.  I'm really excited too as parents can go and watch the professionals dance, which I'm really looking forward to. But, back to the outfit.  As he doesn't yet own either bow tie or waistcoat, I made him a really easy bow tie with a velcro fastening from a few bits of fabric and some stiff interfacing.

The first attempt (in black) was a success, but I know he loves this monster fabric, so I thought I might make another to surprise him later. My daughter was obviously keen to know whether I was making her a bow tie too! So I've followed the same process, but have changed the neck band into a hair band with the use of some elastic.

For the tie, I used the following fabric sections:

• 9'' by 5'' (23 cm by 13 cm) for the bow part
• 15.5'' by 2.5'' (40 cm by 6.5 cm) for the band to go round the neck
• 3.5'' by 2.5'' (9 cm by 6.5 cm) for the knot section
• Firm interfacing - a 4'' by 2'' (10 cm by 5 cm) piece
• Small piece of velcro (or 'hook and loop' tape)

I always use a quarter inch (6mm) seam allowance, so if you prefer to use a larger one, then you may need to add a bit onto the fabric dimensions above.  As the fabric was directional, I also had to consider this when cutting the sections.

Start by folding the bow fabric in half right sides together so it measures 4.5'' by 5'' (11.5 cm by 13 cm). Sew around, leaving a 2'' (5cm) gap midway along one of the shorter sides for turning inside out.  Snip corners and turn inside out, but don't worry about pushing the corners out. It actually helps if the corners are pushed in slightly.

Give it a quick press of the iron.  The interfacing needs to be inserted in through the turning hole and positioned in the middle of the piece.  The photo below shows the correct position it needs to be once it is inside.

Insert the interfacing to that position and then iron in place to set.

Fold the top section down behind the interfacing and the bottom section up to meet in the middle, and neatly hand stitch them together.

Fold the bow in half (the stitched line should be along the fold) and then fold top and bottom back on themselves (see photos).

Put a few stitches through the centre so the bow holds this shape and set to one side while you work on the other sections.

For the band, fold the material right sides together so it's a long, thin piece, then sew one end and down the full length.

Turn inside out and iron, folding the unfinished end under.  Now sew on the velcro to each end, remembering to change the top thread to match the colour of the velcro.

For the tie, fold the fabric right sides together so it measures 1.25'' by 3.5'' (4 cm by 9 cm) and sew one end and then down the length.

Turn and iron, again, tucking the rough ends under.

Now, it just needs assembling. My first attempt (the black tie) had the velcro at the back, but my son (who is nearly 5) found it really difficult to do up and take off.  So for the monster tie, I have positioned the end right behind the bow as in the picture below.  I put a few stitches to attach the band to the back of the bow to make sure it stayed in place.

Then I positioned the tie piece around the centre of the bow and neatly hand stitched the ends together at the back to finish.

The girl's headband follows exactly the same process as the bow, but the band section is much longer (24'' or 61 cm) and I sewed down the length (but not the end) to form a tube. Once turned, I threaded a 14'' (or 36 cm) section of elastic through. When I was happy with the length, I stitched the elastic into place at either end and hid the ends behind the tie of the bow.

So now the bow tie is complete, I just need to look into making the waistcoat!