The Pickle Tie

While Care and I were out scouting for I-spy prints recently,we found this fabulous pickle print. We knew its destiny immediately--a new tie for Grandpa!!

Since my husband loves bread-and-butter pickles above almost anything, and it's tricky, really, to find small sewing projects for men, it's just the thing.

Does anyone remember the great menswear sewing interest in the 1970's? Leisure suits, polyester knit shirts, and wide, wacky ties? Mom made ties (and leisure suits!) back then, and I've had occasion to make them as well over the years--matching ties in wedding color themes, theme ties for gifts, holiday ties, etc. It's difficult to find lightweight woven silks in appropriate weights and prints for ties, but I have used some dress fabrics and even some drapery fabrics with good results. It's a quick project, really, once you know a few tips. Perhaps a tutorial is in order!

This particular fabric is indeed a quilt-weight cotton, which I think makes a good choice for a more casual tie, and also is more friendly to work with than silk. For this tie, we bought 5/8 yard. One advantage (or disadvantage?) of buying yardage for ties is that since they are cut on the bias, there's a lot of unused fabric left over. But that's easy to cope with--another tie, or more scraps for other 'free' projects!