Making your own Tie Pattern
by Carolyn Kayta Barrows

There used to be patterns for neckties, and I own a couple. They were very popular in the 1970s. But if you want to make your own now, and can find suitable material, buy any old tie second-hand and use it for a pattern. By carefully taking it apart you can determine how it was made, and how the fabric was cut (diagonally to the grain). You can even use the interfacing from the old tie for your new one. Half a yard/meter of fabric should be sufficient, but make sure after you have taken the old tie apart. Remember that American ties stripe the other way than English ones, and cut accordingly.

Half a yard should do. Remember that commercial ties have a seam in the middle, where it won't show at the back of your neck. To save fabric they cut them in two pieces. I just got a pile of silk print intended for neckties, from a thrift store, and each piece is about two feet square. Half a yard of regular fabric might enough, but measure with your pattern first.

Finding the right Hogwarts stripe will be the problem. Regular fabric stores will be unlikely to have the right stuff, so you'll probably have to get lucky at some fabric outlet. Talbots, which sells regular silk neckties, sometimes has outlets which sell extra necktie silk they didn't use up. There's one near Carmel, CA, that sells silk remnants, but I don't know where else there might be one.

There's quite a lot of hand sewing on commercial neckties. If you take one apart you can see this. The necktie patterns I have are from the early 1970s, when neckties were very wide and made of outrageous stuff. Back then it was worth making your own just to get them scary enough.

Painting Stripes on a Plain Tie
by Fatimah

First, get a clear picture of the tie, wherther on the character or a commercially sold one (make sure the strips are going the correct direction!).

Estimate the width of the strip on the HP Ties (SS & CoS strips are all the same width).

Then, get a Plain Color Tie. For example, if doing Gryffindor, get Yellow or Red Tie (tho' personally I'll prefer the lighter color); Slytherin Green, Ravenclaw Blue and Hufflepuff Yellow (or Black). Not necessary for the Tie to be Silk; it can be Satin or Cotton or Polyester as long as it suit your budget. Schools may be a good avenue to get cheap ties if they wear plain color one (or one with one 1 Logo at the bottom).

Get *Opaque* Fabric Paint. I and friends use "pebeo Setacolor Opaque". Dylon also have Fabric paints tho' their range of color is limited.

Using the V at the end of the tie as a guide, start painting on the strips, going in the correct direction. If afraid of smuggling up the strips, may want to use a Low-Tack Tape to cover the strips you don't want to paint at regular intervals. May also want to start from the least wide end if unsure. Ensure too that that paint isn't too thick when you applied it.

Let is dry throughly (I always give at least a couple of hours, up to 12h to let my fabric painted item dry).

As stated on the Fabric Paint Bottle, Iron the Tie to seal the paint to it. Usually they recommand you iron on the underside of the paint job. If the Tie is thick, you may want to place a clean, plain cloth over the painted surface and iron over the cloth.

Let the tie cool throughly and you got yourself the SS/CoS School Tie. -__^