Thistle Self Tie Two Sided Who?: Bow ties, simplifed

When developing one of one bow ties for clients, or even working people through our site for the first time, a lot of guys get hung up on the different shapes of bow ties. 

What do you mean? Isn't there just one type of bow tie?

Well, not really.

DIY for the Everyday Guy: Tools of the Trade

Getting back into the tutorial game, I wanted to bring it back to basics for my readers. Knowing a lot of you have an appreciation for the finer things in life, here's to learning how to maintain said finer things. Welcome to DIY for the Everyday Guy.

We'll keep it simple and in plain English- and start with the tools of the trade: the travel sewing kit. You usually can pick one up with the change in your pockets, or hang on to the one from your next hotel stay.

The Style Cooperative - Sir & Madame Style Guide

Want to see something cool? 

One of my favorite stores in all of Chicago (well, I guess in general actually), Sir & Madame, is a well-curated mix of great labels, a private line of American made loveliness for guys and gals, and is home to the Midwest outpost of The Brooklyn Circus. So they're basically pretty awesome. You can see inside the store in the vid.

Today they posted the first of a series of Style Guides, and guess what showed up. Yep, that's a tweed tie from The Style Cooperative. Styled well with their private label suspenders, which I'm thinking looks excellent together.

Take a look, then have a look see at what Sir & Madame have going on at their site. More about them soon.

Tutorial: How to Tie a Bow Tie

Just like any other sartorial know-how, tying a bow tie is a life skill that not enough of us have. You may have seen one of these little guides floating around the interwebs. They are complicated looking, I know. So guys (and girls!) listen up. This is how it goes:

I'm working here with a double-sided Diamond tip bow tie from The Co-Op Holiday collection (available starting tomorrow!) in Deep Red Silk and Gunmetal Chevron. 

Start with the tie around the back of your neck. Let one side fall about an inch below the other... like a regular necktie. Then take the longer end, lay it over the short, and pull it through from underneath. Just like how you start to tie a shoe.

 Make it as tight as you want the end result to be; you can't really adjust it once tied.

Take the longer side and make a loop and lay it flat across the center of your neck. This will be the first half of the bow. Hold it in place right above the knot with index & thumb.

With your free hand, take the shorter end (which should be behind the first loop you just made) and pull it over the top of that loop.  This will create the center tie part of the bow. Hold this in place with the center knot that you've been holding. Multitasking, I know.

Here's where it gets tricky. Pull the hanging side behind the first (and still only) bow loop.  There will be a small gap behind the loop that you will push the base of the hanging part of the tie through.  This will create the other half of the bow. This will take practice.

Now take a second to adjust the sides so that they are even, the bows are pulled to look even, and everything is centered.

Something you probably won't realize when tying, and get frustrated by: the loop parts will not be both in front. Only one side will have a front loop, the other side will have the end of the tie in front. So just when you thought you messed up, like magic, you've got a great looking bow tie.

Need more visuals? Check out a tutorial with Swizz Beats on Dynastee, and hooray for them shouting me and Co-Op ties today! Be a friend and show them some internet pleasantries.

Style Works Tutorial: Pocket Square Rosette

If you've been following along for a while, you know I'm obsessed with fabric flowers and a long-time fan of pocket squares.  Here's a video tutorial on how to make one in about 30 seconds, to add some real flavor to your look.  Enjoy!

A very special thanks to my friend Ohene for the musical styling. Interested in more? Send him a note.

Simple Miniskirt Tutorial

Here's a quick tutorial I've made for you fine readers on a simple mini-skirt with pockets. While pockets are totally optional on this tutorial, why would you ever opt out? Pockets make everything better, no?

1. I started with 1/2 yard of fabric (this will be the length of the entire skirt, so +/- depending on your height and length requirement. Be sure to account for about 4 inches of hem and waist band)

2. Measure the widest part of the hip and add 5 inches (to accommodate seam allowance and a little wiggle room for the pockets on each side). If you want a more full skirt that gathers at the waist, simply add more inches at this time. Cut at the desired width.

3. Fold the 2 sections in half. Cut along the fold lines to create 2 big and 4 small sections.

4. Use your hand as a guide to decide how large/deep the pockets should be.

5. Along the edge of the fabric, cut into a a shape that is similar to the shape above. This doesn't have to be incredibly exact to my shape, but make sure you have a straight seam allowance one side (big enough for your hand to fit in).

6. Lay straight side of pocket along the side of one of the larger squares. Right sides together, approximately 4 inches below the top edge. Do this for all 4 pockets on both larger skirt pieces.

7. Stitch to secure each of the 4 pocket pieces to the 2 larger skirt squares. After this step, you should have 2 pieces that look like the above.

8. Place the 2 skirt pieces right sides together with the pockets facing one another as well. Pin and stitch around the perimeter, starting from the top of the skirt, moving around the pockets, and down to the base of the skirt. *Be sure not to stitch along the straight edge of the pocket- this must stay open to create a pocket opening.*

After you stitch, this is what it should look like reversed.

9. Fold upper edge over, creating a tube wide enough to fit the waist band. Stitch this closed, but leave a few inches open so that you can fish some elastic in.

10. Use a safety pin to secure one end of the elastic to the skirt. Use a second safety pin to guide the elastic through the tube you created with fabric in step 9. Once it reaches the other side, stitch elastic ends together and hand stitch the tube opening shut.

Hem the bottom of the skirt to your liking. Press the seams. And your finished! Quick & easy right?

Same thing, just in green (gave the orange one to a friend)

Adding trim to the bottom or contrasting pockets could be a fun way to make this even more personal and great! Happy sewing.

DIY - Upholstered Headboard

Sorry if this post is a little random, but a number of you have asked me about my headboard over the past month or 2, so I thought I'd share. I initially took a bunch of pictures while doing the project, fully intending on posting a tutorial. 3 months later... here you go.

sorry. blur.

Supplies:

Particle board

Cheap memory foam (I cut up and pieced together a Twin XL mattress topper from Target)

Fabric (home dec weight preferable)

Spray Adhesive - compensates for your lack of extra hands throughout project

Staple Gun

It's a pretty straight forward project. I think it took no more thank about 30 minutes of actual work and about $30 in supplies (mostly fabric).

DIY: Oragami Sweater

Hi friends! I'm quite looking forward for my journey back to Michigan this evening to hang out with the fam for a few days. I have a feeling with ample access to a car (oh, how I appreciate these things when I can't have them in the city), I'll be making a name for myself at the fabric store and my local Home Depot.

Anyhow, if you're feeling a little crafty this weekend, or need something to take your mind off of your total food coma, here's a cool tutorial / pattern that you can use to make this Oragami Sweater.

It looks cozy but could be entirely chic. It has really, really easy to follow instructions, and it's the kind of project that you could whip up in no time.

Happy and safe travels.

Tutorial Tuesday Lives On!

Because today's post wasn't exactly a tutorial, and because a lovely one popped up in my Google Reader just a few minutes ago... I will share with you a great tutorial that was posted today by the completely darling Rubyellen on Rachel D's blog.

It's a simple way to use your scraps to make something useful and fun.

My Sun Ray Yellow

Instead of a tutorial today, I wanted to share a project I mentioned about a week or two ago for my living room. I've been drooling over some really impressive furniture rehabs that others create and share for the rest of us out here in Bloglandia. So here's my humble before & after.

Before

What you miss in this meager pictorial is the plastic tarps covering my entire living room. It was so very attractive.

After

Thrifted cabinet. Behr paint in "Sun Ray". Knobs from Anthro.

Feelin' Baubley, pt. 2

As you may know, I moved into my new apartment 2 months ago. Since then, it has been a slow but steady process to make it a home. When it came time to move in, everything seemed much different than I remembered (story of my apartment life!) It came time to get a little creative.

The first issue was that my new bedroom had no lighting. Literally none. There were light switches that turned on nothing. So after being inspired by baubles, checking out this tutorial, and doing a little bit of handy work... this is what I came up with.

2 Ikea paper lanterns, 5 sheets of paper from Pearl, some nylon twine and they hang delicately over my bed to provide the kind of soft light that reminds you fireflies and something celestial all at the same time.

Style Works: DIY fur vest

Fur is popping up everywhere, and I would go as far as (in part) crediting Rachel Zoe for the intense visibility of the fur vest in retail, red carpets, and more.

Via myfashionjuice

Last week, I alluded to a really great blog that is full of fantastic and on trend tutorials that don't look too (for better or worse) "crafty". I wanted to highlight one that really impressed me with how simple the tutorial is, and how fantastic the results could be.

I really think that the simple drape gives it that not-too-stuffy vibe, and the broach cleans up the overall look of it. It's faux and fantastic!

Style Works: DIY Fall Scarf Alternative

Not too long ago, I talked about cowl neck scarves and collars that I'm excited to wear for fall. As promised, here is an incredibly simple tutorial on how to make your own in 20 minutes or less! It's a great look that will work well for both ladies and can be a great fall accessories for the guys also.

1. Lay out fabric on a flat surface and unfold it (60" inch fabric will work best). Use a scarf you already own that is pretty wide for sizing purposes and cut fabric along the edge of your guide scarf. The end dimensions should be around 60" x 30"

2. Fold freshly cut fabric in half hot dog style (vs. hamburger, obviously) and stitch a seam along raw edge, creating a long, thin tube. Keep the ends open.

3. Fold the tube shape in half-- hamburger style this time. If you want to get a bit fancy with it, twist the tube once before moving on to step 4. Image 3 is what that should look like.

4. Join ends of the long tube together, folding under the raw edges to create a more finished look. Stitch along the adjoined edges, creating a large circle.

And there you have it! A simple project that you can dress up or down for the months to come. Maybe my next version will be made with lined cashmere. Or some punchy prints in silk! Looks like I've found my new fall obsession...

Style Works: Ombre Tutorial

As promised in the last post, below is the tutorial on how to create an ombre dye (dip dye) effect at home. While I'm sure this is not the most skilled way to do it, this is the way that has worked pretty well for me in the past.

Please leave any tips, tricks, or stories from the ombre trenches to share with others!


[You will need]
-1 item to dye
-1-2 boxes of RIT dye (more dye if you want a really dark color or you have a lot of material to cover)
-1 large kitchen pot
-1 large bowl or dye bath container (NOT your bathtub)
-lots of hot water
-trash bags


[Prep work]
1. Fill bowl/tub with hot water and wet entire garment until saturated
2. Make pre-dye solution according to manufacturers instructions
3. Boil 2+ gallons of water in pot. When it comes to a boil, add dye solution from step 2. Turn to a low simmer before starting the dye process.
4. Set up a drying station nearby where you can hang the garment and place a tarp or trash bags underneath. This dye will stain your floors, shower, doors, fingers, you name it. I suggest putting garment on a hanger and use a long over-the-door hook with a floor covering right under the door.


Ok, hold on. This is where it goes quickly and gets a little messy.

[Dye job]
1. Once completely wet, remove garment from water tub, loosen all creases or fold to avoid uneven dying, and slowly lower it into the pot of hot dye bath to the highest point you would like to be colored. Hold for about 30 seconds at that point.


2. Remove garment from the dye bath and run it through the rinse tub to smooth out the color transition a bit.


3. Smooth out all creases and folds, lower garment into dye bath again to a lower point and SLOWLY pull it out of the dye bath. The slower you pull it out, the better the color gradient will be. This can take anywhere from 5-30 minutes, depending on how dark you want it to be. (After a few times, you get the feel of the color, and will be able to make some color corrections in the job at this point.)


4. Once you are satisfied with the dye gradient and the garment is completely removed from the dye bath, smooth out all folds & creases, and hang it in your designated drying spot where it can drip dry.

From The Style Social

And there you have it. Be sure to send me pics of your creations. I'd love to see the results!