Adjustable Necktie Tutorial & Free Pattern

The holidays are coming up and with that come festivities and lots of picture-taking! This simple and cute necktie is perfect for dressing up your darling little boy for special turkey dinners and family photos.
Last year, I got an idea to make a patriotic tie when I made Logan’s adjustable bow tie *here* and coincidentally his school’s fall music concert this year required him to wear red, white, and blue. So here it is!

There are two separate pieces: the neck strap and the neck tie. The neck strap is adjustable with Velcro and the tie itself is 2 1/2” wide and 28” long. I’m back on Methorexate and going through a flare up so pulling the tie and the strap right side out with a safety-pin was pretty painful so I’ve included some other Arthritis-friendly ways to construct the tie. Ok, let’s get to it.

Things You Will Need:
Self Fabric 3/4 yard (since it will be cut on the bias)
Lining Fabric 3/4 yard
Velcro
Fabric glue (optional)
Print Pattern *here (Use 8.5”x11” letter size paper)

Watch the tutorial on Youtube *here*

*Always be sure to prewash your fabric before sewing.

Place the pattern diagonally from the selvage of the self fabric since it will be cut on bias which will keep it from twisting and turning later on. Also cut the lining pattern on the bias.

Pin the self fabric and the lining right sides together and sew the ends with a 3/8” seam allowance.

To get that perfect pointy tip fold one seam towards you. Then fold the other seam over. Pinch the fold between your fingers and turn the fabrics right side out. Do this for both ends.

Press the ends. The lining is shorter so it should not be showing on the other side.

I’ve included 2 ways to sew the tie. The first method, which I used, hurt my fingers because of the tugging and pulling I had to do to turn the tie right side out. So, I don’t suggest this method if you’re having a flare up.

Method 1 – Fold the tie in half and sew with a 3/8” seam allowance. I finished the edge with a serger. I don’t know why I didn’t skip the sewing machine and just use my serger. Oh well. You can also use a wide zig zag stitch to keep the edge from fraying.

Use a safety-pin to pull the tie right side out from the smaller end. When using a safety-pin, be sure to get both layers of fabric and not just one or otherwise the tugging and pulling of the pin will leave a huge hole in your fabric. 

Method 2 –

a. Finish the edges with a serger or zig zag stitch.

b.Fold and press under 3/8” and hand sew the folded edges.

c.Use this same method for the neck strap as well but skip serging/finishing the edges since they’ll be turned inward.

Press the tie and the neck strap. Make sure that the seam is in the middle of the neck strap.

Fold one end of strap to the front and fold one end to the back.

Cut 2 strips of Velcro that are about 1.5”x3”. I don’t like sharp corners so I rounded out the corners by cutting around the edges.

Place each Velcro strip over the folded end of the neck strap. This bit is optional – I used fabric glue to keep the strips in place and then sewed them onto the neck strap.

The tie is pretty much done and only needs a small loop on the back to insert the smaller end. For the loop, you can use grosgrain or a regular ribbon. I like to apply some fabric glue to the edges to keep it from fraying. Then you can either tack it down on the tie with a needle and thread or a bit of fabric glue.

The last step is tying the necktie around the neck strap which I’m not even going to attempt explaining because I’ll confuse us both. Hehe. So here are some step by step pictures. I will be posting a video tutorial soon and you will be able to see it in action.

If you end up making this tie, let me know. I’d love to hear from you!

Happy sewing!