The Handmade Christmas Gift
This year I made just the one handmade Xmas gift, which was totally unplanned. Jon had ripped out a picture of this posh looking Drake's tie from a copy of Time Out, complete with £125 price tag.
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Drake's silk tie |
Now I know he would never spend this amount of money on a tie himself (he hardly ever wears them, except to pose for pictures on this blog...) and would be equally horrified if I shelled out big bucks too. I think he just liked the look of it. It got me thinking though - if I could find a nice looking Prince of Wales check, I could whip him one up myself and surprise him on Christmas Day...
So three days before Christmas I hot footed it down to Goldhawk Road to hunt for some fabric. As the schools had broken up I had Charlie with me and I knew it would have to be a lightning quick visit (he's not keen on lingering in shops, unless they happen to sell watering cans). In the end I had to bribe him with lunch at Pizza Express, but it was well worth it because I found the perfect fabric pretty quickly. It was from a new, posh looking fabric shop called Misan West, which isn't the cheapest, but has lots of good quality suitings and silks. I bought a metre of Prince of Wales check lightweight wool suiting for £15 and the girl kindly added a bit extra in case I mucked up. I didn't muck up as it happens, and as the fabric is quite wide, I still have enough for a pencil skirt if I so wish, hoorah! For the lining I used some scraps of Venezia lining fabric left over from this skirt.
Sadly my tie making partner in crime - Joe - was busy doing a panto run (he's a fabulous Ugly Sister in Cinderella if you're interested!) and I must admit, I missed his expertise. I also realised he had all the tie patterns we'd worked on together so I had to improvise! I remembered that there was a tie in the Sew Over It Vintage book, so set about drafting one from the book myself. I made a couple of small changes: lengthened it by 10cms to match an existing tie and narrowed the bit that goes around the back of the neck so that the shirt collar would cover it. The drafting took one afternoon and I spent another afternoon actually sewing it. There are only a few bits of machine sewing involved, the lengthy parts of the process were spent at the ironing board and hand stitching the central seam.
Apart from the obvious difference i.e the posh Drake's tie is silk and the one I made is wool, I don't think they're that different to the untrained eye. I couldn't adjust the colour properly on my photos, so you'll have to take my word for it that my tie is much lighter in real life - the colours and checks really are very similar. And Jon's face on Christmas Day when he realised I'd made it was a picture!
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Drake's Tie |
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Jane's Tie |
Beautiful tie!
ReplyDeleteThank you! x
DeleteAwesome! What a thoughtful gift x
ReplyDeleteAw thanks! x
DeleteFabulous.
ReplyDeleteI liked Misan West when I was there earlier this month. David bought a leather hide - he's planning to sew it!
Ooohhh leather hide! Yes I'm looking forward to going back again (without my son) and having a proper look round. x
DeleteThis embodies what the thought behind a handmade Christmas gift should be. Something that you can't really buy, but that you know someone would love and is personal to them. Such a sweet gift!
ReplyDeleteThank you. I loved making it, especially as he's so difficult to buy for! x
DeleteThis is lovely Jane. I'd love to have a go at making a tie, but none of the men in my life wear them.
ReplyDeleteJon hardly ever wears them either but at least he has a posh looking one now! x
DeleteSuch a beautiful job! Well done. :)
ReplyDeleteThank you! x
DeleteGorgeous tie! I made one for my son from a Sew Over It kit. I couldn't believe there was so much hand sewing but it turned out well and I really enjoyed it. He asked for a tab on the back to keep the skinny end from swinging out. I should have copied from an existing tie but I gave it a shot-and missed. It was too far down on the front part of the tie, but oh well. I was curious about the button on your tie and if you have any tips for keeping them together. Thanks!!
ReplyDeleteThe button is a feature I copied from my friend Joe when he made a six fold tie and is purely decorative in my case. You can read about it here: http://www.handmadejane.co.uk/2015/05/hes-at-it-again.html?m=1. The blog post also includes a link to an Italian tie making video which features the button closure. x
DeleteYour tie looks better than the retail one.
ReplyDeleteThe retail one does look VERY swanky so thank you! x
DeleteJust Beautiful Thanks for sharing, Lynn
ReplyDeleteMy pleasure, thanks Lynn! x
DeleteFantastic job, Jane, and thank you for putting up a great post in the slack time of year when there isn't much doing in sewing blogland!
ReplyDeleteAh good, I knew somebody would appreciate it! x
DeleteWhat a lovely surprise for him! Fabulous!
ReplyDeleteThanks, it really was a surprise! x
DeleteWhat a lovely present. Sadly my husband is a doctor and ties are actively disencouraged (the germs!) so no tie making from me. But a lovely gift idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks Manju! Ties are a bit wasted on Jon too as he hardly ever wears them, but they're still nice to make anyway! x
DeleteI love that tie! My very first ever sewing project was a pencil skirt made of the exact same print. I loved that skirt to death and still have it even though I weigh too much to fit into it anymore. Thanks for the memory!
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