How To: Transform Thrift Store Neckties into Stylish, Skinny Ties

Gabrielle’s son Ralph was turning thirteen, and asked for some au currant skinny ties, presumably because Ralph knows, as all ManMade readers know, that if you gotta dress up, you might as well do a good job.

Having a hard time finding appropriately priced and sized ties for Ralph, Gabrielle got creative and hit the thrift store. She came home with a pile of $1.00 traditional neckties, and got to work.

She says, “Of course, I forgot about the idea till 3 days before his birthday. At which point, I tried to rush and make it happen. I found 5 great ties at Goodwill and sped them to the tailor. There, I was told it would take 10 days and cost $37 each to skinny them up. Blech.

But since I had the ties in hand, and since they only cost $1 each, I figured I’d try it myself. If I failed, oh well, a $5 failed project is not the end of the world. As it turns out, the first one ended up great (it’s the silvery striped one above)! So I took pictures while I remade tie number two — and now I can share the instructions with you, in case you’re curious.”

We are curious, indeed.

I think what’s so cool about this project, other than its thriftiness and general genius, is the fact that we’d never really choose the patterns on the standard ties, but once they’ve been skinnified, they’re all pretty awesome.

DIY: Skinny Ties [DesignMom.com]

via Craft.