Pirate Bow Tie!

This glorious and tasteful pirate black bow tie adorned with scattered skull ‘n cross-bones and metallic silver crowns would make any dandy feel like the king of the pirates! It would look equally spiffy with a starched white shirt and tails, or an Oxford button-down shirt, black sweater-vest, 501s, and stompin’ boots. Measurements: Width – 5 1/2”/14 cm
Height – 2 1/2” /6.4 cm.
15% of all sales are donated to San Francisco’s Congregation Sha’ar Zahav.
“Oh, better far to live and die
Under the brave black flag I fly,
Than play a sanctimonious part,
With a pirate head and a pirate heart.
Away to the cheating world go you,
Where pirates all are well-to-do;
But I’ll be true to the song I sing,
And live and die a Pirate King.
For I am a Pirate King!
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!”
(From The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan)

How to Make a Clip-On Bow Tie!

Clip-on bow-ties are snazzy, retro, and eco-friendly. In this tutorial, we’ll construct a rectangular shaped, two-piece clip-on bow tie. All fabrics and clips are available through Britex Fabrics in San Francisco. Clip-on bow-ties are particularly suitable for luxury or recycled fabrics, as they require less than 1/4 yard of fabric! They have minimal construction and sewing, compared to standard bow-ties and long ties, and are small enough to sew by hand. Clip-on bow ties can only be worn with turn-down, standard collar shirts. Wing-collar or collarless shirts need a band to hold the bow-tie in place. Most bow-ties are about twice as wide as they are tall, but some mid-century clip-on bow-ties were as much as four times as wide as high – between 3/4”” and 1 1/2” tall and up to 5” wide, with 1” x 4 1/2” being typical. The leaves were usually rectangular with flat ends. In the late 1960s through the 1970s, some butterfly-shaped bow-ties were up to up to 3 1/2” tall by 5 1/2” wide. Those ties had very narrow centers and wide leaves.

Materials:
Mid-weight fabrics such as necktie silk, linen or cotton are preferred. You need less than 1/4 yard:
2 pieces of mid to lightweight fabric, both at least 2” x 8”, up to 3 1/4 x 11”, for the body of the tie
1 piece of mid to lightweight fabric, at least 3” x 4”, for the center band
1 piece of interfacing, muslin or suit canvas, same dimensions as bow tie pattern
Thread matching the background color of the tie fabric.
Regular bow-tie clip (a child-sized clip may not span both points of an adult collar)