Weddingbee Blog

I haven’t actually discussed what the men will be wearing at our wedding yet. Part of that is because I left this decision entirely up to Mr. Guinea Pig: tuxedo? Black suit? Cargo shorts? Whatever he wanted. My reasoning was that I get to choose my dress, shoes, veil, jewelry, and the bridesmaids dresses… why shouldn’t Mr. GP get to choose what he wants to wear and what the groomsmen will wear?

After going back and forth for a little bit, Mr. GP finally decided a black suit was best, and told the groomsmen to wear whatever black suit they already owned. We waited out buying a suit and stalked sales, then finally purchased Mr. GP a brand new suit at an amazing 70% off sale from Jos. A Banks — a normally $1100 suit was only $330! Major score.

With the groomsmen wearing their own black suits, naturally we wanted to tie it together with a common theme (ha. tie.). And what better way to be cohesive than to have ties made out of the same material as the bridesmaids’ dresses!

Back in November, when I ordered the bridesmaid dresses from Lula Kate, I also ordered a couple extra yards of fabric in both the blue and yellow colors we’re using (yellow dress for my sister/MOH, and blue dresses for the bridesmaids).

Mr. GP will be sporting a blue tie, and the groomsmen will be wearing yellow ties. When the dresses came in around March, I started making the ties for the groomsmen, so now I present a quick photo tour of tie-making, GP style!

First, a glimpse at the finished product, which Mr. GP kindly modeled for me.

(Can’t wait to see the blue tie with his blue eyes!)

I used silk dupioni (same fabric as BM dresses), and fusible fleece interfacing to add thickness, as well as a different fabric in a complementary color/pattern for the lining. I used a sewing pattern I had from a book I got when I first got my sewing machine, called S.E.W (I really like this book). I tried a couple different interfacing methods and we ultimately determined we liked the feel of two layers of fusible fleece the best. It doesn’t feel exactly like a normal tie, but it’s pretty close and as you can see, looks pretty darn good! (tootin’ my own horn, yes ma’am).

For each tie, I had to cut out 8 things: 2 liner triangles, 2 pieces of silk, and 4 pieces of fusible fleece.

(the lining fabric)

(cutting out the fusible fleece interfacing)

(cutting out the main/front portion of the silk for the tie)

(All the components for one tie!)

Once all those pieces were cut out (which takes a while when you’re making 5 ties), I started in on the sewing by joining the front and back parts of the tie (because ties are too long to be cut whole from one piece of fabric).

(left: connecting the two pieces, right: sewn together, and because of the fabric style you hardly see the seam!)

Once the silk for the tie was ’whole’, I ironed on the fusible fleece interfacing with a warm iron and a damp cloth (and/or the steam setting, which may not be a good idea on silk… oops).

(the second layer of fleece is a little narrower just b/c trial and error determined it felt most natural this way)

I had to make sure the interfacing was attached really well, or it would peel off the silk when I went to turn the tie right side out later! Next up was attaching the little triangles of lining for the exposed parts on the back.

(left: pinned, right sides together; right: turned right side out and ironed)

Now it was time to sew down the middle and put the tie together! I folded it in half and pinned the long edges together, then sewed a seam leaving a hole about 4 inches long to pull the tie right side out again.

(folded and pinned in half to sew the center seam)

(pulling the tie through the hole I left about 15 inches up from the big end of the tie)

(once tie is pulled right side out again, sew the hole closed with a ladder stitch to make a neat seam)

Once the tie was right side out and closed up, I ironed it flat and admired my handiwork before completing the final step!

(Ta da! A tie!)

The last step was to attach that little piece of fabric on the back that you stick the short end through to keep it from flapping about after you’ve tied the tie:

(Back flappy thing and the lovely lining fabric)

Et voila! A tie is born! If you have 5 groomsmen, then it’s time to lather, rinse, repeat until you have this:

(5 ties for five guys (mmm… I want french fries and a burger now) )

I love the way the fabric creates a subtle striping pattern, and this will match the yellow of my sister’s dress perfectly! I think the silk makes them really elegant, too. I hope the guys like them!

Oh yes, and if you’re wondering about cost, the breakdown works out to be about $13 per tie - I’m sure we could have found ties for that price somewhere online, but I love that I made them myself! I can’t wait to move on to Mr. GP’s bright blue tie!

What are your guys wearing? Have you ever made ties before? Are you making anything for your wedding party to wear?