Introduction: Men's Dress Shirt Into a Tie... and Apron!

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So my boyfriend had a dress shirt he never wore and told me I could make something out of it if I wanted to. So we looked up stuff and the most popular was an apron or skirt... they all looked like good ideas but nothing I would ever wear. So I looked at the shirt and asked if he would wear it as a tie. He said yes, and so it began. 

(basic supplies because I'm crafting in a college dorm room with no planning ahead on this project)

What I ended up using:

1 men's dress shirt
1 pair of scissors
1 iron and board
1 sewing needle
black thread
no thimble
1 band-aid
1 tie to use as a pattern
3 paper clips as section markers
1 pen 



Step 1: Cut Off the Sleeve

Sooo I had no idea what I was doing and took one of his ties as a pattern. I decided I would have to do it in sections because no part of the shirt was as long as the tie and the tie looked like it was in sections anyway.

I started by cutting off and down the sleeve so I had a large piece of fabric. 

Step 2: Measure, Cut and Sew

I started by making the skinny end. I had to cut off the cuff of the sleeve and up to where the arm buttons started.

I then traced the section that would fit on the sleeve and marked on the tie with a paperclip how long that section was. I cut out a shape from the shirt fabric 4 times the width of the tie and about an extra inch on each side for a seam . I folded this in half twice that so there were 4 layers of fabric with about an inch of the open side sticking out to sew. all out of one piece.

(I ironed both folds because i didn't have any pins. and its easier to iron and re-iron than to follow layers of misplaced pen marks or repin pins in a line. especially since I was making this up as I went.)

Then I sewed up the long open side. Not the ends. 

Step 3: Flip It Outside-in

Pull it outside-in/inside-out and flatten so the seam is in the middle. Iron it down. Then fold the sides so they meet in the middle above the seam and iron each side. 

Step 4: Continue...

Repeat those steps for the next sections. I did 3 sections total, and made the last, larger, longest piece from right down the middle of the back of the shirt. 

The first two sections were fairly short and I made sure the seam between the 2nd and 3rd section would be hidden by either the knot or the collar, by marking on the tie with a paperclip how long his torso was. 

On the end of the long, 3rd section, I sewed the triangle at the end before turning it inside out. 

Step 5: Line Them Up!

After I had each section made, I lined them up and cut them on the diagonal like I saw on the tie.  

Step 6: More Sewing

When I unfolded the ironed pieces to sew them together I realized they lined up oddly and I maybe should have cut them when they were unfolded. Oh well.. I made it work. 

Seam sides out (front sides together) I lined up the middle sections and sewed it. 

Then I folded in the flaps and lined them up and sewed them too. That side is a little ugly but is hidden so I let it be ugly. 


Step 7: Lots of Thread

I'm not sure how to describe this next sewing technique but I use it when closing a pillow or teddy bear so the seam is flat and you can't see the stitches. I did this from the small end alllllll the way to the other end and VOILA!!! THE TIE IS DONE! 




Step 8: Aaandd the Apron.

I havent actually made it into an apron yet, but I cut off the other sleeve of the shirt and plan to use that as the straps. And with my wonderful posture, I show off the nice button up front with a collar so no strap is necessary for the neck part, just around the waist. I will fold in the corners of the shoulders to add a more feminine look but theres an easy, unique apron made from almost scrap!