Hey there everyone! Whew...been a while since I made an instructable! In this instructable I'm gonna show you how to crochet a bow tie! Why? Because, bow ties are cool, of course! Don't know how to crochet? That's okay, I'll teach you the basic stitches you need to know! This is fairly simple project that's great for beginners. So, without further ado, let's get making!

Step 1: Materials

To make this bow tie, you'll need:

• A "g" hook crochet needle (4.25 mm) (I prefer a metal one, they're easier to work with in my opinion)
• worsted (4) weight yarn - any color and brand will do (I prefer the brand sugar and cream)
• something to cut the yarn - scissors, nail clippers, anything really
• some catchy music to listen to while you crochet (seriously, it helps)

...And that's it. So, if you're a beginner crocheter, go on ahead. If you already know how to do a chain and a single crochet, then skip to step 4

Step 2: The Basics: the Chain

So, for all you new guys out there, the first thing that you need to be able to do to crochet is make a chain. To do that you need to make a loop in your yarn, and then put the top string in the back, and put the needle over the loop, under the top string, and back over the loop. Now pull it tight. Refer to the pictures. I've indicated the top string with red duct tape. This is the slip know to start the chain. Got it? Good! Now, start the chain by putting the yarn over your needle and pulling it through the loop on your needle from the slip knot. Congrats! You've just made a chain of 1! To make a bigger chain, keep on putting the yarn over your needle and pulling it though the new loop. Simple! A chain in a crochet pattern is represented by Ch. So Ch 5 means chain 5.

Step 3: The Basics: Single Crochet

Got a nice little chain? Great! Now it's time to learn the stitch that you'll use to make the whole bow tie; the single crochet. To do a single crochet, take your chain and find the side that has a single stitch running down it (look at the pictures for clarification). Put your hook through one of the stitches, and yarn over, and pull through just the one stitch. Now you should have two loops on your crochet hook. Now, yarn over and pull the yarn through both of the loops, and then pull tight. Congrats, you just did a single crochet! In a crochet pattern, a single crochet is abbreviated sc.

Step 4: Starting the Bow Tie

All right, time to get making! Start by making a chain of 14. Then, sc one in each st. Then, start another row of sc, but this time skip the first st. Now, repeat that step over again and again until you get to 4 st in your chain. The pattern is as follows:
• ch 14
• sc one in each st
• Skip first st, sc one in each stitch
(Repeat until 4 st in chain)

Step 5: Completing the First Body

To finish off the first "body" of the bow tie, the steps are almost exactly the same as the last step, but now we're increasing the number of stitches. Start by sc one in each st. Then sc two in the first stitch, then one in the rest of the st. Repeat that step over until you have 14 st. Once you do, repeat step 5 (last step) to get back to 4 st. The pattern is as follows:

• sc one in each st
• Sc two in first st, then one in the rest of the st.
(Repeat until 14 st in ch)

(Repeat last step)

Step 6: Making the Neck

Okay...so, for this step, there isn't an exact pattern, because everyone has a different sized neck. You can either use a real bow tie for reference, or you can measure your neck, and then add about 4 inches (you need it for tying). So, for me that would be 14 1/2 inches plus 4 inches, making the neck strip 18 1/2 inches in total. To make the neck strip is probably as simple as it gets: sc one in each st. Just keep doing that until the neck gets to the length that you need! Simple! Now, if you're comparing this to a real bow tie, you may notice something. The body of your bow tie compared to the real one is a lot smaller! Well, this is because we're using a slightly thick yarn, and as I found out, making a bow tie with the same size body as a real bow tie makes for a huge bow tie. So making the bodies smaller will make for a much more regular bow tie.

Step 7: Finishing the Bow Tie

Okay, final stretch! To make the last body, you really just want to work backwards from the pattern. So, sc two in the first stitch, then sc on in each st. Repeat the whole process until you get back to 14 st in your ch. Then sc one in each st. The pattern looks like this:
• sc two in first st, then one in each st
(Repeat until 14 st in ch)
• sc one in each st

Then, get it back to four st. So, skip first st, and sc one in each st. Repeat that pattern until you get to four st in your ch. The pattern is as follows:
• skip first st, sc one in each st
(Repeat until 4 st in ch)

Once that's done, just follow the first step again to get back to 14 st in the ch. Then cut off the yarn with about three extra inches and pull it through the loop that's currently on your crochet hook, and pull it tight.

Step 8: Weaving in the Loose Ends

Now your bow tie is all done!! All that's left to do is to weave in the loose ends. Take your crochet hook and put it through the loop closest to an end, and pull the yarn through. Then pull it through the next closest one on the other side. Keep on doing that a bit, and then go up and down a little if you can. Once you feel like it's secure, cut off any excess and then you're done! Congratulations! You just made a bow tie worthy of being proud of! Now go and show how cool you are to the world!