I can't believe how beautiful the silk fabric is on these bow ties I'm piecing into a memorial quilt. Each tie has its own story from the Christmas themed tie to the funky 1970's-fashion statement tie. FUN! Here are the steps I've been doing to prepare the silk bow ties for piecing.


First I separate the skinny neck strip from the larger bow section of the tie.

Tie Memorial quiltNext you have to very, very carefully take the stitches out of the delicate silk fabric. You'll find an interfacing piece between the two faces of fabric that will be removed.
Tie Memorial quilt I starch these newly liberated silk pieces to help give them some body and stabilize the silk. Be sure to lower the temperature to your "silk" setting on your iron.
Tie Memorial quiltFinally, I place these sections on a very lightweight fusible interfacing. Next I iron the silk onto the fusible. (I use my Teflon applique pressing sheet to protect my iron.)
Tie Memorial quilt
Finally it is time to trim up those pieces! Each tie has a different width so I let each tie dictate how wide it wants to be. I am trimming each strip of bow tie fabric to be 5 1/2" long.
Tie Memorial quilt
I will be combining these strips in the coming days so stop by to see the progress!
Up next, Pat's fabulous batik! WOW! My daughter loves this. I've got some variegated thread pulled to use on it. Pat is going to love how this turns out!

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