Leather and Felt Bowtie Headband

For this challenge, each Gizmo-CdA staff member wanted to make the same thing, just with different mediums. We get so many scraps from the projects and classes we do with members, that often times we are faced with finding new ways to use them up or unfortunately throw them away. So, there will be other bowtie entries made of different things we found around the shop, showing off only a small amount of what you can do in this Makerspace.

I am an enthusiastic sewist, and I am not afraid to mix up mediums to get something that looks really cool.

I love making bowties out of scrap fabrics and found things, like paper clips instead of bowtie hardware. I was challenged to make my bowtie with none of my comfort zone, go-to textiles and leather and felt seemed like a cool combination so I gave it a go.

Since it is a pre-tied bowtie, I just glued or sewed everything in place where it fit me. Feel free to try yours on in the making process...

Found Items:

• scrap leather
• old piece of felt (mine was was pretty thick)
• small hair-tie
• 1 leather rivet
• 1 found button

Supplies:

• scissors
• needle and thread
• tailor's chalk or a washable marker
• hot glue gun
• ruler or straight edge
• mallet
• rivet punch and block

First gather all of your materials and tools.

I started by cutting out two 3/4 inch strips out of my leather, but if your piece is long enough to fit around your head or neck keep it as one piece. Then cut a 2x11 inch strip out of the felt.

I originally wanted to make a pre-tied bow tie made out of my found items, but my bow ended up being too big, so it turned it into a headband instead. So if you wanted to wear it around your neck, I suggest cutting a thinner strip out of your felt, 1.5 inches wide is going to be easier to wear around your neck.

First, I folded my felt in half and marked it down the middle. (Make sure you draw on the side you won't see when it's folded up). Then I drew two triangles with the peaks on the line drawn down the middle. Cut the triangles out and round out the edges for a cleaner look. On each end of your felt, cut the corners off with an angle that matches your middle triangles. You can do this by folding the edges towards the back and marking where the angles match up to look like a bow.

Take a small piece of leather ( long enough to fit around the middle of your bow) and sew it into a loop, with the sides of the leather you want to see on the inside. Then flip it around so the part you just sewed is on the inside. Feed your felt piece through the loop until the loop is in the middle where you cut out the triangles.

Then, fold the edges of your felt (with markings on the inside) towards the back and into the leather loop and hot glue them down, making sure that the seam of your loop is in the back. Stick the edges of your strips of leather (the band part) under the loop in the same place as the felt and hot glue in place.

Punch a hole in one side of your band and stick a rivet through the hole. Using your mallet, rivet punch and block, hammer the rivet into place or until it is flat. Tie a knot on one side of your hair tie and feed the non-knotted end through the back of the rivet. Sew a button on the other side of the band and you are finished!