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Old 10-12-2011, 06:09 PM
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Prism99
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Western Wisconsin
Posts: 12,930
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There are some good books out on making quilts from silk ties.

The one I read said to remove the lining first. It's fairly easy to do this by using a seam ripper up the back for a few stitches, starting at the front bottom (wide point) of the tie. Once you have clipped a few threads, you should be able to grip a remaining thread and pull on it to remove all (or almost all) of the remaining thread. Remove the lining.

Next step is to hand wash the ties. I found that the reds can bleed *horribly*. Don't try to machine wash the ties as they will end up a tangled mess.

Next step is to iron a fusible stabilizer on the back. One of the best is fusible nylon tricot (much cheaper ordered online from a drapery company than purchased at JoAnn's).

Only then do you cut out your shapes.

There may be other ways to work with ties. This is just the approach in the book I got.
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