I have made a bunch of quilty things with ties (before there were books on the subject) -- including a pillow. I took the ties apart and washed them (the interfacing really shrink in some ties). I did use net bags to wash them. Starch them when you iron them -- the fabrics have a mind of their own. When you hold the tie with the point down, that is the bias so you have to handle them carefully and starch helps. It also helps to iron a light weight fuzible web to the back of the ties before you cut them -- that will make sewing them easier. I have a tie quilt that was made as a crazy quilt by a the women's auxilliary of the VFW back in the 1950's and only one of the ties has shredded.