Moosegirl; thank U so much for leading me in the directions of what to do with these ties. They belong to a gentleman that I cared for about 8 years. He only has two sisters and would like to give one to this one sister for all her kind words and support while her brother was sick the last 6 months. She will be "90" this coming October and I think a lap quilt would be appropriate. May I also comment that your German Shepard you have in profile looks so much like the man I was caring for. His dog won the National Grand Championship of German Shepard.

This tie quilt you made is just "beautiful". Very striking! Love the colors and combination :) One talented lady you are.

Looking for ideas also for a necktie quilt...but do not want to cut them up but use them whole . I love the labels too.

great quilts!

The jacket I'm wearing in my avatar is made from men's silk ties. I did a log cabin block on a muslin base - one half the block is the ties, the other half is silk dupioni. I laid the pattern on the floor, then laid the blocks on them until I had a pattern I liked, and filled in the spaces with strips. I attached the smaller tips (label included) along the bottom. Wore it to my niece's hippie wedding last year.

Check the book Daddy's Ties by Shirley Botsford

That's a great book for information on preparing the ties for sewing, as well as many ideas for using them. I have the book and used it as a reference for making the jacket.

There is also an interesting quilt in the collection of the Shelburn Museum in Vermont made of ties. It is small blocks of flying geese with two strips on both the long sides. I have been saving tie fabric (obtained from a factory making ties) to make it. Most of the fabric is thin so I need to get the book to learn how to stabilize the fabric before cutting. I believe there is also a second book about making quilts from ties. The common instruction running thru both books is that you can make almost amy quilting pattern. The preparation of the ties is the key as the fabrics stretch.

Moosegirl, I am trying to make a quilt for our family from ties; we recently lost both grandpas and have their ties.

I'm a new quilter. My plan is to make squares by appliqueing the ties to muslin to make the squares, and then to put the squares together, add the rails and etc. I'm just not sure how to get the ties from menswear to muslin. Do I cut them up? Should I apply fusible stuff before attaching to the muslin?

Would you mind directing me?

Thank you.

This example is what I need to get me on the right track. I am open to more opportunities to learn.