Tartan neckties

[CaptainPanda]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for someone who can take left over tartan materials and turn them into ties/bow ties. Before you ask, no they will not be worn with the kilt. I'd like to take the tartan my wife and I designed and turn the leftovers into ties for the men in the family who haven't taken to the kilt just yet. Not sure if anyone has done this before or knows someone who can do it, but any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Wiley

[Tobus]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for someone who can take left over tartan materials and turn them into ties/bow ties. Before you ask, no they will not be worn with the kilt. I'd like to take the tartan my wife and I designed and turn the leftovers into ties for the men in the family who haven't taken to the kilt just yet. Not sure if anyone has done this before or knows someone who can do it, but any suggestions will be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Wiley

I don't have any suggestions on who could or would make new neckties from a customer's supplied material. But just a couple of points to consider on this:

Tartan neckties are generally made from a thinner material than kilt-weight tartan. Often they dispense with wool entirely, but even when they are wool (most of mine are), they are usually just a plain weave, not a twill weave. Finer threads, simpler weave, and lighter weight are more conducive to knotting a tie. While it may be possible to do it with standard tartan material in the 13-16oz range, I would think the tie would be bulky and difficult to get a tidy knot. The thicker yarns, with a twill weave, would make it a beast of a tie. But I've never tried it, so I could be wrong.

Also, tartan neckties generally have a much smaller sett size than kilting cloth so that one can recognise the pattern when it's on the bias as they generally are. If your sett size is in the 6" or larger range, you may find that when it's turned diagonally and a narrow strip is showing, it may not look like tartan at all. You can mock it up by folding your existing material and see how it looks.

Lastly, because ties are generally made with the material on the bias for flexibility and twisting, it uses a lot of material. You will end up with quite a bit of unusable scrap from triangle corners of the cloth which can't be cut as tie material. Having paid for custom weaves myself, I know how expensive it is! It pains me to end up with lots of odd bits that represent dollar signs.

*Edited to add close-up of tartan tie material showing plain weave. I've no idea what weight material this is, but I couldn't imagine it being more than about a 3oz fabric.