Necktie quilts for Dad

Happy Fathers Day ! The silk necktie has achieved notoriety as the traditional Father's Day gift to Dad from his family. But what if Dad already has a closet full of ties?  Some quilters have turned neckties into brilliant works of art.   We hope you will enjoy these creations as much as we have. (This is a photo-intensive post... photos may take a minute to load!)

Recycled Silk Ties - No Necks Needed by Virginia Anderson (Washington)

This stunning quilt was made entirely from recycled silk ties and silk tie remnants from the Robert Talbott Tie Company.  Virginia Anderson says:  "I have been working on this quilt off and on for over 10 years ! I am happy to have finally finished it. It was great fun collecting all the silk ties. Piecing with silk is definitely a challenge!"  Her perfect piecing can be seen in the close up photo below.

We loved Virginia's selection of patterns and colors, with the primary red, yellow and blue hues dominating.  For the design she used the "Untitled" quilt pattern by Karen K. Stone.  Recycled Silk Ties was machine pieced and machine quilted and was exhibited at the 2013 Houston International Quilt Festival.

close up, Universal Ties by Nancy Ota (San Clemente, California, USA)

Nancy Ota's Universal Ties is a gorgeous tumbling blocks quilt that was English paper pieced, hand stitched, and hand quilted.  The close-up photo above shows the way in which Nancy incorporated stars among the tumbling blocks, and the beautiful hand quilting.   The photo below shows the full quilt.

Universal Ties, 63 x 88" (2001)  by Nancy Ota

Universal Ties was shown in a special handwork exhibit at the 2013 Houston International Quilt Festival.   Nancy Ota says,  "Silk neckties gave me the opportunity to work with luscious colors and the richness of silk.  Using the English paper piecing method allowed the silk to be managed.  I love handwork as it is both meditative and creative."  Here are some more close-up photos.

We've admired this quilt on the web, and it was wonderful to see the precise piecing and hand quilting up close. These silk tie prints are so much fun; in the photo below, note the American flag print which is next to a golf-themed print.

Nancy Ota has taught her English Paper Piecing methods to many other quilters; for more information see her Lectures and Workshops and her upcoming Schedule.

Fan Wheel or Wheel of Fortune quilt, 88 x 90", circa 1950

Recycling neckties (and other clothing) is a tradition among quilters.   This huge 1950's silk/satin necktie quilt top, seen on Ebay,  is impressive. The Fan Wheel / Wheel of Fortune variation starts with a Dresden Plate in the center.  Tie tails were used in the middle wheel, and the main ends of the ties were used in the outside wheel.   Two edges of the ties were rolled over with a hand sewn blanket stitch.

Carnival quilt, 58 x 58", by Stacey Sharman at Peppermint Pinwheels (California)

Stacey Sharman's spectacular Carnival quilt, made from tie silks and silk dupioni in every color of the rainbow.  On her website, Stacey explains: " I love mixing both vintage and new fabrics to create quilts that are simultaneously modern and traditional and are also absolutely unique."  Carnival was based on a pattern by Norah McMeeking from Bella Bella Quilts.  

Silk Orange Peel quilt, 63 x 63", by Stacey Sharman at  Peppermint Pinwheels

Stacey Sharman's Silk Orange Peel quilt was based on the contemporary Indian Orange Peel pattern by Karen K. Stone.  The silks were either samples or remnants - approximately 4.5 x 12" in size - from a factory that makes neckties.  Stacey says: "Foundation-pieced is the only way to go with silk quilting."

Grandfather's Flower Garden, 42 x 42", by Margit Kagerer (Arizona)

This original and beautiful necktie quilt won third place in the Theme category at the 2014 Arizona Quilters Guild show.  Margit Kagerer says: “Grandfather went through his stash of neckties and revived them as flowers. He arranged the tips in hexagons like grandmother did for her garden.”  For more information about Margit Kagerer see Margit's Fiber Art.

Father's Day 1976 by Bette Haddon at Studio ArtQuilts (Florida)

This fascinating wall hanging was created by Bette Haddon, an award-winning quilt artist who lives in beautiful DeFuniak Springs, Florida. She used whole ties along with tie tips, labels, and buttons to create a highly textured surface.  We counted over 200 buttons and labels.

Ira's quilt by Bet Ison,  Home for Wayward Babydolls (Kentucky)

Ira's Quilt by artist Bet Ison was made with denim, velveteen, neckties, and brocade. The quilt uses the golden mean to make a Fibonacci spiral.  For more information on Bet Ison please see our 2011 feature article, Waste not, want not: a quilting tradition.

Necktie Wall Hanging, 16 x 20", by Nancy Gamon, as seen at Nancy Gamon on Flickr

 

This original wall hanging was made with about a dozen vintage neckties arranged to create a three-dimensional surface on a pieced background. Nancy Gamon is well known for creative use of recycled materials; at her online boutique at Etsy you can find ruffled scarves made from neckties, mixed media artworks and other creations.

Tie Repeat quilt by Louise Silk at Silk Quilt

Tie Repeat by Louise Silk is a wonderful work of textile art made with strips of neckties.  The emphasis in Tie Repeat is on the artistic juxtaposition of the patterns, colors and values of the silks, which are arranged in repeating sets of light and dark.

Judge's Ties by Louise Silk at Silk Quilt

This intriguing and dignified nine-patch quilt is enlivened by the stripes running vertically and horizontally through the blocks. The black squares in each of the nine-patch blocks "tie" the whole composition together.  You can see more of Louise Silk's creations, including many items made from reclaimed clothing, on Flickr and at SilkQuilt on Etsy.

Power Ties in Bloom by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood at Craft Sanity

For Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood's  Power Ties in Bloom series, silk neckties were donated by West Michigan business men and community leaders.  Jennifer used the ties to create five different quilts with colorful, hexagon-shaped blooms. The series was exhibited at ArtPrize 2010.

Tie Quilt, 35 x 45", by Renay Martin at Purse Strings Patterns

Renay Martin wove together 56 different blue and red ties together to create this Memory Tie Quilt, then hand stitched them in place. She removed the labels from all the ties and re-applied them in various positions on the front of the quilt.  This quilt was featured by Deb Rowden at Deb Rowden's Thrift Shop Quilts.  Renay has developed a pattern for her technique; you can purchase it at Purse Strings Patterns.

Tie wall hanging by Nancy Sturgeon

Nancy Sturgeon created this lively wall hanging with twenty-four different ties. The shirt stripes used on either side of the ties create spinning pinwheels.   The tie labels were sewn along the border.  The block design is from a pattern in an out-of-print book, Quilts for guys: 15 fun projects for your favorite fella (edited by Cyndy Lyle Rymer; check for copies at Amazon). Nancy also made the beautiful quilt shown below.

Nancy Sturgeon's Tie Quilt, 52 x 52",  includes almost the entire necktie (tip, label, lining, and fabric) from 100 different ties.  Also, 140 tie tails were used to create prairie points along the edge.  It is fun to see all the different patterns and labels in this quilt!

If you are inspired to begin a necktie project you may be able to collect ties from friends, family,  or your local thrift shop.  A good source of neckties is Ebay, where you can find whole collections of vintage neck ties such as this one:

Image credits and links: Photos of  the quilts by Virginia Anderson,  Nancy Ota and Margit Kagerer were taken by Quilt Inspiration.  Quilts by Bet Ison, Nancy Gamon, Nancy Sturgeon, Stacey Sharman, Louise Silk, Bette Haddon and Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood  were previously featured at Quilt Inspiration with permission of the artists.

All tied up ! Quilts made from neckties

We're wrapping up our tie quilt series (and tying up the loose ends). Here are the fantastic quilts we've shown over the last two weeks, along with some invaluable resources: books, patterns, websites, blogs, and tutorials (whew !)

Row 1, L-R: Ira's Quilt, and Key Quilt, by Bet Ison at Home for Wayward Babydolls; Silk Orange Peel and Carnival, by Stacey Sharman at Peppermint Pinwheels.  Row 2: Tie Quilt by Bette Haddon at Studio Art Quilts; TieBurst by Matthew Spong at mspong.org; Corporate Attire, by Dale Fleming at dalefleming.com; Unwinding the MBA, by Caryl Bryer Fallert at Bryerpatch Studio.  Row 3:  Power Ties in Bloom, by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood, at Craft Sanity; Movement, by Louise Silk, at Silk Quilt; Tie Quilt by Renay Martin, at Purse Strings Patterns; Wedding Quilt, by Matthew Spong, at mspong.org. Row 4: Power Ties in Bloom, by Jennifer Ackerman-Haywood at Craft Sanity;  Tie Repeat, by Louise Silk at Silk Quilt; Silk Tie Quilt, by Nancy Goodman, at nwgoodman.com; Tie Quilt, by Nancy Sturgeon, at Threads Through Time.  Row 5:  Catch, by Nancy Gamon, at nancygamon; Small tie quilt, by Nancy Sturgeon, at Threads Through Time; Silk Tie Quilt, by Nancy Goodman, at nwgoodman.com; Necktie hanging, by Nancy Gamon, at nancygamon.

Patterns for Tie Quilts

Row 1: Pieced Silk Tie Quilt from 1865, Shelburne Museum collection, pattern at Hoopla Patterns; "Untitled" and "Enticement", by Karen K. Stone (these out-of-print patterns can be found at Embroidery Etcetera).  Row 2: Making Memories, by Deb Rowden; Quilts for Guys, by Cyndy Rymer; Daddy's Ties, by Shirley Botsford.  Row 3:  Indian Orange Peel quilt, in Karen K. Stone Quilts; and Bella Bella Quilts by Norah McMeeking.

Memory Quilts: see Alix Joyal at Mamaka Mills (and her tutorial, how to sew a memory quilt using a silk tie); Lori Mason at Lori Mason Designs; Connie Bloom at conniebloom.com; and Cheryl Kirk at Sweet Dreams Quilting.

More necktie quilts and interesting blogs:  See "I've been working on the railroad", by Nann Blaine Hillyard, at With Strings Attached; Silk Treasure, by Barbara Hruby, at the Northern Lake County Quilters Guild; Sewing with Neckties and Woof Nanny are blogs written by Barb Lawrence.

Memories in silk: the tie quilts of Louise Silk

It's Day 6 (of 12) of our most-beautiful-tie-quilts series and we have some delightful quilts to share with you this week. Louise Silk is an exceptional fiber artist whose work has focused on the healing power of memory quilts. Louise uses spiritual themes, photo transfers, recycled clothing, and embroidery in her creations.  We love the way in which her tie quilts go beyond traditional designs.

Movement, by Louise Silk, at Silk Quilt

The quilt called "Movement", above, is reminiscent of a crazy quilt and yet it is pictorial in nature. The strip-pieced red airplane appears to be soaring over fields and mountains. Notice the fragment of a red, white and blue flag in the upper left corner.

Tie Repeat, by Louise Silk, at Silk Quilt

An abstract work of textile art, the emphasis in "Tie Repeat" is on the artistic juxtaposition of the patterns, colors and values of the tie silks themselves.

In addition to working with neckties, Louise Silk has transformed t-shirts, clothing, and wedding dresses into quilts of all sizes and types. To see more of her inspiring creations, check out the tie quilts, commission quilts and original works of art in the Silk Quilt galleries.
 
Image credits and links:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Louise Silk. Her new book, The Quilting Path, includes images and instructions for truly unique quilts, such as Fragments of Life - a Remembrance Crazy Quilt and A Picture of Place and Time - Applique Quilt.