Itch to Stitch: Creation No.1

So I was recently gifted/handed-down a Singer body form (see image). I've been looking internationally for one of these but they were all too pricey for a hobby-in-try-out. The last time I stitched something was when I was eight years old and it was made out of scraps from my designer aunt's leftover pieces. This of course is ignoring the cross-stitch class that I was made to take at the age of 11. So, unsure about whether I would be able to stitch let alone if I would be too lazy to actually make something, I wasn't too willing to shell out more that fifty bucks. And then Singer, Betty Singer to be clear, appeared (yes I've named my body form, she is no longer inanimate).

So with that backdrop I present to you my first ever creation - the necklace collar tie.
And might I add that I'm pretty darn proud of it.

This piece was inspired by a pinterest board of DIY things and comes from Crazy Wonderful (check out the link to see the step by step tutorial). I saw it, loved the idea and said why not. Usually seeing something creative leads to "hell yeah, I could do that", but rarely leads to actually getting down to doing it. This time since Betty was staring at me and I had the Itch to Stitch, and got to it...and voila! Keep in mind that I initially had no idea how this project was going to turn out so I borrowed/took a tie that wouldn't be missed, hence some may need to excuse the print. So if you've got issues with the print, push that aside and focus on the design. Besides, I think I like the way it turned out and the print kind of rubs off on you, no?

Items required:

- a tie 

- a button 

- thread

Time taken:

 - an hour

keep in mind that this project would take someone who is familiar with stitching/tac-ing about 20-30 minutes...no lie. Putting the pleats together took me a whole five minutes including pinning the pleats down. Then comes stitching the pleats down from the back followed by stitching in the button.

Also be prepared to accidently swallow/chew/eat a healthy daily dosage of thread.

Thread the needle, sew, knot, repeat.

There are a few ways to wear the necklace collar tie. The first image above wears the collar at a U while the image below wears it at an angle. Also, I'm looking to see what else it can be paired up with on the top. There are different necklace collar tie styles to experiment with and I will post pictures up as soon as I successfully complete them. Drop off some ideas, but I can't promise I'll develop all the necessary skills overnight... will try though ;) Enjoy.