Quick and Easy Father's Day Bow Tie Tutorial 16 June 2016  |  Nicola

With Father's Day only a few days away, it's easy to get into a panic and run to the shops for a triple-pack of socks and a bottle of aftershave - but actually, there's still plenty of time to get crafty. We've come up with a super-quick DIY bow tie tutorial that will make any Dad smile this Sunday!

You will need:

Fabrics of your choice

Trimmings, ribbons and lace

Stiff white card

Sharp scissors

Dressmaking pins

An iron

A sewing machine or needle and cotton

1. Start by making two rectangular templates; one should measure 28 x 9cm and the other should measure 16 x 2.5cm.

2. Iron your fabric and lay it on a flat surface. Draw round your templates and cut them out.

3. Lay your larger rectangle face down, then fold over 1cm on each of the shorter ends and iron in place. 

4. Turn your fabric over so it's lying face up, then bring both edges into the middle so they overlap (as in the picture above), and pin in place. 

5. Stitch down both sides, around 0.5cm from the edge of the fabric. Carefully turn it inside out, and iron your rectangle flat. You can hand sew it closed, but there's no need - the opening will be concealed in the centre of the bow tie. 

6. Repeat the whole process for the smaller rectangle. 

7. Take your larger rectangle, and fold it like a concertina (as in the picture above). Wrap the smaller rectangle around the middle, pin in place and hand-sew together with a few small stitches.

8. There are three different styles of fastening you can add; a corsage pin-back, a clip or a piece of elastic. Choose whichever one suits your Dad the best, and then attach to the back of the bow tie, either with a few stitches or strong fabric glue.

Alternative Ideas

As well as making straightforward (but lovely!) bow ties, there are LOADS of ways you can get creative and make them a bit more special. Here's some of our favourite ideas:

1. Make an extra large rectangle, slightly smaller than the first, and then fold them both together to make the bow part - it'll make the whole thing bigger and stand out more!

2. Print your own fabric, rather than using ready-made cotton. We've got loads of stamps and ink pads in stock suitable for fabric work, or you could even make your own using our moldable foam.

3. Add a length of ribbon or lace to the centre of the rectangle before folding over the edges to create a contrasting section (we did this with the spotted bow tie in the picture below). If you've got time, you can stitch it, or you can use some Bondaweb for faster results!