A friend of mine, whose father passed away earlier this year, asked me if I would make a cushion using ties belonging to her dad. Actually, her dad owned a lot of ties so she asked me to make five for family members.  I’d never tried to make a cushion using neckties before, but it sounded like such a lovely way to remember someone.

We will remember them.

The idea of using clothing items belonging to loved ones to make a keepsake isn’t new.  Last year I made cushions using shirts that belonged to my friend’s dad. I was a little daunted at first, nervous that I’d make a mistake whilst working with such precious items. I needn’t have worried because making cushions from shirts is quite straightforward. You don’t even need to insert a zip because you just have to undo the buttons!

The necktie cushion challenge.

I had a think about how to make necktie cushions. Initially, I considered unpicking the ties, but that would take ages. In the end, I decided I’d keep things simple. So, armed with a bag of ties, me and my mum (who was visiting from the North East) began our necktie cushion-making marathon.

Step-by-step guide: How to make a cushion using neckties.

We decided to make cushions using a 16-inch cushion pad. Although it seems counter-intuitive, my mum told me to cut the fabric smaller ie. cut out 2 x 15-inch squares of fabric (I like to use a cardboard template) to make a cushion cover for a 16-inch cushion pad.  This ensures that the cushions are nice and plump. This allows for a 1/2 inch seam allowance.

Mum and I argued over the cushion size issue as I was convinced the covers would be too small and the cushions would end up looking like footballs.

I hate to admit it…She was right and I was wrong!

The cushions we made only have neckties on the front, the back is plain fabric. For the blue and green ties we used here, we opted for denim fabric.

I buy most of the fabric for my sewing projects from Bargain Fabrics in Castle Donington, who specialise in low-cost remnants and clearance fabrics. See my recent post on this fantastic fabric shop here: Bargain Fabrics, Castle Donington: Pssst! It’s a secret!

Items required for your necktie memory cushion.

• Plenty of men’s neckties, (the wider the better!).
• 16-inch square cushion pad (I like to use 16-inch feather cushion pads from Dunelm, as they are nice quality and only cost £3.99).
• Cardboard template  15-inch x 15-inch.
• Denim material.
• Cotton lining fabric.
• Sewing Machine – ideally fitted with a ‘walking foot’ as it makes it so much easier to sew pieces of silky fabric together without them slipping).
• Tape measure.
• Needles, pins and cotton thread (for sewing machine and for hand-stitching and tacking).
• Zipper (I buy my zips by the metre from Bargain fabrics but you can find a variety of lengths and colours in haberdashery shops and stores like Dunelm and Hobbycraft).
• Scissors.
• Stitch cutter.
• Crochet needle/ chopstick or similar blunt-ended stick (to push out the corners of the cushion once you’ve turned it right side out).

Step-by-step tutorial: How to make a cushion using ties. 

1. Measure out the fabric you will be using for the back of the cushion cover (denim in this case) and the lining you will be sewing to the back of the ties using your 15-inch square cardboard template and dressmaker’s chalk.

2. Cut out your 15inch square pieces of fabric (the denim is shown face down in the photograph below, hence it is a lighter colour).

3. Using the white cardboard template as a guide, place the ties face up on the template, starting with one tie being placed straight down the middle with the point of the tie lining up with the corner of the template, (It isn’t lined up exactly with the edge in the photo, but this helps to show you what I mean).

4. Once you have enough ties to cover the entire template with at least 1 inch surplus across the width of the ties, tack them together with as little overlap between each tie as possible. Making sure the ties are at least 1 inch wider than the template on either side is important because you will lose width when you stitch the ties together.

Note: The pins will need to be moved again prior to stitching the ties together but it helps to keep them in place as you sew the ties to each other at the sewing machine.

5. Starting from the outer edge, turn the first two ties onto each other, right sides facing, so the edges of the ties line up along their length (you will need to change the position of the pins you used to hold the rows of ties in place initially).

The pins that held the ties in place are repositioned so the two ties are folded onto each other, right side facing, and their edges aligned. Pin them in place and then sew them together along their length, 2-3mm in from the edge (I’ve used different ties here to demonstrate this step as I forgot to take photos at the time!)

6. Sew the two ties together along their length, 2-3mm in from the edge.

7. Repeat this process until all the ties have been sewn together as shown below.

8. Lay the ties, right-side facing down on a flat surface and place the 15-inch square lining material into position, with the point of the middle tie at the point of the square as shown (just as you did with the cardboard template).

9. Pin the lining material in place and machine sew the lining to the ties, it’s important to sew close to the edge of the lining (ie.3-4mm) as you don’t want this stitching to show on the outside of the finished cushion.

10. Cut around the lining and place the ties right side up on a flat surface. Place the denim fabric right side down on the tie fabric.

11. If you want to add a label to your cushion, like I did, stitch it in place (as shown) prior to sewing the sides of the cushion together.

NOTE: You can see that there is still some surplus fabric on the tie side. I removed the remainder of the surplus tie material after I’d sewn the sides of the cushion together.

12. Pin the zip in place (If you aren’t sure how to insert a zip there are lots of video tutorials on Youtube) – Again, the tie fabric showing in the photograph below is surplus fabric. I removed this surplus after I’d finished fitting the zip and sewing the cushions together.

13. Pin the two sides together and, sew along all 3 sides (make sure you leave the zip partly open so you can turn the cushion right side out when you are finished!) Sew in from the edges of the 4th side, where the zip has been inserted, to create the corners.

14. Trim away any surplus fabric.

15. I used a zig-zag stitch on all of the edges of the cushion cover to stop them from fraying (or you could use an overlocker). It isn’t essential but I think it looks neater.

16. Turn the cushion right side out and use the blunt end of a crochet hook, pencil or similar to push the corners out.

17. Insert the cushion pad.

18. That’s it!

Over to you.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my tutorial on how to make a cushion using ties /neckties. Mum and I loved being able to give my friend something to help her treasure her memories of her father.

What do you think of the idea of using clothes or other accessories to remember a loved one? Have you made anything similar or do you have any ideas or tips to share? As always, I’d love to hear from you.

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