How to make fabric ties
An easy and elegant fastening
Narrow fabric ties provide a useful way to attach seat cushions to chairs, fasten tablecloths, or attach simple curtains to a pole for an informal look. Wider ties, made from lightweight fabric, will form an elegant bow at the back of a dining chair slipcover.
This method has the advantage of not having to be turned right side out after stitching (which can be difficult with narrow ties), but the stitching shows from the right side.
Using dressmakers’ chalk and a long ruler, draw parallel lines along the straight grain of your fabric, with the distance between them equal to four times the finished width of the ties, and the length equal to the finished length of the ties plus two hem or seam allowances (see step 2)—or to the dimensions specified in the project. Cut along the lines using scissors, or a rotary cutter with a ruler and cutting mat.
If the end of a tie will be stitched into a seam on your project, there is no need to finish it, but if it will be exposed, press 5mm to the wrong side at that end.
Press each strip in half along the length, wrong sides together. Open the strip and press the long raw edges to the wrong side to meet at the centre.
Fold each strip in half again along the length, bringing the pressed long edges together and enclosing the raw edges completely. Pin and machine-stitch close to the turned-under edges along the full length of the strip, and across the end(s) if the hems have been pushed inside in step 2.
Note: If you need to make a lot of ties, it can be easier to make one long strip and then cut it into the required lengths and appropriate number of ties. Finish any raw ends that will be exposed by pushing them up inside the tie tubes and slipstitching in place.
These instructions are taken from 'The Home-sewn Home' by Vanessa Arbuthnott with Gail Abbott (Cico Books, £16.99).
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