Recycled Men's Tie Wristlet: The Tutorial!

Over a year ago I posted a link to tutorial on how to make a wristlet from a men's tie. Unfortunately, the blog the tutorial was posted on was taken down, but readers still keep arriving here at Simply Step Back via searches like "necktie wristlet tutorial" and "how to make a wristlet out of a tie." Since many readers left disappointed comments, I've been meaning for some time to make my own tutorial. And here it is!

Make a Wristlet from a Recycled Men's Tie

You'll need:

• A men's tie
• Closure, like a button or snap
• Sewing machine or needle and thread
• Scissors & seam ripper.

1. Buy a tie. Wider is probably better, but it's up to you. A skinny old-fashioned or hipster tie won't leave room for much of your stuff, and a tie that gets drastically narrower very quickly will also be difficult to work with.

2. Decide how long you want your wristlet to be. The triangle at the bottom of the tie will fold down to close it.  Play around with folding it different ways to see what you like, and think about what you might want to put inside it. Spoiler: There is no way that this giant phone in this giant case will fit in this particular wristlet at the end of this tutorial.

3. Cut off the excess.

 You may at this point look down and notice that you've just destroyed a 100% silk elephant tie.

5. Use a seam ripper or scissors to take out the middle seam. We want the tie to be a rectangle with parallel sides- not get narrower. Put the interfacing aside, and press flat.

5. With right sides together, fold the sides back in. Stitch it back up again, but make sure that your new seam is parallel to the fold.  Mine looks a little warpy in the picture; I'm sure yours will be more even.

6. Turn right side out and press back into a tie shape- a tie that should now be a rectangle. If you saved your interfacing, reinsert it. Press.

7. Play around with folding again to see how you'd like your wristlet to look. Check out some images if you haven't yet. I found that I'd left way too much excess at this point, so I hacked a few more inches off.

6. Fold in the bottom unfinished edge and sew closed.

7.  Bring the bottom up to the base of the tringle end and fold. Press. At this point, insert a closure of your choice: snaps, velcro, a button; whatever you prefer.

If you would like to add a wrist strap, use the excess material from the tie to make one.  I folded the extra skinny end of the strap in half and stitched down the side.

8. Stitch up the sides, sewing the strap in at the desired point.

9. Fill up with your stuff, and head out!