Retro Restyle: Men's Ties

It's been a couple of years now that the Little Rancher declared a moratorium on anything pink and girlie.  Not only her bedroom but also her closet received a thorough going-thru.  Blue and yellow were allowed to stay and anything that invoked thoughts of horses, cowgirls or Southwest Native Americans.  After some thought, I decided I could work within these new parameters, and out of that came this collaborative restyle project. 


Receiving a box full of 1970s polyester ties, I explained to the Little Rancher about the use of men's ties in quilting and dressmaking.  Her eyes got bigger, and the wheels started whirling.  The Rancher has a strong creative side and is developing quite a mind of her own, being twelve years old now.  To give you just a bit of framework: she carries a 1968 Raggedy Ann lunchbox to middle school every day; she announces her dislike of cell phones on a weekly basis; and she has refused to let the beautician trim her side burns for the past year.  The Little Rancher knows what she likes and doesn't care one whit what the World thinks of it.  I can't help but be a little proud of her confidence, although the downside is a stubborn streak that rears it's ugly head once in awhile.  But back to the sewing project.

She and I worked together laying out the ties to make sure the colors and patterns didn't clash too much.  Then she split the backs of the ties open.  I simply sewed them together and onto a waistband that is, of course, another tie.  The skirt closes with a centerback zipper and is unlined. 

It felt good to finally talk the Little Rancher out of her jeans (but not her boots) for a change.  This skirt was debuted at a fancy restaurant  dinner with Oma last weekend and then again at church.  I enjoyed the challenge of sewing something out of the ordinary.  While pink, ruffled, frou-frou could be hard to stomach year in and year out, I feel that the Little Rancher will keep things interesting as she goes through middle and high school.