Paraplu: Bartowski Slim Tie Pattern

Last week I had the pleasure of testing the Bartowski Slim Tie Pattern by Paraplu! This pattern's name references the main character from the show "Chuck" and his affinity for this style tie. In fact this pattern would be perfect if you wanted to create a "Nerd Herd" Costume for your little guy or gal. I found a Nerd Herd badge template here that would just be the perfect addition.

My oldest boy will be "graduating" Pre-school this evening and just like any event, I had to sew something up for him to wear. I had been lost in my sewing La La Land trying to figure out what I'd like to make when I saw the tester call pop-up for this tie. DING DING DING! This would be so cute on my little graduate. 

It was just a quick one day test and I used my youngest's nap time to get it done. The sizes range from 1-12 years with options of 34,38,42,46, and 50 inch ties. We were assigned the 42" tie. The pattern was well written and full of drawings throughout which I always find very helpful. I really like the clickable table of contents that allows you to easily jump to the part of the pattern you need. It also has the "layers" feature that gives you the luxury of only printing the size you need. Yay, Layers! I also really liked that the drawings were color coded with a key on every page. It was nice not having to scroll back and forth trying to figure out  what I was looking at. I liked how there were quirky little jokes in the tutorial, I mean, I sew for the fun of it and this was definitely fun! Bonus, I was able to make this in under and hour from printing to last stitch and I'd say I'm a bit of a slow sewist! Yes! 

I used some fabric I had in my stash. I knew I couldn't fail with this print for my airplane loving boy! I thought it fit a little with the graduation theme. Something cheesy like, "Soaring to new heights"came to mind. I used a solid red for the contrast section of the tie. As soon as the soon to be Kindergartner got home, I quickly searched "How to tie a Windsor Knot" on YouTube and I found this gem. (A-hem, you're welcome) We headed out for some pics and he totally melted his mama's heart with that sweet smile.

I can't wait to see him sing the songs he's been practicing as I turn into a blubbering mess. I will be able to say, "Hey, I made that! Oh and I made the tie too!" 

Go get your copy of The Barowski Slim Tie in the Paraplu Esty shop and why not pick-up it's counterpart The Halpert while you're at it? There is a special discount code on The Mae & K blog I can't wait to see more patterns from Paraplu! It's safe to say that I'm officially a fan!