The Process
In case you were curious...
a huge shout out to Sounds Like Yellow Photography for documenting this a few years back
I'm sure some of you have been to my pieces and thought "wow, why so expensive?" I get it, there are ties at Zara and Winners for $30, "why am I paying so much more for this one?"
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Here I'm going to sort of go over why my prices are the way they are. First I'll put this out there now, you aren't paying more, you've just always been paying too little. The ties you see for $30 are mainly made in sweatshop conditions (The True Cost) is a wonderful documentary that explains the danger involved in that, but I don't need to delve too deep into that right now - check it out on Netflix if you get an hour or so to spare.
-Here's how I work-
Firstly, I start off almost every order/tie/bowtie with fabric sourcing. This I do by Foot (see my feet there in that photo. That's me walking to get fabric! ) This usually takes about 2 hours of walking so I do that around lunchtime so I can eat and think about my game plan while doing it.
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After I have my fabrics, I have to iron them before cutting the patterns otherwise I could cut on the bias improperly. The bias is important to get correct because the tie will start to twist if not done right. ( iron and cutting - 25 mins )
Once I have my pieces cut, I sew all connecting pieces together using my sewing machine. Then I hand cut my structure linings, sometimes having to go over and over to make sure these structure parts are perfected.. It shows along the sides of the tie if you have any jagged edges. (25 Mins)
Now that I've got my patterns cut, and sewn, I'm ready to iron again. I have to press the seams and iron the structure into the tie while folding everything perfectly as I go; If I iron a wrinkle into the fabric it's harder than it looks to get out. The worst! ( Ironing the ties is the best part of the process *Giddy face ) (25 Mins)
After Ironing and pinning folds in place, I'm able to hand stitch the ties while listening to music or watching youtube videos..You just never know!! This is the longest part of the process. Stitching about 7 stitches per inch can take what feels like a lifetime. Especially when I'm very picky, and if the thread knots up (which it does every 6 inches or so) It's important to have the same pieces of thread going throughout the whole necktie or any wear and tear will make the threads come loose. ( 45 Mins ) I hand stitch in a my tag and then they still need to be ironed again, de-linted and photographed, packaged and eventually shipped. (25 Mins)
Keep in mind this is only per tie. My time to work on phone calls, emails, website updates, creating listings, and paying for everything like supplies, website, photography every year, and everything else most entrepreneurs can't even remember aren't documented here in full. Be kind of hand makers, they really do work more than full time hours. ( I know I do! )