Where Have All The Neckties Gone? : Around The Frame
Soon it will be Father’s Day. Have you purchased a tie for dad or that special father figure in your life? If you have, you aren’t alone.
According to Grand View Research’s market analysis, “The global neckwear market size was valued at USD 3.96 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow at a CAGR rate of 4.4% from 2024 to 2030. The rising trend of pairing neckwear with casual dressing is projected to boost the demand. The product gives a professional, poised, and elegant appearance. Increasing demand from key consumers such as bankers, media professionals, and students is anticipated to further drive the growth of the market. Additionally, various business schools and universities have included neckties as part of their dress codes, further expanding the customer base of the product.”
The research is indicative after a few decades of “business no tie casual” that neckwear is popular again not only with men but with women as well. According to L’Officiel Magazine writer Meagan Trusty, “Neckties became 2025’s must-have accessory in women’s wardrobes across different tastes and styles.” This is not the first time women took to wearing neckwear. In the late 19th century, suffragettes wore them as a symbol of their fight for equality. In the 1920s, actresses Katherine Hepburn and Marlene Dietrich wore them and in the late 20th Century, Princess Diana, Julia Roberts, and Madonna rocked them.
With so many consumers choosing ties, what happens to them when they get spaghetti sauce on them that won’t come out, they go out of fashion, or people retire and no longer wear them? That was the dilemma facing a gentleman who knew Linda Kuhn, a fellow parishioner at Waynedale Methodist Church. Linda was also a friend of parishioner Karen Miller. Linda thought Karen, with her vast background in needlework, would be up to the challenge of making a lap size quilt for him.
Karen started quilting decades ago. Her first quilting experience was helping her mother finish a quilt. She has continued to enjoy not only creating quilts of various sizes, wall hangings, and table runners, but knitting, crocheting, smocking, tatting, embroidery, crewel work, and cross stitch as well. She has knitted and crocheted afghans, sweaters, vests, and dishcloths and has creweled, embroiderered, and cross-stitched pictures and pillowcases.
The gentleman gave his ties to Linda who then gave them to Karen who went to work on this challenging endeavor as she had never worked with ties. The first thing she decided to do was to separate the polyester ties from the other fiber ties. She was especially skeptical if silk ties would survive being laundered. After cleaning the polyester ties, she started to carefully deconstruct them. The biggest challenge was gleaning enough tie fabric to make the pieces for each block and matching the tie pattern. Some pieces of the tie fabric were so small, she’d have to piece two pieces together to create it. When working with plaid and striped ties, more fabric was also required to match the two pieces together. Something you find in older quilts when even the smallest pieces of fabric were sewn together to make a piece of the block. Only pieces cut on the straight of the grain could be used, as the bias pieces would stretch and create havoc.
Tie by tie, block by block, the quilt took shape. It took Karen two months to create and machine quilt it. Linda estimates she used approximately 20-25 ties to create this “Prints Charming” quilt. Karen had made a Prints Charming quilt years ago and thought the block and the name were befitting for the gentleman. When Linda dropped off the quilt, he and his wife liked its colorful design and were glad that Karen was able to repurpose his neckties in such a beautiful way. Not long after, Karen received a thank you note from them, expressing their gratitude for her diligent work. So where did all the neckties go after a long time passing? They went to a quilt maker who turned them into a work of art!
Lois Levihn is the owner of Born Again Quilts a quilt and fabric-aholic delight. If you have a quilt or other textile story you’d like to share, contact her at 260-515-9446 or bornagainquilts@frontier.com
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