Duct Tape Necktie

I don't like to dress up. Ever.

And ties are the worst. Period.

Put them both together, and Jake ain't very happy (Not to mention that ties are a dangerous choking/strangling hazard).

But in this crazy world of ours, many times the undesirable (and unsafe) is the unavoidable.

And Jake must wear a tie.

But he won't wear just any tie, no, it must be a good tie. A worthy tie. An indescribably awesome (and incredibly tough) tie. A manly tie. A tie that screams awesomeness!!!! at the top of its (hypothetical) lungs. A tie that Jake would be proud to wear. In other words;

A Duct Tape tie.

Yes, you have heard of this legendary piece of apparel. That awesome article of uber fashionable clothing that only the boldest of DIYers dares to don. The only piece of clothing that will have the men falling at your feet and the gals staring with longing gaze from afar-

Or not. Let's face it, today's culture is simply not advanced enough to truly appreciate something as great as this. Oh well, one day. Until then, us enlightened few will just have to bear with all the funny looks and behind-the-back whispers. What? You thought I was joking about the staring? Oh no........

Anyway.

This is how to make that ultimately amazing awesome-ness exuding rather sticky grey colored thingamabob.

You can't get much simpler than this. All you need is a roll of Duct tape, a "normal" (boring) tie (which will be your template), something to mark the duct tape with (pen, marker, etc), and some good sharp scissors.

You could use dull scissors too.

For lack of a better word, "sheet" will do.

Lay out a strip of duct tape, a little longer than the length of the regular (boring) tie. Be sure and make it long enough. There is nothing worse than a too short tie (except for eating that last bite of a Snickers bar without realizing it).

Lay the strip out sticky side up. Take another strip of duct tape, same length as the first, and lay it sticky side down so that it covers half of the other strip's sticky side. Then take another strip, same length of course, and stick it so it covers the other half of exposed sticky, like you did the first one. Except on the other side. (refer to pictures, because I'm sure the description is mostly unintelligible)

Turn it over. You should have a full strip of sticky down on top of two sticky up. Add another strip, the same way you did the first. It should now be a little wider than the regular (very boring) tie. If not, add another strip to widen it out more.

Because of the cheap duct tape that I used, I found at this point my sheet was a bit too thin for my taste. It was slightly see through. So I went ahead and added another layer of tape over the whole thing. Depending on how much of a cheapskate you are, you may not have to.

Bottom Line:

You should end this step with a large strip of duct tape "cloth" which is slightly longer and wider than the (boring) guide/template tie.

Self explanatory.

Trim any extra unwanted sticky junk off the Duct Tape sheet.

Lay the regular (normal, boring, bland, colorless) tie on your DT sheet. Take your pen, and start making small marks along the length of the tie. Be sure the tie and sheet are both straight, otherwise the finished tie will look even stranger. Stranger than a "normal" Duct Tape tie. You don't want that. At this point if you make the tie any stranger friends/family will disown you.

Then take a ruler and, following the marks you made, outline the shape of the boring tie onto the awesome tie.

Note: You will want to be careful of what you use to mark out the shape with. If you use a sharpie, be very careful when marking and cutting so you won't leave any stray marks on the finished product. That wouldn't look nice. Even for a duct tape tie. I used a regular ballpoint inkpen (it happened to be green), which doesn't stick to duct tape, and washed it off with a wet rag afterward.

Not much to say here.

Take a pair of scissors, and cut along the outline you made.

This is the small loop on the backside of the tie which holds the tail end of the tie in position. I looked it up, and apparently it has a name; "Keeper Loop". Who knew.

I prefer to call it; the Thingie That Holds the Other Thingie to the Back of the Whole Thingie (T.T.H.O.T.B.W.T. for short).

Whatever. It doesn't matter what its called, we just need to make one. Cut off a small strip of duct tape, just longer than the tie is wide. On one side of the strip, cut two slits, the distance between them being slightly larger than the width of the tail end of the tie. Make the cuts about 1/3 of the way through. Do the same to the other side. Then, with the sticky side up, fold the two tabs down onto each other. Turn the thingie over, and stick it on the backside of the tie somewhere in the middle. Voila!!!

(I know you didn't understand a bit of that description. Don't worry, that is why someone invented pictures. And if a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth a thousand pictures. And you will owe me a thousand thanks, for making a video for you as well)

(the video is at the bottom)

(the bottom of the Instructable)

This is the most difficult part of the whole business. Tying a necktie isn't easy under normal circumstances, and when the tie is made of duct tape, the difficulty is at least trebled. Normal ties (boring!!!) are made of cloth which is easy to fold and tie. It can be tied into knots, well, not exactly easily, but........most assuredly easier than its sticky grey counterpart.

Duct tape is not easy to tie into knots.

If you already know how to tie a tie, than you can skip this step. Just be warned that this tie will require a lot more adjusting and patience than is normal. You will be tempted to give up. Don't. It will be worth it in the end.

For the others who do not know how to tie a tie, well, the fun is about to begin. I won't attempt to describe how to tie the tie, as that would only confuse you, but all the pictures should help, and there is also a video at the bottom of the I'ble which will help as well. It may help to practice on a "regular" (boring) tie first, as it is a lot easier to get right.

If you still can't get it, well...........go eat another bag of Skittles you lazy bum!!!

Congratulate yourself. You just made a Duct Tape Tie.

You have now reached the pinnacle of ultimate DIYer status. You have made it to the top of the ladder. Climbed mount Everest. Swam the Pacific. Ate 70 hot dogs in ten minutes.

In other words; you are Awesome. There is now nothing you cannot do. Go somewhere and show off your epic-DIY-ness.

Self explanatory, again.

I'll go ahead now and apologize for the poor photo (and video) quality in this Instructable. I am usually much better than this, but lack of places to build stuff for the last few months has rendered me desperate. I filmed this video in our camper/trailer, which explains the poor lighting. Some of the pictures are blurry as well. Sorry. On the plus side though, when we finally finish construction on the new workshop, you can look forward to some really good projects from me in the future.

Until next time..........

Jake