This one, a simple handshake with Princess Takamado, at Cambridge University's 800th birthday party in Tokyo, was rather less close to an international incident than the last time. This time the green silk frock did the honours.The week before James rashly decided he wanted a bowtie to match my frock. There was barely enough fabric to complete both sides of the bowtie with the leftover green fabric, but James assured me that the way a bowtie is tied, means that each side can be different.
So I went ahead and made one side out of the green silk burnout underlined with red georgette, as used in the frock, and the otherside of shiny black silk charmeuse, which was leftover scraps from the lining of the pin-stripe skirt. I traced the pattern from James' favourite silk bowtie, and tried to match the feel, which required rather robust interfacing which I fused to the fashion fabric.
So it all worked out, and then James tried to tie it and discovered that both sides do show!!! Some quick googling found the way to tie a two sided bowtie - you put a single twist at the back of the neck. See photo and it should all become clear. James made the most of it, reversing the bowtie halfway through the meal, to show black bows and a green centre.
