A tutorial on how to tie a tie may sound simplistic. However, it’s not as simple as you may think, as there are quite a number of people who still struggle to tie a tie properly in Australia.
It might interest you to know that even those who think they know how to do it are probably not doing it the right way. Hence this article is for such people who still struggle to tie a tie correctly.
What a tie is
A necktie, normally shortened as a tie, is defined as ” a piece of cloth worn by men and women for decorative purposes around the neck, resting under the shirt collar and knotted at the throat and often draped down the chest.
Ties are normally worn as a form of corporate or formal dressing by men especially, although some women also wear ties. It is virtually impossible to attend any formal gathering as a man without putting on a tie.
There are different ways of tying a tie, and I’m going to take you through most of them.
How to tie a perfect Simple Knot
The Simple Knot tie is the easiest to learn as it involves fewer steps as compared to the others. It is sometimes called Kent Knot, Oriental or Petit Noeud.
Tying a simple knot involves six simple steps. They are;
- To tie a simple knot, you first have to begin with the flipside of your tie facing away from you over your neck or whiles holding it. The broader side must be on your right, whiles the narrow side must be on your left.
NB: Adjust the length in a way that wouldn’t result in the end result being too short or long. It’sIt’s best if the narrow end is just above your navel. The broadside must be longer than the narrow end.
- Place the broad side under the narrow side to your left.
- Now move it across the narrow side to the right
- The next thing is to move the broad end up through the neck ring from beneath.
- Pass it through the ring you made earlier.
- Lastly, pull the broad side down and then slide the knot up your neck to make it tighter.
How To Tie A Perfect Windsor Knot
- Firstly, place the tie over your neck, or you can choose to do it whiles holding it but make sure the broadside is on your right whiles the narrow end is to your left. Adjust length properly so your end result will not be too short or long.
- Now move the broadside over the small end to your left and then up the neck ring from beneath.
- Pass the broadside as usual down to the left and around the back of the narrow side to your right.
- Move the broadside again up to the middle towards the neck loop and pass it through the loop and pull down to your right.
- Now pass it across the front to the left and pull it through the neck ring from beneath.
- Pull it down through the ring you just made
- Lastly, pull down the wide side to make it tighter and then slide the knot up to your neck.
How To Tie a perfect Four-In-Hand Knot
The four-in-hand knot is one of the easiest and commonest knots around. Due to its popularity and how easy it is to learn, it’s almost always the first knot you’ll be taught by your father, mother or in school. The four-in-hand knot is self-releasing and has a slim knot.
- To tie a simple knot, you first have to begin with the flipside of your tie facing away from you over your neck or whiles holding it. The broader side must be on your right, whiles the narrow side must be on your left.
- Place the broad side over the narrow side to the left and pass it under the narrow end to the right.
- Now pass it across the front to the left.
- Move it up into the neck ring from beneath and pull down through the loop you just made.
- Lastly, pull down the wide side to make it tighter and then slide the knot up to your neck.
How To Tie Half Windsor Knot
The Half Windsor knot is more complicated than the four-in-hand knot or the simple knot. It uses less drapery as compared to the actual Windsor knot.
- Firstly, place the tie over your neck, or you can choose to do it whiles holding it but make sure the broadside is on your right whiles the narrow end is to your left. Adjust length properly so your end result will not be too short or long.
- Pass the broadside over the narrow side to your left and under it to your right.
- Now move it up and pass it through the neck ring to the left.
- Pull it across the front to the right and up through the neck ring from beneath.
- Then you pull it down from the loop you just made
- Lastly, pull down the wide side to make it tighter and then slide the knot up to your neck.
Tie Tips; wear your tie the right way.
Knowing how to tie a tie is one thing, and it’s another wearing it the right way. You may know how to knot a tie, but the combinations you choose or the length of them may be entirely wrong. That is why I’m giving you these few tips, so you also wear your tie the right way.
- Length; the length of your tie after tying is very important. After sliding the knot to your neck, you must ensure that the tip of the tie is just above your belt. Anything other than that is wrong. It shouldn’t be shorter or below the belt.
- Colour and design; the colour and design of the tie you wear are also important. Your tie must go with the shirt you’re wearing so that you don’t look awkward. Shirts with large designs must have a tie with a small design, whereas a shirt with small designs can either go with a tie with large designs or a solid tie. To be on the safer side, go for a solid coloured tie that complements the main colour of your shirt.
The occasion you are attending will also inform what colour of your tie.
3. Knot type; this particular tip has been overlooked by many. You must make sure to match your tie with the collar of your shirt. The nature of your shirt’s collar determines which knot you should tie, as certain knots look better on certain types of collars. A four-in-hand knot, for example, goes with a slimmer collar, whereas a Windsor knot also looks better on a wider collar.
4. Avoid wearing crumpled or dirty ties. Always make sure your ties are well ironed and neat.