Types Of Tie Knots

At some point or another, whether you want to impress your girlfriend on a date or your potentially new boss interviewing you for your dream job, you will have to learn how to tie a tie. There are many types of tie knots and being a grownup man means that you must have mastered at least one of them. The two most common types of knots are: the Windsor knot, the Half Windsor knot.

Keep reading this article and whenever you have to, follow the guidelines below so that you learn how to tie your tie.

The Windsor knot goes like this: first you put the tie around your neck with the two ends hanging from each shoulder, and you make sure that the label side of the tie is facing your shirt. Depending on the size of your neck, adjust the tie accordingly: typically, it is best if the skinny end of the tie was longer than the thicker end, given that you have a large neck; otherwise, if your neck is relatively small, let the two ends hang equally. Form a small loop with the two ends, the thicker one being on top of the skinny one. Then, take the thicker end and wrap it once around the loop; apply some pressure so that you close up the gaps; and this will ultimately be your first knot. During the next step, take the thicker end, wrap it around the knot you have formed, and pull it so that it tightens up. Once you do that, the label on the thicker end should be looking outwards (and not towards your shirt) and you have completed your second knot. In order to tie the final knot, take the thicker end again and fold it around the first and the second knot; before you tighten it let the thicker end pass through the final knot (thus covering up the other knots). When you are done, you will have succeeded in forming your first tie knot ever. You can now go to your date or interview and look as handsome and classy as you wanted to.

The second most common among the various types tie knots is the half Windsor knot. Do exactly what you did for the Windsor knot up to the point before forming the first knot and this time fold the tie’s thicker end over your handwork; in the end let the thicker end through the noose, tighten it as much as you need in order to fit your neck, and you are good to go. This knot is twice as easy and twice as fast compared to the Windsor knot (as well as other types of knots) and that is why it is called the ‘half’ Windsor knot.

Other common types of knot are: the four-in-hand knot, the Pratt knot, the double knot, the small knot, the Hanover knot, the Kelvin and the Nicky knot, the Oriental knot, and the St. Andrews knot. Keep in mind, though, that this list in only indicative as there are more eighty different types of knots you can use to tie your tie.