How to Tie a Shirt Tie

Tying a tie

Whether you're a male or female, you will probably find yourself needing to know how to tie a tie.

Things You'll Need

• Tie

Instructions

1. 

   Take the tie and drape it around your neck. You'll notice one side is skinnier than the other. The skinny side is called the tail, and the bigger side is called the front. Pull the front down toward your feet so that it is about a foot longer than the tail.

2. Grasp the front side of the tie where it rests on the collarbone and cross it directly over the tail side. Using the back of your hand to hold the front side of the tie out of your way, grasp the tail side with your thumb and index finger. Lay the front side of the tie on top of your index finger and hold it with your middle finger, so that you are holding the tie in one hand.

3. Take hold of the front side of the tie with your free hand and thread it under and behind the two pieces of the tie that you are holding with your other hand. When you finish, you should have it draped over the back of the hand or the wrist of the hand that is holding the tie. Grasp it with your free hand again and loosely pull it over the fingers that are holding the tie.

4. Take the front side of the tie with your free hand again. Notice that there is a space between your chin and your fingers holding the tie. Place your ring finger next to your middle finger and flex them away from you. With the wrap you've just done, your middle finger will no longer need to hold the tie. With the fingers extended, push the bottom tip of the front side of the tie through the hole between your fingers and chin.

5. Take the front side of the tie and pull all the slack through the hole. Push it through the hole that is being made by your ring and middle finger. Once through, move all fingers of other hand, and pull front side of tie down. With the now-free hand, hold onto the tail side and pull the front side tight. Holding the tail side, push the knot up to the most comfortable height.

Tips & Warnings

• Do not let go of the tie through the whole knot.

• It is customary to have your tie touching your Adam’s apple, if you have one.

• Depending on where you start, it is possible to make the tail side longer than the front side. Hold the tie higher to remedy this.

Resources

• How to tie a variety of ties.
• An in depth guide to tying a tie