How to Tie a Full Windsor Tie
For occasions that call for a necktie instead: the wide, symmetrical knot, move by move, plus the fixes for the three ways it goes wrong.
Read the guide →
A self-tie bow tie looks hard because the last move is unfamiliar. Nearly everything before it is the same as tying your shoelaces, only at your neck and without being able to see properly. Most people give up after the first lopsided attempt and go back to a pre-tied one. This guide splits the knot into its setup, five moves and three fixes, so you can practise each part on its own. Plan on a few lopsided tries on the first day. That's normal, and Chapter 3 shows you how to adjust a bow instead of starting over.
What you'll be able to do: Tie a self-tie bow tie that sits straight and stays put, sized correctly for your collar, without needing a video halfway through.
Outcome: "I can set my bow tie to the right size and start with the ends at the right lengths, so the knot has a fair chance of coming out even."
Check whether your bow tie has a sliding adjuster on the neckband. If it does, find the size markings and set it to your shirt collar size.
Most self-tie bow ties are adjustable, with a small slider or hook-and-eye on the neckband. Set it to your shirt's collar size before you start. A band that's too loose gives a floppy bow, and one that's too tight pulls the bow down and makes it twist. Fixed-size bow ties need to be bought in your collar size. With your shirt on, collar up and top button done, put the tie around your neck with the two ends hanging down the front. Then pull it so one end hangs about 1.5 inches (4 cm) lower than the other. Throughout this guide, call that the long end. That small difference matters. If the ends start level, the knot uses up more of one side and the finished bow comes out uneven. A good check: the shaped part of the short end (where it widens into the bow shape) should sit just above the shaped part of the long end.
Someone's first try leaves one bow wing noticeably smaller than the other. They had started with both ends exactly level. On the next attempt they set the tie to their 16-inch collar size and let one end hang about 1.5 inches (4 cm) lower than the other before starting. The wings come out within a few millimetres of each other, close enough to straighten by hand.
Outcome: "I can tie the complete bow tie knot from the starting position to a finished bow, in the right order and without a mirror for the first moves."
From yesterday's starting position, do only the first two moves: cross the long end over the short end, then bring it up behind and through the neck loop. Stop there.
The bow tie knot is the same knot as a shoelace bow, so if Chapter 1 of the shoelace guide made sense, this will too. In order: (1) Cross the long end over the short end, close to your neck. (2) Bring the long end up behind the crossing and through the neck loop, then let it hang down in front. Snug this first knot up to the collar. (3) Fold the short end into a bow shape: double it back on itself at its widest point and hold it horizontally across your collar. This is the front wing of the bow. (4) Drop the long end straight down over the front of that horizontal bow, holding everything in place with your other hand. (5) Fold the long end back on itself at its widest point, then push the fold through the small loop that has formed behind the front bow. It goes from front to back, through the gap between the front wing and your collar. That last push is the move everyone finds awkward. Push it with a finger instead of trying to pull it through. Finally, tug gently on the two folded wings to tighten the knot in the middle.
On the first two attempts, someone pushes the long end straight through flat, without folding it, and ends up with a dangling end instead of a second wing. On the third try they fold the long end back at its widest part first, so it already looks like half a bow, then push the folded edge through the loop behind the front wing with their index finger. The second wing appears, and a gentle pull on both folds tightens the centre knot.
Outcome: "I can adjust a finished bow tie that's uneven, loose or tilted, instead of untying it and starting again."
Tie a bow tie now and look at it in a mirror. Name its one biggest problem, if it has one: uneven wings, loose centre, or tilted.
A self-tie bow is adjustable after it's tied, and that's how it's meant to be worn. Each of the three common problems has its own fix. Uneven wings: pull gently on the loop of the smaller wing and the loose end of the larger one, alternately, in small tugs, and the sizes move towards each other. If the difference is large, re-tie with a slightly longer or shorter starting drop (Chapter 1). Loose centre: hold both wings and pull the folded edges apart, then press the centre knot flat between your thumb and finger. Tilted bow: the bow usually tilts because one side of the neckband is tighter, or the first knot from move 2 isn't centred. Hold the knot and slide it straight, and make sure the band sits evenly under the collar all round. A slightly imperfect, hand-tied bow is normal. Perfect symmetry is the look of a pre-tied one.
An hour into a wedding reception, a guest notices in a mirror that their bow has loosened and tilted to one side. They don't untie it. They hold the centre, slide it level, pull the folded edges of both wings apart to tighten them, then nudge the larger wing down with a small pull on its loose end. Thirty seconds later the bow is straight again, and the slight asymmetry of a hand-tied knot is still there.
The complete guide — all 3 chapters, every checklist and exercise — as a clean, printable PDF. No email required.
Every guide on this site is produced with the Self-Directed Learning Framework: instead of an article that explains a topic at you, the framework turns it into a structure you work through — each chapter with one outcome, a starting action under twelve minutes, the minimum you actually need to know, a worked example, a checklist, and exercises. It starts from three questions:
Topic: Tying a self-tie bow tie.
Outcome wanted: Tie a straight, secure bow tie from memory for a formal event — within three days.
Starting point: Can tie a regular necktie and shoelaces, but has only ever worn pre-tied bow ties.
The prompt framework behind it is public: see the C.R.A.F.T. prompt framework, including the exact prompt that generated this library.
For occasions that call for a necktie instead: the wide, symmetrical knot, move by move, plus the fixes for the three ways it goes wrong.
Read the guide →Free, self-paced guides across everyday, professional and academic topics.
See all guides