How To Tie A Windsor Knot (In 11 Easy To Follow Steps)

Even though tie wearing has diminished somewhat in the last couple of years, the most popular question I get asked about ties is how to tie a Windsor knot. 

What Is a Windsor Knot?

The Windsor knot was named after the Duke of Windsor - but although he favoured a wide triangular knot, he achieved this by using the four-in-hand method and using thicker ties to achieve body. The general public invented the method of tying a Windsor knot as a way to imitate the Duke of Windsor's style.

Note that the knot is often mistakenly referred to as the Double Windsor knot.

Knowing how to do a Windsor knot is always a useful skill to have in your dress smart armoury - it provides great balance through symmetry and an understated power through the knot size (which works fantastically well with a spread shirt collar, still the most popular shirt collar style worn in business today). The Windsor knot is also one of the easiest to tie.

How to Tie a Windsor Knot:

1. Place the tie over your neck with the wide end on your right and small end on your left. The tip of the small end should be just above the belly-button and you will only be moving/working with the wide end.
2. The wide end goes over the small end to the left.
3. From below go up into the neck loop.
4. Down to the left.
5. Go to the right around the back of the small end.
6. Then towards the neck loop up to the middle.
7. Go through the neck loop and down to the right.
8. Now across the front and to the left.
9. From below go up into the neck loop.
10. Go down through the loop that has been created in the front.
11. Pull down on the wide end to tighten the knot, which you then slide up & adjust.