The story of our knitted ties

Tie is a French word derived from the term Croatian , used since 17th century .

In fact, in this country, the fighters used to tie silk scarves of their wives around their necks before going into battle.

But it took years 1920 so that the tie becomes established as daily accessory. Under the impetus of a search for comfort , the knitted tie East appeared in the same decade in Europe .

Made of linen or wool, it was first worn by the working classes and the penniless schoolchildren. There raw material is inexpensive , and we can knit yourself .

She is long and thin , knitted in a raw fabric , at a time when the quality of a man was measured at the quality of its silk .

The post-war decades make the knitted tie accessible to the greatest number . Its manufacturing process is industrialized , and the inferior quality ties are woven on tubular machines .

This process is called " soft knit ", as opposed to knitted ties. say " crunchy knit " In the 1950s, the knitted tie remains however confidential , apparatus of old teachers and of some rebellious students from the Ivy League.

The decade 1960 marks the peak of the knitted tie . Mods adopt it in their experimental style of deconstruction of tailoring rigid from previous years.

Its finesse and its character make it the asset of the English rebel.

THE Beatles wear them during their legendary plane descent at JFK : there knitted tie has just crossed the Atlantic .

However, the success of the knitted tie is short-lived .

A notable decline in the years 1970 and 1980 causes the closure of many workshops specialized in its manufacture.

It would take more than thirty years for the knitted tie to reappear on the catwalks , with a trend towards relaxed looks and the American influence of “casual Friday” .

Today, the knitted tie is back !

Making a knitted tie

As its name suggests, the knitted tie East knitted , not woven.

She is not a crossing of warp threads and weft threads , but made up of loops passed through each other .

There machine creates a mesh , a needle blocks it , a second needle passes a second stitch through the first; the first released stitch is closed by the second .

This second stitch is then blocked in turn , and so on. The knitting is tubular.

THE loops are not stuck to each other , which gives them elasticity .

There strength and thickness from the tie come the silk thread which is twisted on itself before knitting.

THE end of the tie is square because the machine stops at the end of a row of stitches.

The excess wires are re-meshed.

A satin or rep band, also called the collar, is sewn on the collar for the protect from friction with the rough mesh.

At this location, the knitting loses in thickness to allow the collar to to fall back well .

Since its creation, the knitted tie has been adopted by the actors.

No icon from the second half of the 20th century escapes it.

Worn on screen or in everyday life , the relaxation and comfort of the Knitted ties are a hit in Hollywood .

Sean Connery wore for example at least one knitted tie per film when he played James Bond .

A way to pay tribute to the Flemming's original description which had included the black knit tie in his hero's costume.

Cary Grant, another cinematic idol of the 20th century, rarely wore the knitted tie on screen.

But off the sets, he did not hesitate to pair it with a more formal outfit : a double-breasted suit in worsted wool with a flower in the buttonhole. This controlled contrast in style clearly demonstrates the versatility of the knitted tie .

Likewise, Paul Newman was a fervent black version follower of this model and incorporated it into almost all of his inimitable outfits " casual sophisticated ".

Finally, outside of cinema but still in the world of art, the writer Francis Scott Fitzgerald often used a knitted tie with wide horizontal stripes worn very short.

You still have to be one of the best authors of the century to allow yourself this eccentricity!

How to wear a knitted tie?

The knitted tie brings a nonchalant touch , even old school , to an outfit. It also lends itself well to a business start than to a more casual outfit .

Regarding the patterns , three are common for a knitted tie : solids, polka dots and horizontal stripes . While the first two are easy to wear, stripes tend to really catch the eye, especially if they are wide.

An interesting but difficult pattern to master.

One last reason, caviar, begins to appear on knitted ties .

Two threads of different colors make up the alternate knitting. The tie is therefore two-colored , but the points of each color being side by side , the effect is refined.

For the colors, the knitted tie to declines with variety.

The most classic are blue, black or brown, but you can also opt for purple, burgundy, fir green. For a more colorful touch, Pastel colors like blue or pale pink go very well with the casualness of this type of tie.

In any case, the knot must be simple , also called " four-in-hand » . The thickness of the material prohibits any bulky knot , like the Windsor.

A fine knot , with a drop , will be very pretty with a Italian collar shirt For example.

We also recommend to do not wear a tie clip with a knitted pattern. The thickness of the material would once again pose a problem, and the style contrast between a precious pliers and a casual tie might be too marked .

Anyway, the fell heavy of a A well-cut knitted tie should allow him to stay in place all day long!

Now that you have chosen your tie, here are some outfit suggestions:

You can opt for a dark tie (blue, black or brown), a pale shirt and a worsted wool suit , such as end-on-end.

This same tie will also work wonders with a flannel suit for a business start .

A less formal attire , but still dressed , could associate a plain tie (brown, rust, green) and a tweed, flannel or seersucker suit.

Her relief knitting is highlighted by the most materials raw , such as carded wool fabrics.

A set of this type is most consistent in the choice of materials .

Finally, a knitted tie , plain or polka dot, can be worn for a slightly dressed-up weekend , for example with a flannel sports jacket, raw jeans or cargo chinos, and ankle boots.

Casual but sophisticated attire .

The perfect in-between for a Sunday afternoon outing!

NB: After wearing it, the tie must be maintained at least a little. Ironing should be done on the reverse side to avoid damaging the stitches visible to the public. In the event of a stain, dry cleaning is recommended, but this should be repeated as little as possible if you want your tie to last. As for storing it, it should be done flat, with the knot undone, to avoid deforming the accessory.

Why choose a Howard's knitted tie?

First, we choose the historical knitting for his knitted ties: the "crunchy kit" has rice grain pattern . Knitting of the mesh is dense and thick , which guarantees a beautiful fall and limits the risk of deformation.

Manufacturing time is longer, and more silk is used , but the The relief of the tie is unique . This manufacturing is Italian, made by a specialist workshop of this special know-how what is the knitting ties.

This workshop allows us to benefit from rare technical details.

The polka dots on our ties are sewn one by one by hand , our shield logo East machine embroidered between the stitches, which is technically very difficult and requires great care.

Likewise, some patterns like two-tone polka dots require special attention because Any mistake renders the tie unusable.

Like all the details matter , we chose to replace the traditional satin band at the pass by a cotton rep strip.

This grosgrain band allows in fact to better to hang the shirt collar And ensures optimal support of the tie throughout the day.

Finally, we are part of the rare houses to offer knitted ties in two widths : 6.5cm and 8.5cm .

There first width is that of the classic knitted tie , while the second approaches the width of a woven silk tie .

I'll let you discover them without further delay ;)

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