Last week, I attended an event related to professional attire. One of the activities during the event was learning how to tie neckties and bow ties. Most of the attendees didn’t know how to do it. I was surprised to find out there are actually 85 ways to tie a tie! In the late 1990s, two researchers Thomas Fink and Yong Mao of Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratory used mathematical modeling to discovered eighty five possible types of knots using a conventional type of tie. Tie knots can be described a s a sequence of five possible moves: left (L), center(C) right(R), into (i), out (o), and through the loop(T). A tie knot can be defined a s a sequence of moves using a combination of the 6 possible moves such as left in, left out, right in, right out, center in and center out. All knot sequences end with center out and alternate between in and out, all knots of odd numbers of moves begin with left out, and the even numbers of moves begin with left in. Therefore, the shape of a knot depends on the number of right, left and center moves. For instance, here is the step you need to follow if you are using the four-in –hand method knot:
- Bring the wide end to the left and either over or under the narrow and divide the space into right, left and center regions
- The knot is moved in half turns so that the direction alternates between out of and into the shirt.
- The wide end is then wrapped from the right (left) over the front to the left(right) underneath to the center
- Finally it is brought through (T) making the front loop as shown below
Enjoy practicing!
It is really cool to see math being used in something that it seems unrelated to, like tying ties. Do the 85 ways result in essentially the same knot, or at least one that looks similar regardless of the sequence of steps taken? Or are the 85 ways permutations of the six moves that result in very different looking knots? Either way, that diagram you posted is very helpful, as I don’t wear ties nearly enough to remember how to actually put them on.
I didn’t realize that there were so many ways to tie a tie. I have learned how to tie ties for things like interviews, weddings, etc. but my actual knowledge of ties is limited to about three types. I think it’s very interesting that the researchers would have thought to use a mathematical model to ascertain possible knots, and I am curious as to how that model came about/is used.
Fre! Thanks for sharing. It’s funny how we both attended this workshop but I completely forgot there were so many ways to tie a tie. I guess I was too focused on learning how to tie the two ways that Ty taught us that I completely ignored all the other methods. Thanks for such an in detail post. Once I get back home I’ll ask my dad to borrow a tie and practice.