A tie at the Eleventh Hour - the tie making

The making of my ties are now out of my hands, but I’m confident that the guys working on them are the best in the business and are doing it with the same passion I put into my own work.

Almost everything about these ties is a bit of a pain to handle.

First the ties have to be cut. As a long experienced tie maker, they have pre-made patterns to use for all common sizes. Luckily they have one which is just the job.

The card template gives the cutter the shape he needs to cut. The window inside this is the finished visible face of the tie.

This was positioned over the embroidery, referencing my Lacroix tie which I left them as a guide.

The ties are made in three pieces: the front leading up to and including the knot; the tail which has a partial repeat of the embroidered design; and a joining piece between the two.

Here they are, all cut and ready to make-up.

The ends of the tie are lined in red silk, and I provided them with some suitable fabric to use.
This is machined in place before the three sections are joined together.

The ties are then folded along the length, pinning them together at the seam. The seam is then hand-sewn together, leaving a short opening at each end.


A strengthening stitch is added at the end of the hand sewing to stop it accidentally tearing. This is on the original tie, and has been replicated in a red thread to match.

It took a couple of weeks for the ties to be made, but I now have the first one finished and it looks FAB!

I still have some work to do, which I shall do soon.