The Trinity Knot.
Gentlemen, are you ready for the Trinity Knot ? (Ladies sneak a look and use a long, slim scarf)
I think 15 minutes of fumbling, average 3 re-tries and you will have this down pat!
Great for attention – seekers at casual events.
Ingredients : a shirt with a cut-away or medium width collar and a plain (OMG can you imagine this done with a stripey or patterned) lightish weight tie which is relatively slim all the way down because otherwise one of the folds will be wider than the other, rather ruining the effect !
Before we go any further, I have pinched this from the RMRS (Real Men Real Style) site so, to all satorially – inclined men, do take a look at their site as they have some great ideas, almost all of them much more mainstream.
If you find following a 2 and half minute video easier than pictures, CLICK HERE (I think it is easier even if you have to press stop quite a few times and can get past the American accent !) Otherwise here is the detailed version with a recap of all 12 of the steps further down too.
Trinity Knot Step 1 :
You tie the Trinity knot with the narrow end, so make sure the tip of the thick end is hanging right where you want the finished length of the tie to be.
The thick end won’t move at all during the tying process, except to hitch up a tiny bit when you tighten the knot.
Step 2 : Cross the narrow end diagonally in front of the thick end, making an X-shape underneath your chin. Tuck the narrow end around and up underneath the loop around your neck, bringing it out tip-upward beneath your chin, with the seam facing outward.
Step 3 : Flip the narrow end back over the top of the loop around your collar, still on the right side of the thick end. At this point the narrow end should be pointing tip-downward and seam-inward, hanging to the right of the thick end.
Trinity Knot Step 4 : Pass the narrow end horizontally behind the thick end. You should finish up with the narrow end pointing to your left, with the seam facing outward.
Step 5 : Flip the narrow end over the top of the loop around your collar, so that the tip points upward and the seam faces inward.
Step 6 : Here is where things get a touch more complicated!! It’s also where the turns you’re making will form the visible portion of the knot, so make sure that you pull the slack out of each move and smooth the surface of the tie down at every step.
Feed the tip of the narrow end down and out underneath the loop around your neck, on the far right side of the knot. This means crossing over and above the bulk of the knot that you’ve tied so far.
If you’ve done it right, you should finish this step with the narrow end emerging from underneath the loop around your neck, tip pointed downward and seam facing inward, to the right of the thick end.
Trinity Knot Step 7 : Bring the narrow end horizontally across the front of the knot from right to left. Go ahead and slip a finger underneath the horizontal band this creates — you’ll be passing the necktie underneath it in another step. You should finish this step with the tip of the narrow end pointed to your left, seam facing inward.
Step 8 : Bring the narrow end up underneath the loop around your collar. This will be the second time you’ve passed around the collar loop in the same spot, so don’t be alarmed if the cloth is starting to stack up.
Pull the tie on through so that the narrow end is pointed upward beneath your chin, emerging from behind the knot with the seam facing outward. Turn the tip downward and feed it through the horizontal loop you created in Step 7. You should end up with the tip of the narrow end pointed straight downward, lying on top of the thick end.
Do not pull all your slack down through the horizontal loop at this point. Instead, you’ll want to slide a finger underneath the narrow end just above the knot, right where it doubles over to feed down through the horizontal loop. You’ll be feeding the necktie back through this new loop in a couple of steps.
Trinity Knot Step 9 : Pass the narrow end around behind the thick end from right to left. You should complete this step with the narrow end pointing to your left, seam facing outward.
Step 10 : Feed the tip of the narrow end up over the loop around your collar and through the small vertical loop you reserved in Step 8. The tip of the narrow end should be angling diagonally upward and to the right, with the seam facing inward.
Step 11 : Pull the narrow end all the way through the vertical loop, still angling diagonally upward and to your right, and snug it down. At this point the three folds of the completed knot should be visible. The bottom fold was created when you crossed in front of the necktie horizontally in Step 7, the right-hand fold when you passed the narrow end around behind the thick end in Step 9, and the left-hand fold when you brought the narrow end up diagonally in Step 10.
Step 12 : Pull all the slack out of the knot and adjust as necessary to make the three visible folds identical in size and angle. You can hide whatever remains of the narrow end of the tie by either pulling it straight downward behind the thick end (as in the illustration) or by tucking it flat underneath the loop around your collar if only an inch or two remain (as in the video).
Final Words : This is a knot that may require a bit of “dressing.” Spend a moment straightening the three folds and working any remaining slack out of the knot.
You can tighten by holding the knot in one hand and pulling down gently on the thick end, but do so carefully, and adjust the folds of the knot as you go. If you yank down hard on the thick end you’ll end up distorting the shape of the knot.
And there you have it, the Trinity Knot.
Phew, did you get this far ?
If you did I want comments and photographic proof !
