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Brian Sacawa is the Founder of He Spoke Style and one of the original men’s style influencers.
More This site contains affiliate links from which we may earn a commission.The four-in-hand is a simple, classic and no-nonsense tie knot
If you are only going to learn to tie one tie knot, it should be the no-nonsense four-in-hand. It’s classic, it’s simple and always looks great. To be honest, there’s not much more to say!
On second thought, there is a bit more to say. The four-in-hand knot brings a couple concerns to the fore. First, it’s not thick or bulky, which means that certain ties – particularly fine silk – will tie a very thin knot. One solution to bulking the knot up is to tie a double four-in-hand. Another is to tie it with tie that has a thicker fabric, like the wool one I’m wearing here.
| WEARING | Michael Andrews Bespoke jacket, Al Bazar shirt, Ring Jacket pants, Tie c/o Seaward & Stearn, Rolex watch, Shoes c/o Tommy Hilfiger | PHOTOGRAPHY | by Rob McIver Photo
The second concern is whether or not it is acceptable to show some of your shirt’s neckband – particularly is you’re wearing a spread collar or cutaway collar shirt. Our take is that it’s no big deal. Perfection is the mortal enemy of exceptional personal style.
And that brings us to a feature of the four-in-hand that we truly love: its unpredictability in terms of how the tie will dimple with this knot. It’s very dependent on the fabric, of course, but also the quality of the fabric.
Below are the steps for how to tie the four-in-hand knot with a gif to help illustrate. If that moves too fast for your taste, we’ve also got each frame along with the instructions in the slideshow above. Enjoy!
Step by Step: How To Tie a Four-In-Hand Knot
1. Start with the wide end on the left, narrow end on the right.
2. Cross the wide end over the narrow end.
3. Bring the wide end behind the narrow end.
4. Wrap around.
5. While holding the wrapped portion, bring the wide behind.
6. Bring the wide end all the way up and over.
7. Thread through the loop.
8. After threading all the way through the loop, tighten the knot.
9. And adjust into place.
Thanks for reading.
Stylishly Yours,
Brian Sacawa
He Spoke Style
Brian Sacawa
Brian Sacawa is the Founder of He Spoke Style and one of the original men’s style influencers. Since 2013, his goal has remained the same: to provide men the advice and inspiration they need to dress well, develop their personal style, and gain more confidence. Brian’s interest and passion for men’s style and luxury watches has led to his writing for The Robb Report, The Rake, and Sotheby’s and he has been quoted on menswear in publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Today.com, Brides Magazine, and the Huffington Post. He lives in the woods north of Baltimore with his wife, Robin, kitties Nick and Nora, and German Shepherd/Collie mix Charlie.
