Windsor Knot Myth: How to Tie It and Where It Really Came From
A Windsor knot is a wide, even triangle, and it is named for Edward VIII, the Duke of Windsor. Almost every guide to the knot repeats that he invented it. The record says otherwise.
The correction is practical, not trivia. People who believe the myth blame their hands when the knot comes out lumpy, and very often the tie is the cause.
Nobody can name the inventor
The Windsor’s origin is murky, and the better sources admit it. Wikipedia’s entry on the knot notes that the Duke is sometimes credited with inventing it, along with his London shirtmaker. It then draws a line: he got his signature wide knot by wearing ties of thicker cloth. The tie did the work. The full triangle now called a Windsor, the entry suggests, came later as a way to get the same fullness out of ordinary ties. That last point carries a citation-needed flag on the page, so it reads best as a likely account, not a settled one.
Academia Cravatica, a Croatian cravat site, makes the same case harder. Its August 2026 piece reports that the Duke, by his own account, neither invented nor tied the knot, and that American servicemen and later college students took it up. The article sums up his method in one line: “The Duke achieved the desired appearance through the construction of the tie.”
The knot does have a catalog number. Thomas Fink and Yong Mao list the Windsor as knot 31 in their 1999 book The 85 Ways to Tie a Tie, along with three common variants numbered 32, 33 and 35.
The tie decides how big the knot gets
Fabric sets the size. A Windsor takes more tie than a four-in-hand, and the extra turns pile up. Heavy wool or a thickly interlined silk produces a knot the size of a walnut and leaves a short wide end. A light to medium silk closes into a clean triangle.
The collar matters as much. The Windsor is wide and close to symmetrical, which suits a spread or cutaway collar. Under a narrow point collar it looks overstuffed.
Length gets settled before the first wrap. Turn the collar up, drape the tie around the neck, and start with the wide end noticeably lower than the narrow end, since the wraps use up length. The finished tip should land at the belt buckle. If the first try comes out short, start the wide end lower. If it comes out long, start it higher.
The Full Windsor in eight moves
Work in front of a mirror, collar up, tie around the neck with the wide end on the right.
- Cross the wide end over the narrow end, so it sits on the left.
- Bring the wide end up through the neck loop from underneath, then pull it down on the left.
- Pass the wide end behind the narrow end, toward the right.
- Bring the wide end up through the neck loop on the right and pull it down on that side.
- Cross the wide end over the front of the knot, from right to left.
- Bring the wide end up through the neck loop once more and let it hang in front.
- Pass the wide end down through the horizontal band across the front of the knot.
- Hold the narrow end and slide the knot up to the collar, tightening gently so the triangle stays even.
Check it in the mirror. The knot should read as a triangle, balanced left to right, with the wide end covering the narrow one and the tip at the belt. Cinching hard on the early wraps is the usual cause of a lopsided result. Tighten once, at the end.
Watch it done once before trying
The beginner tutorial from the YouTube channel defragmenteur, titled “How to Tie a Tie | Windsor (aka Full Windsor or Double Windsor) | For Beginners,” runs the same sequence with the collar up.
Three ways it goes wrong
Too short: the wide end stops above the belt. Start it lower next time.
Lumpy: the knot is bulky and the wide end runs short no matter where it starts. The tie is too thick for this knot. Switch to a lighter silk, or tie a four-in-hand instead.
Crooked: the triangle leans. Loosen the knot and re-seat it by pulling the narrow end while the wraps are still slack.
A Windsor earns its width on days when a tie has to hold its shape. For the interview version of that day, the briefcase question is covered in Should You Bring a Briefcase to a Job Interview? For the dress code where a dark silk tie goes with a suit, see What to Wear to a New York Winter Wedding, by Dress Code.
What makes it easier
Four items cover the reading, the practice tie, the clip and the collar.
- The 85 Ways to Tie a Tie by Thomas Fink and Yong Mao: the book that catalogs the Windsor as knot 31 and covers the science of tie knots. See it on Amazon (affiliate link)
- Adulove Men’s Necktie Classic Silk Tie Woven Jacquard: a woven jacquard silk necktie to practice the knot on. See it on Amazon (affiliate link)
- Erioctry Mens Stainless Steel Tie Clips: a stainless steel tie bar that keeps the blade of the tie from swinging loose. See it on Amazon (affiliate link)
- Würkin Stiffs Brass Collar Stays: brass collar stays that keep the collar flat so the knot sits cleanly. See it on Amazon (affiliate link)
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