HOW TO TIE A BOW TIE

Hello! Uncle Eddie here! Tonight I'm going with John, Kali and Mike to the Annie Awards ceremony at U.C.L.A.! John's getting a life achievement award! It is of course, a black tie affair. Only the most suave animation people will be there. It's all very refined, very upper crust.

Most men will wear bow ties and ten'll get you twenty that most of the ties won't be tied right. Most artists are butterfingered when it comes to things not of the drawing board. Well, I wouldn't want any Theory Corner Readers to have that problem. If you're going to the Awards tonight, and you're having trouble with your tie, here's a tutorial just for you! 

First, adjust the tie to maximum length. You can tighten it later.  Put it around your neck and let one end be about an inch and a half longer than the other.

Now tie a standard simple knot, letting the long end do most of the wrapping. 

Here's (above) what I mean. Just a plain old, common as water, knot.

Now take the short end and crimp it between your fingers.

After the crimping it should look like this (above): The classic bow tie shape. I forgot to say that the other end of the bow tie doesn't come into play here so you get it out of the way, maybe by flinging it over your shoulder. 

Now, take the long end that was over your shoulder (above) and let it fall in front of the crimped bow tie shape.

Now this (above) is the hard part, the thing that seperates the men from the boys.  The problem is that there's no way to photograph it.  I tried, and my hands always got in the way.  Maybe I should have drawn this, instead of taking pictures.....Aaargh! Too late now! I'll have to talk you through it.

Ok, take the bottom of that long, vertical piece in the foreground,  bring it around the back of the tie, up and over, til what's left dangles over the front of the tie again. 

Now, as you see here (above)....You take the dangling part and stuff it through the loop in the middle of the tie.  Hard to see, I know. You have my sympathy.

Come to think of it, before you do any stuffing, take a look at the shape of the tie. One side has a bow and the other side has a straight end.  Each side needs to be completed by getting the part that it's missing. The bow side needs a straight end, and the straight part needs a bow. Stuff the part that was dangling through the middle loop so each part of the tie gets what it needs.


And Voila! There it is! 

Well, it doesn't look like much at this stage. 

Wiggle and pull things around till it begins to take shape (above).  When you get it right, reach around the back and tighten the tie buckle till it fits nice and snug. That's it!

I was going to say, "Simple wasn't it?", but it's not really.  Actually, it's kind of complicated. Just remember that each end of the tie, both the right and the left, require two parts: a bow and a straight end. Do whatever you need to do to make that happen.

Now...onto the Annie Awards!