How Your Neckties Are Made by Shaun Gordon

While you may be wondering, What makes a Shaun Gordon tie special? Firstly before any necktie, bow tie or pocket square is handcrafted, our ultimate goal is to ensure the highest quality of craftsmanship. This is done with obsessive and close attention to detail because it is paramount to how the overall appearance and how the deceptively simple neckwear functions.

LET'S BEGIN WITH HOW OUR TIES ARE MADE

Let's start from the very beginning of the process before a tie is even created. The fabric and your mind. This is a very important step because the material that has all the components of pattern, texture and colour, which is what draws us into what we envision when wearing the necktie to complement our style. Our fabrics are typically sourced in the UK and occasionally Italy. Through our bespoke services we also use approved fabrics submitted by our clients who desire a tie that fits their specification and resonates with their personality. 
Our fabrics are inspected for quality and driven with our inspiration of our first love of vintage style, we tend to select archived, which are redesigned by Shaun Gordon himself or off-cuts of vintage fabrics. Hence the reason why our ties are limited edition because of the limited meterage of the materials. 
Generally, ties are made from silk material, however in the recent years, we have seen ties made from wool, linen cotton and other natural fibers. 

 The selected fabric is chalked and cut on a bias. which means the pattern is cut on 45° angle because the natural stretch or ‘give’ in the material helps the knot to form without too much tension on the fabric and allow to recover better from creases, when finished wearing for the day. 
Cutting the tie on the bias also contributes to the tie draping well.
THE COMPONENTS 
The tie itself is made of six pieces (excluding the interlining). Starting with the blade, which is the front of the necktie. The tail, which is the other end of the tie that is commonly worn underneath the blade when knotted.  The Neck, which is the mid-section of the tie that joins the blade and tail together.  Some people use these seams to judge their ties length after they have applied their desired knot. However, the seam should never be exposed when knotted. The Keeper or Loop, which holds the tail underneath blade to ensure a tidier appearance. Though some may not use the keeper to express a nonchalant style. The Blade and Tail's Tipping that is sewn behind each points. 
THE INSIDE IS JUST AS IMPORTANT AS THE OUTSIDE
The Interlining is made from wool and can come in various weights, which will have an effect on how thick the tie will be. The interlining also contributes to how well the knot looks and drapes too, hence the reason why it is also cut on the bias. Some prefer to wear a tie which feels heavier and substantial, and others like a lighter weight as they may prefer to wear a small knot with a fluid drape. 
THE MAGIC OF THE INVISIBLE STITCH

Once the pieces of the tie has been sewn together, the shell fabric is folded over the interlining, which will create the shape of the tie. The thread that will secure the fold together is hand sewn along the back of the tie’s seam. This technique is known as the slip stitch. The stitch is hidden underneath the fold and goes through to the interlining and the process is repeated until it reaches the end. This part of the tie production is crucial because it holds the tie together and keeps the interlining in place. This can take a considerable amount of time depending on the characteristic of the fabric. 

BULLION

At the beginning and end of the Slip stitch you will see a bullion, which secures the stitch in place. It is imperative the bullion is finished firmly because if not, with wear this could easily loosen and eventually lead to the thread breaking and unravel, spelling bad news for the life span of the tie.

A HIDDEN DETAIL

Towards the end of slip stitching, a tension loop is applied at the end of the bullion. This detail can appear on the blade or tail of the tie, which is purely subjective to the artisan. Why is this important? Well, as you can imagine, the amount of pressure applied to your necktie, the tension loop gives elasticity or movement to the thread during the knotting process and prevents the thread from breaking in the long run. 

TIPPING

left - right: Self-tipped, Contrast tipped and hand-rolled tipped

At the back of the tie, sometimes you will see a different type of fabric inserted into the border, which is hidden underneath the seam of the tie. There are various styles of tipping, which could be bold contrast colours and patterns.  Self-tipping, which speaks for itself, implies using the same fabric as the Shell. Hand-rolled Tipping is where the edges are rolled and hand stitched revealing the interior of the fabric.

A LITTLE CARE GOES ALONG WAY

The Care label is sewn into the tail border, which tends to be hidden. This label gives you valuable information on how to care for your tie. In which we would recommend dry clean only (very sparingly), if you so get a little bit of stain, try spot cleaning it gently. Do not bleach and if you must iron that irritating little crease use the cool setting. The last thing you want to do is wear a lifeless flat strip of material.

KEEPER

This is a loop, which keeps the tail securely behind the blade. The use of the keeper is subjective to the wearer’s style, as they may prefer the tail to be visible. 

HANDCRAFTED FOR THE 'ONE OF A KIND' INDIVIDUAL  

1 of 1 Shaun Gordon British Handmade Silk Necktie

Each tie has a woven label with a handwritten the production number, which reminds you with every wear that you possess your very own limited edition tie. This is true exclusivity because our ties are not massed produced in a large factory and you are highly unlikely to walk into someone else wearing your ‘one of a kind collective’.  

Needless to say, that limited edition means once they have sold out
- It's GONE! 

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 QUICK RECAP

Anatomy of Shaun Gordon Necktie

And that is how our neckties are made. If you can any questions do contact us here and thank you for reading.

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