Every tie has its own shape, color, and motif, but real tie lovers ad connoisseurs use the term "hand" to describe their appreciation of the feel of a tie, its material sensation, volume, fall and texture. A number of factors come together in a tie of goof hand, such as the nature and quality of the material, the interlining, the finishing details, and the care taken in fabrication.

Handmade Ties

ties can be made three ways: by hand, by machine with hand finishing, or primarily by machine. Handmade tie specialists, for the most part craftspeople working in home studios, can turn out no more than ten ties an hour. Designers who employ them can count on impeccable quality for each piece, every time. Fashion houses that quality ties at higher volume resort to the next catagory of production: machine manufacture with hand finishing.

The first stage in making a tie is cutting. fine ties are cut on the bias, at a forty -five degree angle from the fabric's edge. An average of four to five ties are cut from yard of fabric, taking into account the placement of the motifs. The parts of the envelop are sewn together on a machine. The seams are then smoothed out with a hot iron; this is one of the few steps which cannot be done by machine.

The next step, sewing the lining into the two ends, is done with a machine specially invented for this purpose. Then comes the crucial stage of placing the interlining and closing the envelope. This delicate operation, where the needle must be kept from piercing the visible flaps, is done with the "liba," a machine that revolutionized tie-making in the 1970s. A rod is used to flip the envelope onti its front side and the ends of the interlining are tucked into their "caps", the pockets created by the two pieces of lining. The remaining steps are machine-sewing the label and possibly the bar tack onto the back.