Knit neck ties?

[Mael Coluim]

I tend to wear more bows then neck ties. But for my 60th birthday, I picked up from eBay this vintage Rooster knit tie to remind me of my earlier days.

[Patrick Young]

What do people think of knit neck ties worn as a part of Highland attire?

There have been several threads lately discussing various styles of neck tie with kilt, but generally the discussion revolves around tartan ties, regimental stripe ties, etc. I don't think I've ever seen knit ties mentioned.

So what do people think? Here are a couple of photos of mine.

I have been wearing them for years. They were common in the 60s - the French like them too but not so popular in the UK. I buy mine (I prefer silk to wool) from T M Lewin or Hilditch and Key but other Jermyn Street, London shirt makers also sell them.

Matt your taste is such that you don't need to ask what others think

[M. A. C. Newsome]

I notice a lot of knit ties are square bottomed. I can get them either straight or with pointed tips from House of Cheviot.

To me, the straight bottom reminds me more of the 80s style, while the pointed tip looks more contemporary. Other thoughts?

[M. A. C. Newsome]

Here you go

Bias knit tie pattern

They also have a pattern to knit a bow tie, but I think it is less successful. . .

Thanks for posting that, I'll have to share with my wife!

[Macman]

Matt, I think your tie looks great and is appropriate with kilted attire. I remember wearing a knit tie (straight bottom) with battle dress and kilt in my army reserve days, so there's an historical precedent for it.

[madmacs]

Not for me... Woven yes, knit no...

I think however that is more of an aesthetic thing for me... I think it would probably look better with a more "country" style outfit rather than a black argyll though...

[Tobus]

Heh, like others have stated, I haven't worn a knit tie since the 1980s. I have thought about them off and on throughout the years, but there were two things I absolutely hated about them:

1. The square bottoms. Sounds like that may no longer be an issue if you can get them with a pointed bottom.

2. They S-T-R-E-T-C-H !!! I like a nice, tight knot. And knit ties always seemed to give me a huge bulky knot because I couldn't really tighten them up without distorting the knit material way out of shape. And I imagine that part of this problem is the increased friction of a knitted material, as opposed to woven.

That said, I do think it looks sharp when worn with tweed and tucked into a waistcoat. I might have to consider knit ties again. Yours looks grand, Matt!

[Father Bill]

I have several from the days when I still wore ties, and I love them. My 60s ties are square bottom. My one 80s tie is pointed. I prefer square just because it's different.

[BCAC]

Personally I think they look HORRIBLE, but to each his own. Better a knit tie than no tie, I suppose.

[tyger]

Matt, I wear those kind of ties all the time with my shooting shirts. The look is real snappy.