Neck accessories such as bow ties need extra care if your goal is to keep them in good condition for as long as possible. There are various things you can do to keep your bow tie looking great, with the first being tying it.
Storing your bow tie
Storing your bow tie is fairly simple.
- For silk ties, roll them up to store away since silk is more likely to fall off of a hanger and get ruined.
- For cotton and wool bow ties, hang them on a hanger to keep their shape and any wrinkles will fade naturally.
- All ties should be cleaned annualy.
Pressing/ironing your bow tie
When it comes to pressing your silk bow ties, always start with the neckband to test and see if the fabric dye is going to run because this part of the bow tie is not visible when worn. With most bow ties, you should be able to keep the iron fairly hot with steam. Never press down too hard. Try to let the steam do most of the work. When ironing repps and woven bow ties, turn the steam off and just use the hot iron. Always start out with the least amount of pressure, only increasing it if needed. As for man-made fibers like polyester, turn the heat way down or else you could melt the fibers. For darker colors, especially navy, hard pressing is bound to leave a sheen on the fabric. To avoid this, lift the iron slightly away from the fabric and use the steam alone to relax the fibers. This will usually remove most, if not all, of the wrinkles. If, however, the steam alone doesn’t do it, try taking a clean handkerchief, t-shirt, or any other white piece of cloth and place it over the bow tie you’re planning on ironing. The extra layer prevents sheen and allows you to press down harder without harming the bow tie.
Pruning your bow tie
Another less talked about way of keeping your bow ties in great shape is called Pruning. Pruning is for when you have worn your bow tie a lot and when you have a cleanly shaven, but prickly face, causing hairs of silk to pop up from the seams of your bow tie. You’ll need two tools for this, a pair of finger scissors and a gas cigarette lighter. Two steps are involved. The first is pruning the hairs off of the bow tie. To do this, take the scissors and lightly prune the edges. Cut the hairs as close to the fabric as possible without cutting it. The second and last step to pruning is to singe the remaining hairs. Once pruned, run the flame of the lighter along the edges of the seam. If hairs have popped up along the center of the bow, flame its main body. Be careful to place the flame close enough to singe the hairs, but not so close as to burn the tie.
Washing a bow tie
With that, the last, but maybe most important part of keeping your bow tie in great shape is how you wash it. The first thing you always want to do is wipe it off with a clean handkerchief without rubbing. Then slightly soak the clean handkerchief in cold water and a small amount of soap. Using chemicals is not advised, as they will fade and/or stain the bow tie. Never wash a bow tie in the washing machine. This will make it fall apart. If you can find a trustworthy quality dry cleaner, that is usually your best bet. Always ask them how they wash things like ties and bow ties before you trust them to wash yours.
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