As is the case with most items of clothing, your tie collection will need the occasional de-crease if you want to dress to your best. After all, you want onlookers to be complementing your ensemble or the pattern of your tie, not picking holes in your outfit or commenting on your cravat looking more like a crinkled sheet of crate paper.
The thing is, ties are delicate little things, and you should only iron them when completely necessary after all other options have been exhausted. The reason for this? The harsh heat of a standard iron can very quickly burn and damage your ties, especially if they’re of the woollen, silk or polyester variety.
To keep your prized ties in pristine condition, our expert Ties R Us team have compiled a handy list of tips on how to remove creases from ties and pocket squares – safely and successfully!
Tip #1
Hang your tie or ties on a clothes hanger or clothes rail. It pays to ensure that the cupboard or wardrobe is well-ventilated, after all, you don’t want any moisture and dampness damaging your neckties.
We recommend leaving the ties to hang for at least two days, in which time many if not all of the creases should disappear naturally without the use of heat.
Tip #2
If the hands-off approach of letting your ties hang doesn’t produce the right results, try using steam power.
There are a couple of ways to get rid of creases in your ties using steam, the first (and cheapest) method is to hang your ties in the bathroom while taking a hot shower. Place the ties far enough away from the shower so as not to get wet, the heat and steam produced from your shower should then work out those troublesome wrinkles in no time.
Secondly, you can use a steam cleaner. There are fairly inexpensive models out there to purchase, or if you’ve got a bulk of garments and accessories to go through you can even hire one. Hold the steam cleaner lightly against the fabric of your ties and move the nozzle up and down the length of the tie until it’s crease-free.
Tip #3
Simply rolling up your tie can also free your accessories of troublesome creases and wrinkles. We suggest rolling up the narrowest end of your tie to the widest point, then leave the rolled-up tie to rest for 24 to 48 hours.
If you’re experienced some issues with unravelling, secure the end of the roll with your trusty tie pin or a hair grip or paper clip if you’ve not got a tie pin to hand.
Tip #4
If all of the above fails, it could be time to resort to your iron – but don’t do so without taking the correct precautions. We must stress that you should only iron out creases if absolutely necessary, get things wrong and your tie could quickly become toast!
This is especially true of delicate silk ties, while you should also exercise caution concerning polyester and wool too. Always check the label of the tie for the recommended iron heat setting, you’ll need a cool setting for polyester and silk and a medium setting for wool ties.
We recommend placing a clean white towel or cloth over the ironing board to ensure you tie doesn’t pick up and dirt or discolouration from the board itself; iron the tie with the rear-facing side up, working your way up the fabric from top to bottom while allowing the steam from the iron to further work out those unwanted wrinkles.
If you’re searching for more handy tips, how to’s and style guides, visit our Ties R Us blog page and follow us over on Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest.
