A long time ago I saw an article where they described a new way to tie one’s necktie, a one-and-a-half Windsor. You start with the tie upside down (seam showing) and go from there. I’d like to know how to do that…does anyone know?
How many Windsors do we need, anyway? 
I tie a 1.5-windsor on a pretty regular basis. I’m going to refer to the skinny and wide ends of your tie, and your left and right hands. Locate these before we start.
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Thread the skinny end of your tie into the right half of your collar. Adjust the length so that the skinny end is roughly down by your navel. The wide end should be near your right hand.
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Take the skinny end and hold it out away from you (think Dilbert, but more extreme – should extend nearly straight forward) with your left hand. Lay the wide end (right side up) across the skinny end and pointing to your left. There should be very little slack. Let the wide end drop. It should now be hanging down the front of your shirt; the left hand should still be holding the skinny end.
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Reach your right hand under the skinny end and pull the wide end semi-taut, then bring it to the right under the skinny end, then toss the wide end to the left, over your left shoulder. There should be a vaguely triangular shape forming near your collar.
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Still holding the skinny end in your left hand, bring your right hand under the skinny end and up to your left collarbone. Leave your palm open, and use your thumb like a needle to “thread” the upper portion of the wide end up between your collar and the nascent knot. When it’s far enough through to stay there on its own, release it, bring your right hand out from under it, and come in with the right hand from above to pull it up and through. Let it fall to the left.
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Right hand under skinny end from the right; pull the dangling wide end downward to tighten the vague triangle into shape.
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Leading with the underside of the wide end, use your right hand to pull the wide end down, then right, then up, then over the nascent knot. Let it drop down to the left once it’s come up and over.
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Again, reach the right hand under the skinny end from the right to tug gently downward and straighten out the maturing knot.
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Thread the point of the wide end UP through the hole between collar and knot; on the way up, underside should face out.
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Before pulling wide end completely through the hole, make the tip “dive” (so that the upper side now faces out) and thread it under the arch formed by the top-most (forward-most) piece of the knot – the portion of the knot you made in step 6. You’re completing the knot now; do what “looks right” and you’ll probably be right.
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Release the skinny end and grip the knot with your left hand. With your right hand, take the tip of the wide end and pull it through the little arch (referenced above in step 6 and 9), then give a long slow tug. A few light jerks on the wide end will tighten the shape of the knot, and then, while holding the knot between forefinger and thumb, the skinny end can be used to adjust the tension around your neck.
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Check a mirror to ensure the short end isn’t poking out from underneath; if so, start again with the skinny end higher up your body. If wide end extends past your belt buckle, start over with the skinny end lower down your torso.
With practice you can make steps 2-5 pretty sharp, and leave 6 just sloppy enough to make threading it easy in step 9. Work on getting the knot right, then perfect the shape and tension later.
I have omitted step (5b).
5b) With the right hand, bring the wide end under, to the right, up, and over, but let it drop down between the knot and your collar (into the top of the “Y” shape you’re creating). Tighten slightly by pulling the wide end left. Proceed with (6).
Jurph
a) You Rawk!
b) Do you, by any chance, write user documentation for a living?
Jurph and rowrrbazzle have now shown us that a picture, while not necessarily worth 1K words, is quite useful in some circumstances.
Thanks all!