Hand knitted ties of distinction
Penelope Cream designs true limited editions. Each and every one of her hand knitted ties differs slightly from the next. It is that hand craft that makes them unique. And of course the end wearer unique too. The colour ranges are inspired by her travels, conversations and love of textiles. Penelope Cream only use the finest and most beautiful use wool. Always hand-dyed in small batches by artisan dyers in Britain, Ireland, Scandinavia, Italy and beyond.
Penelope Cream is fascinated by colour and texture. And the way in which the two combine to unfurl and spill across the fabric of each stitch pattern. Since her very early childhood she has poured over fashion catalogues from the 1930s, and would carefully turn the fragile pages of her great-aunt’s knitting patterns that had been passed on to her mother.
Penelope Cream make ties that evoke memories. One man spoke of being a small boy watching his father knot his knitted tie every morning, another of his grandfather wearing his knitted tie to his architect’s practice each day. A third told her how he had nervously approached an eminent professor in New York after spending the whole lecture looking at his knitted tie and complimented him on his neckwear. The professor took off his tie and gave it to the man as a gift and he has it still apparently.
Traditional craft and a clean, pure design can evoke such nostalgia in people. They enjoy a nod to the past and invite a knowing glance from those who recognise the timelessness of good contemporary design. You can feel the heritage in them but with a sense of modernity.
All the production processes for Penelope Cream hand knitted ties are traditional, heritage techniques. There are no short cuts with a hand-knitted tie. Each skein of wool that selected is dyed in exquisite, saturated colours by the carefully selected studio dyers. No two skeins are the same and each tie is unique. Although the quality is guaranteed, each piece has its anomalies. Its mark of being truly original and entirely hand made. A knobble here, an unexpected splash of colour there. These are items for elegant men who truly appreciate individual style. They are selected by those with flair and with an understanding of the value of natural materials worked over time into an original item.