Winter is here, which means it’s officially scarf season. Months of cold weather provide the perfect opportunity to cycle through your scarf collection, whether it’s stocked with chunky knits or classic cashmere. But of course, this season does present one tangled dilemma: how to tie the scarf.
You might scoff at the simplicity of the question, but I’ve wrestled with my fair share of bunched-up, twisted, or loosey-goosey scarves, and it’s an even bigger drag in a bulky, arm-mobility-reducing winter coat. Luckily, the good ol’ internet has offered a solution to my tricky scarf situation, and it might help you, too.
After discovering this elegant way to tie a winter scarf, I don’t think I’ll ever return to my former ways again. Prepare to level up your outerwear game for good.
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To make the most of this scarf-tying hack, it’s best to use a scarf with a bit of extra length. If you can fold the scarf in half, drape it on your neck, and have equal lengths across either shoulder, reaching near or below the armpit, the scarf is long enough. Additionally, this will only work with traditional two-ended scarves (sorry, infinity scarf lovers).
Now on to the fun part.
To recreate this look at home, drape the scarf (unfolded) across your neck. Leave one side short, around chest-level, and let the rest of the length fall to the other side. Then, tuck the hand on the shorter side over the longer scarf tail, palm side down.
Using the hand on the longer side, hold the end of the longer scarf tail while the hand you just tucked pulls the scarf toward the shorter side. At this point, you’ll have a portion of the longer scarf tail in front of you. Pull that part of the scarf behind your neck.
This should create a loop around the hand on the shorter side. Next, grab both tails of the scarf with your free hand and raise them to the one with the loop. Using your looped hand, grab the scarf tails and pull them through the loop.
The result is an elegant, double-tied scarf that lays wider across the chest for a fuller, more luxurious look. And because it’s actually draped around the neck twice, it’s cozier and more secure than a traditional one-loop tie.
And there you have it: an easy way to revamp your scarves and stay snug through scarf season—er, winter.
