FO: A Rye Tie for a Wood Pencil

I made another Rye tie last week. I’ve been pleasantly surprised at how many men I know want a hand knit tie once they’ve seen one.

This time though I made this tie for my friend Brian as a way to barter for one of his handmade wood pens for my husband.

Well in this case it was actually a black and white ebony wood mechanical pencil! Isn’t it beautiful? You may remember when Brian gifted me one of his first wood pens he had ever made. I keep it with a special journal I have at home because I don’t want it to get lost in my purse or someone walk away with it at work. Kendell already had a gorgeous pen (which he immediately took to work before I could even photograph it) but asked Brian if he could make a pencil to go with it and he could! Since Brian had already seen my knit ties he asked if I’d be willing to make him one as a trade for a pencil. Done!

And this time around I listened to what previous tie owners told me, that the tie needs a bar on the back to slip their ends through. I picked up a few stitches on the backside and was able to make a neat bar that you can’t notice from the front. I still had a full skein of Cascade Venezia Worsted in my stash that I like to use for these (this is the third tie I’ve made using this yarn) and Brian picked out this gorgeous deep green shade. This is a wool and silk blend that gives the tie a really great drape to it. I can’t wait to see him all dressed up with it, he’s a pretty dapper guy.

Reminder, this is a free tie pattern and I highly recommend you add it to your library. It’s a quick knit that you can make for any guy friend around the holidays. And if you’re interested in one of Brian’s handmade pens, check out his website.