Suit and Tie Drawing: Lapels, Knot and Figure Construction

Object Drawing Lessons

This guide teaches a reliable method for drawing a suit and tie on a standing figure. You will construct the jacket opening, lapels, collar, and tie knot using simple measured shapes, then check proportions with a small set of arithmetic rules. The convention is explicit: x-height is measured from baseline to midline of lowercase letters, and letter styles vary, so treat all lettering as a guide rather than a fixed template. All numerical values below are hypothetical examples chosen for clarity; measure your own paper and tools before relying on any number. The approach separates figure construction from garment detail so you can adjust one without losing the other.

Practice materials: Printable downloads are not available for this lesson yet. Use the instructions and four exercises below.

Set the figure and jacket opening

Begin with a vertical center line for the standing figure. Mark the crown, chin, shoulder line, waist, and knee. A common proportional guide is that the head fits about seven and a half times into the total figure height; treat this as a hypothetical example and adjust to your subject. Draw the shoulder line slightly wider than the head width, then taper to the waist.

The jacket opening is a narrow V from the collar to the top button. Place the top button at roughly two-thirds of the way from the shoulder line to the waist. Draw the V symmetrically around the center line. This V is the anchor for both lapels and the tie.

Keep the figure outline light so garment lines can sit on top. Check that the shoulder line is level and that the center line passes through the chin, sternum, and top button.

1. Draw a vertical center line and mark crown, chin, shoulder, waist, and knee.
2. Draw the shoulder line and taper the torso to the waist.
3. Mark the top button on the center line at about two-thirds from shoulder to waist.
4. Draw a symmetrical V from the collar point to the top button.

Build the lapels and collar

Lapels are two mirrored shapes that meet at the collar and open toward the button. Start with the notch lapel: from the collar point, draw a short horizontal notch, then angle down to the button. The lapel width at the chest is a design choice; a hypothetical example is one-third of the shoulder width. Mirror the shape on the other side.

The collar sits behind the lapels and wraps the neck. Draw a narrow band from the back of the neck to the collar point, keeping it slightly higher than the lapel notch. The tie knot will sit just below the collar point, so leave a small gap.

Check symmetry by measuring the horizontal distance from the center line to each lapel edge at the same height. They should match within a small tolerance you choose, such as two millimeters on your actual paper.

1. From the collar point, draw a short notch and angle down to the top button.
2. Mirror the lapel on the opposite side.
3. Draw the collar band from the back of the neck to the collar point.
4. Measure left and right lapel widths at the same height and adjust for symmetry.

Construct the tie knot and tie body

The tie knot is a small trapezoid or triangle sitting below the collar point. Draw its top edge just under the collar, its sides angling inward, and its bottom edge narrower than the top. A hypothetical example is a knot width of one-third the collar width and a height of half the knot width. These are starting values only.

From the knot's bottom edge, draw the tie body as two lines that widen slightly toward the waist. The tie should stay centered on the figure's center line. Add a subtle taper so the tie reads as fabric rather than a flat stripe.

Check the knot by comparing its width to the collar width and its height to the gap between collar and top button. If the knot looks too large, reduce both dimensions proportionally.

1. Draw the knot top edge just below the collar point.
2. Angle the knot sides inward and close with a narrower bottom edge.
3. Draw the tie body from the knot bottom toward the waist, centered on the figure.
4. Compare knot width to collar width and adjust proportionally.

Refine edges and verify the whole drawing

Darken the final jacket outline, lapel edges, collar, and tie. Keep construction lines light or erase them. Add a simple shirt collar visible inside the jacket V, and a small shirt triangle above the tie knot if your design includes one.

Verify the figure by checking that the top button sits on the center line, the lapels mirror each other, and the tie knot is centered. Use a ruler to measure the left and right lapel widths at the chest and the knot width at its top edge.

Because letter styles vary, any handwritten labels should follow the stated x-height convention: measure from baseline to midline. Do not treat a single lettering style as the only correct answer; the rubric rewards consistent, legible labeling rather than one fixed style.

1. Darken final garment lines and remove or lighten construction lines.
2. Add shirt collar details inside the jacket V.
3. Measure lapel symmetry and knot centering with a ruler.
4. Label key points using the baseline-to-midline x-height convention.

Worked example

A figure is 180 millimeters tall on paper. The shoulder line is 40 millimeters wide. The top button is placed at two-thirds of the distance from shoulder to waist, and the waist is 90 millimeters below the shoulder. Where is the top button, and what is a hypothetical lapel width at the chest if it is one-third of the shoulder width?

Four practice exercises

Common mistakes

• Drawing the jacket V too wide, which makes the lapels look like a bathrobe. Narrow the V so the top button sits closer to the center line, then redraw the lapels from the collar point to the button.
• Making the tie knot larger than the collar width. Reduce the knot's top width to about one-third of the collar width, then adjust height proportionally.
• Letting the tie drift off the center line. Re-measure the distance from the tie edges to the center line at the knot and at the waist; they should match.
• Drawing lapels as flat rectangles without a notch. Add the short horizontal notch at the collar point and angle the lapel down to the button.

Self-check rubric

• Figure center line passes through chin, sternum, and top button.
• Jacket V is narrow and symmetrical around the center line.
• Lapels include a notch and mirror each other within a chosen tolerance.
• Collar band sits behind the lapels and above the tie knot.
• Tie knot is centered, sits below the collar, and is proportionally related to collar width.
• Tie body stays centered and tapers consistently.
• Final lines are clean and construction lines are light or removed.
• Labels, if used, follow the baseline-to-midline x-height convention and are legible; alternative letter styles are acceptable.

Questions and answers