I only realized in my 30s that I had been tying my shoelaces wrong my whole life and a super minor change in my method has changed them from coming undone multiple times per day (unless double knotted), to instead staying tied the whole day with just a standard shoelace knot [0] (also on Ian's site).

This article's web page actually has the essential note:

> NOTE: If your finished knot comes out crooked (eg. loops pointing heel-to-toe), it's probably because you tie your Starting Knot the opposite way to mine. This will result in an un-balanced knot, which sits crooked and comes undone more easily. See my Granny Knot page for more information.

Back when I still used to browse Imgur, there was a post illustrating how to identify and fix this easy to make mistake. It turns out that I was starting with the lace left-over-right as opposed to right-over-left (or vice-versa, not sure off-hand).

This quite literally changed my life, just a small muscle memory tweak and now my laces easily stay tied the whole day with a regular knot which is also super easy to release as well.

[0]: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/standardknot.htm

Edit:

I see he has a page dedicated to this mistake here: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm

▲

kenmacd 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

Learning this has also changed my life, but maybe not for the better. Now every time I see someone I know and their shoes are tied in a granny knot I have to waste a bunch of calories deciding if they'd appreciate me telling them.

▲

sholladay 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

I encounter this all the time, I just want to help people and pass along things I’ve learned but it’s not always received well. For sure, many adults would not want to be told how to tie their shoelaces.

My only advice is to start by approaching the problem. “Hey, do your shoelaces come untied often?”

▲

nunez an hour ago | parent | prev | next [-]

OMG same!

It's like when you learn how to roll up headphone wires or properly clean glasses.

The temptation to do it for others (and get rejected) is way too high.

	▲	calmbonsai 7 minutes ago \| parent \| next [-]
		The thing about many of the "proper" headphone roll-ups is they are dependent on a particular level of minimum bending radius, tension tolerance, and elastic deformation in the cords. To put it more simply, many of them will simply ruin your headphones if they're done with reasonable frequency. For thin earbud type cords, just coil them loosely in a small plastic bag or use a loose bundle secured with a broad velcro strap.
	▲	itintheory 19 minutes ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		Gonna need a description of the correct way to do these things. I have a feeling I'll be one of today's lucky 10,000.
	▲	garettmd 43 minutes ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		Please explain. I want to know if I'm doing those 2 things correctly...

▲

gcanyon 24 minutes ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> deciding if they'd appreciate me telling them

This is me daily.

▲

dieselgate 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I've been using Ian's for the past few months since it was last posted here. It's quite good to the point I prefer it but wouldn't say it's changed my life.

▲

jonathanlydall 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I have this problem too!

It could make their lives so much better, but kind of awkward to broach. Perhaps sholladay‘s advice will work well.

▲

kgwxd 2 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Don't tell them. Just use the information to silently judge everything they say or do, and have ever said or done. It's gotten me where I am today.

▲

twodave 4 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

I tried writing a similar comment. Yours is much clearer. This 100%. As a runner I used to have to re-tie multiple times per run. I corrected my mistake with this same fix probably a decade ago and haven’t had a loose shoelace since.

▲

zimpenfish 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Back when I was running, I used the "lace lock" method[0] because a loose heel would drive me to distraction (and because I wore clown shoes with wide toe boxes, there's no pressure from the front to keep the foot stable.)

[0] e.g. https://www.coachweb.com/gear/running-gear/heel-lock-lacing-...

	▲	twodave 3 hours ago \| parent [-]
		For sure. I've taken to using a similar method over the last couple of years as I've increased miles and needed to take steps (ha) to take better care of my feet over longer distances. I wouldn't recommend this setup for more active sports with lots of change of direction, but for steady plodding it provides a very consistent and dependable stride for a lot of miles.

▲

alt227 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

> coming undone multiple times per day (unless double knotted)

You have bad laces. I thought this too before I tried different laces. Turns out different tensions and elasticities give different strengths of knots.

For example I have some military boots which came with slightly stretchy laces. They NEVER come undone, ever. They were the first pair that switched me on to this, and since then I have always bought laces with slight stretch to them, and the knots always stay done up.

In contrast when you buy a pair of fashion trainers, the laces in them are usually terrible and come undone several times per day as you have noted.

▲

jonathanlydall an hour ago | parent | next [-]

No, it had absolutely nothing to do with the quality of the laces.

It was because I was essentially tying a granny knot instead of a reef knot and anyone who knows anything about knots would realize that of course they would keep coming undone.

And for the record, since learning how to tie the correct knot (over 10 years ago now), I’ve had no problem with laces that have come with any of the following brands of shoes:

- Nike

- New Balance

- Asics

- Converse

- Vans

▲

rdudek 2 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

Do you have a brand of those laces? The original ones on my Brooks runnign shoes are usually pretty good, but overtime they start getting more loose.

▲

Arch-TK an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

I mean, yes, the lace quality is important too. But strictly speaking, not tying a granny knot will improve your results regardless of choice of lace.

	▲	calmbonsai 4 minutes ago \| parent [-]
		"On" brand running shoes have great laces for knot-holding, but they're so thin it's awkward to manipulate them to actually tie the knot in the first place.

▲

windward 3 hours ago | parent | prev | next [-]

>Right-over-left, left-over-right,

>Makes a knot both tidy and tight.

I think I'd find this harder to remember than the principle.

▲

jonathanlydall 2 hours ago | parent [-]

Before your muscle memory is updated, all you need to remember is how to “quality check” the knot when you’re done. If the loops are perpendicular, it’s wrong, they should be aligned with the laces.

If it landed up perpendicular, start over (i.e. the part before you make the loops) with doing the opposite of what you did before e.g. right-over-left rather than left-over-right.

For me it was very easy to fix the pre-loop stage, trying to change the loop stage seemed way harder to me as I was already so practiced at it.

	▲	xp84 2 hours ago \| parent [-]
		I do a similar quality check when tying a square knot (right over left, left over right but without the bows - probably the default knot for something you don't intend to ever untie and don't have a Scout's encyclopedic knowledge of more specialized knots) - since it doesn't have the bows, the quality check is that it should have a line of symmetry whereas if you repeat the same direction twice the finished knot is more of a spiral, having no line of symmetry.

▲

3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

[deleted]