I found this white paper very interesting when I ran across it years ago; YMMV.
I struggled to keep my shoes tied for as long as I can remember. I’d wind up having to double knot em, then I’d be too impatient to untie them, now I’ve got slip-ons…OK, but (k)not ideal. I came across this paper and, looking down, realized I had been doing it wrong. Just pay attention to how your knot sits. If it tends to lie horizontally (parallel to the floor) you’re good to go. If it sits vertically (perpendicular to the floor) you’ve tied a granny knot and whipping and inertia will pull it loose all the time.
The fix is simple: change nothing about how you tie your shoes EXCEPT switch which lace is on top when you make the first half knot.
I was doing left over right, switched it to right over left. Loop up the right, floop the left over the top. Granny knot transforms in beautiful strong reef knot. Glorious. It felt unnatural at first, but after two weeks it was as easy and simple as could be.
(K)not too long afterwards I discovered a modified shoelace knot that upped my game even further. I’ll share that in another post.
This is very true and very common.
Many people use a granny knot, because it’s essentially the same motion twice. However, a square knot is much more secure and looks neater as well.
I highly recommend Ian’s Shoelace Site for more fun shoe-related info and products.
Wow I forgot about that website! I came across it as a kid and still tie my shoes with the Ian knot. Wayy faster than tying it any other way
Yes! Ian’s secure shoelace knot is my go-to. Great site.
With regard to the tendency to tie a granny knot, I’m not even sure its from people using the same motion…once you advance past “two bunny ears” to the “swoop and push” it’s hard to tell what exactly is going on, which side is over which. I knew how to tie a proper square knot well before I realized I wasn’t tying a square knot in my laces. I just had to sit down and pay attention to figure it out which is a lot more thought than most people want to put into tying their shoes.