Submitted by LovableButterfly t3_11dhady in LifeProTips
I 24 (F) do a lot of walking around the job. Problem is my shoes always become untied every 30 minutes, even if I double tie them. It doesn’t help that I’m also flat footed and need the support.
Any LPT’s that came stop my shoes from untying all the time?
YES THIS! lifechanging
Instructions unclear, unmentionables now caught in a chinese finger trap like noose.
I’m not OP but thank you!! Can’t wait to try this and see how it goes
I use this method and it really works!
Is there a video you can link to which shows this? In text it’s difficult to understand
There is a Ted talk to show you how to correctly tie your shoes. My shoes has never untied ever again. https://youtu.be/zAFcV7zuUDA
Guys please watch this video. It is the SOLUTION to the shoes lace problem.
I only can add to the video this: a shoes lace knot is two parts. The first twist between the laces and the knot itself. To have the video results you have to mirror one of them
Huh. Turns out I've been accidentally doing it right my whole life. I can't even remember the last time my shoes came untied without me intending them too.
One of the first short TED talks, and actually extremely useful.
So bummed that TED has just become an Uber rich circle jerk.
I thought of this video immediately when OP detailed their problem! Total game changer!
Make a square knot.
When you initially cross the laces to make the first knot note which lace was on top. Did you tie right over left or left over right. Then for the 2nd knot with loops do the opposite.
For example if the first knot was left over right then the 2nd knot should be right over left.
This is the correct answer. I no longer double knot when I do this trick. I learned how to properly tie my shoes at like 25 and it was a life changer. For anyone reading, itll be easier to look up on YouTube what were talking about. In ELI5 language, have the bunny go the other way around the tree.
If you put tension on the knot(pull your shoe open a bit), the wrong way to tie it will have the bows will want to go parallel with the length of the shoe, if it's the correct way it will want to go perpendicular to the length of your shoe
Yeah it's a stronger knot AND it's more symmetric with the shoe.
Right over left, left over right, makes a knot that's tidy and tight
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I was in my 40s when I learned that I had been tying my shoe wrong my entire life. This is the correct answer.
>for the 2nd knot with loops do the opposite
I was depressingly far along in life before I knew about this. Like OP, I essentially didn't know how to tie my shoelaces, and didn't know that I didn't know.
Here's a web site entirely about this topic: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm
Switch to elastic no-tie shoelaces
I have them in my high top Converse shoes. And sneaker
I put these in all my sneakers. Game changer.
Three part improvement over a standard overhand bow:
u/evoic's good idea - two passes for the overhand knot instead of one. When you cinch that down it will actually stay put. This is called a surgeon's knot and it's LPT in all sorts of situations.
Make the bow the opposite way of the overhand knot. This turns the whole thing into a square knot. The end result is the bow "ears" hanging pretty, too.
When you go around your bow "ear", do that twice. The double bow will hold a lot better.
Get oval shoelaces, not flat and certainly not round. Make sure that both knots, the first and the second are very snug.
Have you tried wetting the knot? Just a few drops right after you tie them. Works with my grand kids’ shoes.
Use the Ian's Shoelace Knot - I've been using it for the past 8+ years since I first learnt it and it had served my very well - https://youtu.be/_O-xaJrao1w
There's others stronger ones, but this should suffice for now, considering it's also technically the "fastest" Knot to do (of course, with practice)
I actualy do the "ian knot" from elementary school because someday I had forgoten how to knot my laces and came up with this.
But you can not see the problem because you are lucky and you make your shoes laces NOT mirrored.
The solution is posted from u/Bk758 above. Video
I can only add that someone has to mirror the knot OR the first.
I bought these elastic laces to replace my regular laces. They have a plastic piece that slides to tighten. I don’t ever need adjust them because the stretch allows for them to easily be slipped on and off. They are called LockLaces on Amazon.
This is the answer. I use these on most of my shoes and boots and the combination of the elastic and the spring-loaded slide make them easy to put on, easy to tighten (at any point), and easy to take off plus you never have to worry that your shoe will become untied.
Definitely a must for anyone. You'll never want to have shoes without them again.
double knot, you won't have to tie your shoes again for months
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Yes! This!! Ian also calls this a Surgeon's Knot; done it on my shoes for truly ages, and taught it to some girls on my DD's rec-league sports teams. Matchless.
Try putting different shoe laces in your shoes
Square knot. Not bunny ears
Knot the loops after tieing your shoes. I've done this since middle school. TIL it's called Shoe Clerk's Knot
If you struggle with this, tie your shoes the other way. Like, flip which is over and under. Symptoms of tying the knoy backwards are laces sitting vertically instead of perpendicular
Or just double knot em
Professor Shoelace will help you.
I like his Ian knot
Just do a double knot. Tie your shoes up and then do one more with the loops.
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Get those shoes with 2 big Velcro straps
Put a safety pin through, or tie a knot
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There are many different ways to lace shoes. I found one I like where the ties end up inside the shoe and I just treat them like slip-ons. Just search youtube or Google you should be able to find something that works for you good luck!
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You're using the wrong knot. There was a tedx talk about this. If your shoe loops are HORIZONTAL then you're tying them correctly. IF they are cockeyed, or slanted you are tying your shoes with the wrong knot.
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You need to do the X part differently, or the loop part differently. IE: If you currently place the right string on the bottom of your X you want to put the left string on the bottom. Then tie it normally. Bet it doesn't untie.
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After looping it once, I drag the lace under the X of the criss-crossed lace on top of the shoe. The lace is then kept immobile by its own squeezed self atop it
From TED Talks: https://youtu.be/73BbtDHCbpA?t=71
Have you tried waxed laces? They stay tied longer. Or go to a Chelsea style shoe/boot
Loop it twice around to make the bow, instead of once. My shoelaces have never untied themselves since I learned that
Google an Ian knot, and a granny knot. Ian is what you want, granny is not.
Spray them with hair spray before you tie them.
One option you could try is to use a pair of locking laces. These laces are designed to keep your shoes securely tied, and they come in a variety of colors and styles to match any outfit. You can also purchase elastic laces, which are designed to stretch and move with your feet while still staying securely tied.
Buy kinky laces that are made to stay tied
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Hickies, or other no-tie elastic shoelaces. They were originally for triathaloners, so they could slip their shoes on quickly. But I have used them for years, after being unable to tie my shoes after having thumb surgery. I never went back to regular laces. So convenient to slip my shoes on and off.
No one has mentioned bar lacing.
Tuck the loops under one of the other crossed laces. Been working for me for more than forty years.
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There's a ted talk on this. Yes, really.
The trick is how the bow lines up on the shoe after you're done --you want it to be perpendicular to the length of the show, not parallel. If the bow is running parallel to your shoe, then there are two solutions. Either
Only change one of these things (if you change both, the changes will cancel each-other out), and the bow will now line up perpendicular to the shoe and come undone less often.
I like other ideas here but personally I like to use a method that removes loops and tying altogether. You basically end up with two ends as drawstrings where you pull them up to loosen and pull them down and out to tighten. It uses two moving knots and never come undone. Great especially for walking boots or if like me your hands get mechanically slow when cold. Works with gloves in etc. Sorry I can't recall the name of the method though. I'm sure a little googling or YouTube search will find it.
Gravity. Learn different methods of double tying, there is surely one that works.
This is where we are at now. Teaching people how to tie their shoes. Idiocracy was a documentary.
evoic t1_ja8m7df wrote
OH! super easy fix. When you make the first loop, take the other lace and loop it TWICE instead of just once. Your shoelaces will never come untied again. I played baseball for years and my laces would come undone and my coach showed me this method. It has worked for me for 35+ years since I learned and I use it for everything.....sweatpants, shoes, hoodies, anything with laces. Good luck!