Look at your feet. Seriously, right now. If your laces are sitting vertically across your shoe rather than lying flat and horizontal, you’re walking around with a "granny knot." It’s the most common mistake in the world. Most of us learned how to tie our shoes when we were four years old from a parent who was probably just trying to get us out the door so they wouldn't be late for work. We never questioned it. But the physics of how we secure our footwear actually matters, especially if you're a runner, a hiker, or just someone tired of their laces coming undone every twenty minutes.
There are actually dozens of different ways to tie shoes, ranging from the purely aesthetic to the hyper-functional.
Physics is the culprit here. A study led by mechanical engineers at UC Berkeley, specifically researchers like Christopher Daily-Diamond and Oliver O’Reilly, used high-speed cameras to show that the impact of your foot hitting the ground loosens the knot, while the swinging of your leg pulls the laces apart. It’s a literal mechanical assault on your shoes. If you use a weak knot, it stands no chance.
The Strong Version of the Standard Knot
Most people use the "bunny ears" method or the "loop, swoop, and pull." The difference between a knot that stays and one that fails is incredibly subtle. It’s all about the direction of the first wrap.
If you start with a left-over-right base, you must wrap the loop in a specific direction to create what’s known as a square knot or a reef knot. When the loops sit perpendicular to the length of the shoe, it’s secure. If they twist to sit parallel with the shoe, you’ve made a granny knot. It’s a slip-up in symmetry. Basically, if your bow keeps turning sideways, just switch the direction of your very first "over-under" cross.
It sounds trivial. It isn't. A square knot is structurally sound because the tension of the laces actually pulls the knot tighter as you move. The granny knot does the opposite. It actually works itself loose with every step.
💡 You might also like: Wire brush for cleaning: What most people get wrong about choosing the right bristles
The Ian Knot: The World’s Fastest Way to Tie Shoes
Ian Fieggen, known globally as "Professor Shoelace," is the undisputed authority on this stuff. He’s spent decades cataloging hundreds of variations. His "Ian Knot" is a game-changer if you’re a person who values efficiency.
You’ve gotta try this. You make two loops, one with each hand, and pull them through each other simultaneously. It’s lightning fast. Once you get the muscle memory down—which takes about ten minutes of frustrating practice—you can tie your shoes in under a second. It produces the exact same result as a standard square knot but bypasses all the slow "looping around the finger" nonsense.
Most people give up on the Ian Knot because it feels "fidgety" at first. Don't. It’s the most elegant solution to a daily chore ever invented.
High-Performance Variations for Athletes
If you're a marathon runner or a triathlete, you aren't just worried about the knot coming undone. You're worried about "heel slip" and "lace bite." This is where the Heel Lock (or Runner’s Loop) comes in.
Ever notice those extra eyelets at the very top of your sneakers? The ones that seem too high up to be useful? Those are for the Heel Lock.
📖 Related: Images of Thanksgiving Holiday: What Most People Get Wrong
- You thread the lace back into the same side to create a small loop.
- You cross the laces over and pull them through those loops.
- This cinches the collar of the shoe around your ankle without tightening the rest of the shoe.
It’s a literal lifesaver for preventing blisters. If your foot slides even a millimeter inside your shoe during a long run, that friction turns into a wound. The Heel Lock stops it cold.
Then there’s the surgeon’s knot. This is for the hikers. When you’re going downhill with a heavy pack, your feet want to slide forward into the toe box. That’s how you lose a toenail. By adding an extra twist (a double wrap) at the "kink" of the ankle before finishing the bow, you create a friction point that prevents the lower laces from loosening while you tie the top. It’s rock solid.
Dealing with Foot Pain and Anatomy
Different ways to tie shoes aren't just about security; they’re about medical necessity. People with high arches often suffer from pressure on the top of the foot.
Basically, if you have a "hot spot" or a bump on the top of your foot, you should try Gap Lacing. You literally just skip an eyelet where the pain is. Instead of crossing the laces over that sensitive area, you run them vertically along the side of the shoe to the next hole. It looks a bit weird, but the relief is instant.
Wide-footers often benefit from Parallel Lacing (also called Lydiard Lacing or Straight Bar Lacing). This relieves the diagonal pressure across the metatarsals. It’s less "stretchy" than standard criss-cross lacing, which sounds counterintuitive, but it allows the sides of the shoe to spread more naturally.
👉 See also: Why Everyone Is Still Obsessing Over Maybelline SuperStay Skin Tint
The Aesthetic and the Unusual
Sometimes you just want your shoes to look cool. Or maybe you're dealing with kids who haven't mastered the fine motor skills yet.
Checkerboard lacing is a classic for Vans and Converse. It uses two different colored laces—one horizontal and one woven vertically through the horizontal ones. You don't even tie it; you tuck the ends into the shoe. It’s not great for running a 5K, but for walking around a mall? It’s a vibe.
For those who genuinely hate tying, the Better Bow or the Double Slip Knot is the way to go. It’s basically a standard knot where you wrap the loop twice instead of once. It’s a bit bulkier, but it’s essentially "permanent" until you manually pull it apart.
Beyond the String: Tying Materials Matter
We rarely talk about the laces themselves. Round, polyester laces are the absolute worst. They’re slick. They have no "bite." If you find your shoes coming undone regardless of the knot you use, swap them for flat, cotton laces. The increased surface area and the natural friction of the cotton fibers act like a mechanical brake.
Waxed laces, common in dress shoes and hockey skates, take this even further. The wax creates a "tackiness" that holds the tension exactly where you set it.
Why Does This Actually Matter?
It seems small. It’s just shoes, right? But think about the cumulative time spent re-tying or the physical cost of a poorly fitted boot. Whether it's the Ian Knot for speed, the Heel Lock for safety, or Gap Lacing for comfort, these small adjustments change your relationship with the ground.
Most of our footwear problems aren't caused by the shoes we buy, but by how we choose to secure them to our bodies.
Actionable Steps to Improve Your Lacing Today
- Check your knot symmetry: Tie your shoes right now. If the bow sits "up and down," you’re using a granny knot. Change the direction of your first cross-over to fix it.
- Audit your pain: If you feel pinching on the top of your foot, use gap lacing. Skip the eyelet directly over the sore spot.
- Secure your heels: If you're a runner, use those "extra" holes. The Heel Lock prevents the friction that causes 90% of running-related blisters.
- Test the Ian Knot: Spend five minutes on YouTube looking at Professor Shoelace’s Ian Knot. It’s a frustrating five minutes, but it’ll save you hours over the rest of your life.
- Swap the laces: If you have round, synthetic laces that constantly slip, buy a pair of flat cotton laces. It’s a $4 upgrade that makes a massive difference.