How to tie your shoes fast

A while ago, I learned an alternate method of tying my shoes by combining a few techniques. Compared to the traditional method usually taught, it's a lot faster and easier to teach. It's also fun to surprise people with how fast it is.

Tying shoes is boring. It's something that needs to be done daily, sometimes multiple times a day. A speed boost here helps get past the monotony and saves a lot of time in the long run.

I've been tying my shoes this way for at least 10 years now. It works. I'm certain they stay tied. So here it is.

I'm not going to omit important steps here like some other places do to make it look faster. Still, I'm certain you can finish in ten seconds flat.

1. Foundation (No Grannies)

Start with a good foundation. This is the step where you simply cross the laces over and pull them tight. It's the same as the standard shoelace knot.

However, be aware of what direction the laces cross in relation to the knot. If you use the wrong order, you could end up with a *granny knot*. A granny knot is bad because it forms a weaker bind, causing your laces to untie themselves far more easily. This is true no matter what shoe typing technique you use. Read the page here[1] for a more detailed description.

[1] Granny Knot

Basically, the foundation should cross over in one direction, while the knot should cross over in the opposite direction. When done correctly, the knot will sit straight across the shoe and stay more securely. You can spot the wrong "granny knot" by how the knock twists in place and rests crooked.

The order you go in first doesn't matter as long as the foundation and knot oppose each other. When your practicing your knots, pay attention to the direction you do each step, and see if the final result ends up crooked. When you find a pattern you like that balances out, practice it consistently.

I personally start the foundation by passing the right lace under the left lace.

2. The Knot (Fancy Lobster Claw Method)

Once you have a good foundation, it's time to tie the actual knot. The technique for this is the Fancy Lobster Claw method, as shown in this video[2].

[2] Fancy Lobster Claw Method

For the direction of the knot, I have the left lobster claw go under, and the right lobster claw go over, as they do in the video. (Notice that they got their foundation backwards, which resulted in a granny knot!)

A few tricks to help with the knot:

• You can hold the lace in the fancy pinkie step with your other fingers too, as long as your thumbs and index fingers are still free.
• To prevent the ends of the laces slipping through the knot, continue to keep a firm grip on them with your fancy pinkies. Hold onto them as an anchor to prevent them from getting tugged through.
• Smaller lobster claw loops are easier to tighten.

3. Double Knot (Variant Ian Knot)

Once you have your knot down, you may wish to double-knot your laces for extra security. There's a faster method for that too, though this one does diverge from the typical knotting a bit.

This step uses a modifier version of the Ian knot[3]. The Ian knot is usually difficult to perform from the standard foundation. This variation uses the closed loops of the previous knot, which is much easier since both ends of the loops are anchored.

[3] Ian Knot

Stick your lobster claws through the loops. Move them up against the ends of the loops just enough to put enough tension to let the lace cross the gap in the claws. Then cross and pull through as you did in the earlier step. Tada, double knotted!

If you wanted, you could replace the fancy lobster claw step with a second Ian knot. I do not because it is difficult to complete the Ian knot tight. With the fancy lobster claw method, it is much easier to make sure the knot binds in the correct location. Wrapping the lobster claws is also faster and more reliable to setup than the hanging loops of the Ian Knot.

Done!

With these three parts, you have everything you need to tie your shoes securely at top speed!

With a bit of practice, you'll soon have the technique memorized. Eventually it feels more natural than slower methods.

Remember to practice the correct order to avoid granny knots, and have fun!

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