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The “Granny Knot”

fieggen.com

71–80 of 262 posts

Re: The “Granny Knot”

#71
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That would not work for me. I need to keep one finger on the slip knot at all times or it becomes loose, resulting in a very unsatisfying knot. This has been by far the biggest hurdle to teaching my kids to tie a decent knot in their shoelaces: they can move through the motions just fine but it's always loose. I actually start with my left index finger on the slip knot then transition to my right index finger halfway…

Not sure if this would help, and I'm not exactly sure I'm understanding you correctly, but when I tie hockey stakes, instead of a single "left-over-right starting knot" (using terminology from the post), I wrap around two or even three times. This provides enough friction for that first knot to stay put while I tie the loops of the standard shoelace knot (not the Ian knot, with which I'm unfamiliar).

Sounds like you do something similar to the surgeon's knot.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surgeon%27s_knot

Re: The “Granny Knot”

#72

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why would I need to worry about keeping my towels "dryer"? Are you showering twice a day or something?

If you live in a humid environment, your towels can very easily get a bit funky smelling kinda quickly. Not making them as damp/wet can make a big difference.

Mildew is rife. I am blessed/cursed with an exception ability to smell it.

Re: The “Granny Knot”

#73

Today I learned I've been tying my shoes wrong for > 30 years. Thanks for posting this, Tomte!

i went through this process several years ago. it was initially easy to force myself into correct technique, as "do the opposite of what feels natural" stably led me down the right knot path. then after maybe six weeks or so the correct way felt natural and i had to burn cycles deciding if this was the good "feels natural" or the bad "feels natural". a year or two after that i was back to tying them without thinking, correctly now.

Re: The “Granny Knot”

#74
post #5

The "Ian Knot"[0] (which, I just discovered, was invented by the author of that site) is quite possibly the coolest and fastest way to tie your shoes. [0] - https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm

I’m not sure if it was “invented” by the author, I’ve been doing the same knot for 30 years. We call it rå-bands-knop (raw-strings-knot would be a literal translation) and I believe most kids here learn it at an early age.

Re: The “Granny Knot”

#75
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I keep the starting knot taught by simply keeping the ends tensioned at all times when tying. Re people saying the Ian knot doesn’t come undone: neither do my normal ones.

The reason your knot does not come undone has nothing to do with tension and everything to do with the order of the way you tie it. Left over right, then right over left. If you learned the standard knot as a kid in the right order and continue to do it the same way today, then the Ian knot will tie the exact same knot. The only difference is that the Ian knot will wear your laces more evenly and it ties faster.

I didn’t mean that tension keeps my knots tied (though clearly some tension is necessary), it was two separate replies — and I’m pretty sure I make granny knots. Eh maybe knot.

Re: The “Granny Knot”

#76

This is why I switched to only wearing sneakers that don't have laces. The fact that there's a whole site dedicated to tying your shoes properly tells you everything you need to know and yet this is largely a solved problem. You might think I look childish wearing velco/slip-on shoes all the time but I get a lot of compliments on my Adidas and my Metcons.

I too prefer this approach tbh. Since a few years I've only used shoes or sneakers with no laces. At the beginning I though that I was going to have problems with it, but all has been good.

Re: The “Granny Knot”

#77

Today I learned I've been tying my shoes wrong for > 30 years. Thanks for posting this, Tomte!

I was hoping to learn the same, but no, turns out I've been doing it right. I can blame my shoelaces now, correct?

(Ever since the pandemic began I've only worn sandals or a certain pair of sneakers with very round laces. Maybe round laces stick worse?)

EDIT: Looks like I should try the surgeon's knot.

Re: The “Granny Knot”

#80
post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After I stumbled upon this site years ago, the Ian knot is how I tie my shoes every time. The hardest part about this knot is making sure that somebody is watching while you do it. Every time I tie my shoes alone, I feel an upwelling of regret, as if there has been an opportunity lost.

There is a special t-shirt folding method with this same property.

I need this, I absolutely suck at folding t-shirts.
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