A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

Knots in general are a harmless and occasionally useful pasttime for many people. In fact I have a length of rope under my desk I will occasionally pick up and practice a few useful knots in just to keep them in my muscle memory. It's similar in many ways to people who solve rubix cubes or play with fidget spinners.

The Ashley Book of Knots has 3857 numbered entries. Each is suited to specific requirements. Some are just fun or decorative. It can be a hobby to learn more.

Domain people might have a dozen knots to get their job done. I just took a swift water rescue class; we got by with maybe five total for our situation.

Tying shorts? Maybe two or three are best suited.

There are (I'd contend) four basic types of knot: Bends, hitches, bindings, and loops. Bends tie two cords together, hitches tie cords to objects, bindings wrap & grip objects together, and loops are loops.

You only really need one bend. I suggest the zeppelin bend, but they're all pretty similar. Hitches can benefit from a bit more variety, but a round-turn with two half-hitches will serve you well in most situations, along with its more secure variant, the anchor hitch. There's a trade-off between how secure a knot is and how easy it is to untie, which is why the less-secure variant is useful.

The best loop is the angler's loop, which will even hold in bungee cord. The alpine butterfly is also good to know because you can tie it "in the bight" (without access to either end of the rope), which is very handy.

Bindings are (I think) the most commonly-used family of knots for most people. Lashing a load into a truck so it won't move, tying a bag shut, and even tying shoes are all situations for bindings. For large loads, I'd suggest a trucker's hitch, which is good for (e.g.) tightly strapping a load into a truck bed, hence the name. For smaller situations, like cinching a bag shut, try the jam hitch—an underappreciated favourite of mine. It works like a zip tie, tightening around an object and not loosening. (Make sure the knot itself is tied tightly before you zip it. After you zip it, you can tie the ends together for extra security.)

Zeppelin bend: https://www.animatedknots.com/zeppelin-bend-knot

Anchor hitch: https://www.animatedknots.com/anchor-hitch-knot; round turn & two half-hitches: https://www.animatedknots.com/round-turn-two-half-hitches-kn...

Angler's loop (sometimes called "perfection loop"): https://www.animatedknots.com/perfection-loop-knot; alpine butterfly: https://www.animatedknots.com/alpine-butterfly-loop-knot.

Trucker's hitch (feat. alpine butterfly): https://www.youtube.com/shorts/o3BcaoPXK5Q; jam hitch (aka "rolling hitch zip tie" or "reverse midshipman's hitch"): https://www.reddit.com/r/knots/comments/12vsuk1/how_to_tie_a.... (Though these have "hitch" in the name, I'd argue they're better described as bindings, because they preserve tension.)

If nothing else, learn the round turn & two half hitches, the alpine butterfly, and the trucker's hitch. Some combination of these will serve you well in most situations.

One final tip, while I'm talking about knots. You may be tying your shoelaces wrong: https://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/grannyknot.htm.

An aficionado! Have you heard of the jam hitch (ABOK #1727)? Grossly underdiscussed IMO—I only discovered it earlier this year. It tightens like a zip tie, and (in kitchen twine at least) I've found the string will snap before the loop slips open again. It's quickly become my most-used knot, day to day. I like to tie it with the second turn inside the first (like #1855 as opposed to #1856).

https://www.reddit.com/r/knots/comments/12vsuk1/how_to_tie_a...

I’ve spent decades learning to enter and exit doors more efficiently for motivated to apply the principle of martial arts ‘flowing movements’ to everything and found this video charming and accurate. In a climate with -20C temps outdoors every wall second you have a door open translates to fractions of a firewood heating log, so teaching good door etiquette conserves energy waste. But even where it’s not an environmental extreme, getting better at your daily movements is a worthwhile investment. At one point I had it down to 29 ‘moves’ to go from my front door to in car, belted and started, in one continuous series of movements. Growing old gracefully doesn’t just mean being nice to people, after all :)

I took the time one year to learn a bunch of knot work and my ability to tie my shoes so they lay nicely has improved, even if I’m just using the same knot. But I also only tie my shoes once and never again, courtesy of elastic laces, so perhaps this specific tutorial isn’t as helpful for me as others. Still worth learning a knot once, tho though!