How to Tie the Double Wrap Shoelace Knot

Usage

The double wrap shoelace knot is the one to use when a plain bow keeps working loose — running shoes, hockey skates, soccer cleats, hiking boots, anywhere footstrikes and swinging laces shake a normal knot undone. It ties just like a regular bow but grips far harder at the finish, and it still unties with a single pull.

It starts exactly like a normal shoelace bow: a starting knot, then two loops crossed over each other. The difference comes at the finish. Instead of feeding each loop through the middle once, you feed both loops through the hole twice, so there is twice the lace gripping itself at the center. That extra pass is the whole trick.

Why learn the double wrap shoelace knot?

Two reasons: it is easy to tie, and it genuinely resists working loose on its own. If you already know how to tie a regular bow, you know almost all of this one — the only new part is feeding the loops through twice instead of once, and that small change is what keeps the bow put through a hard run or a full day on your feet.

What it is not is the tidiest-looking bow on the shelf. Feed the loops the wrong way, or reverse the starting knot, and you can end up with a slightly crooked bow — it takes a bit more care to dress evenly than a plain bow does. If a clean, balanced look matters more to you than maximum hold, the Berluti knot is worth a look instead.

Want to watch the doubled loop-through go together before you try it on your own laces? The Knot IQ app from Bear Essentials Outdoors spins the finished bow in 3D so you can see exactly where each loop passes through the middle.

Common Uses

This is a shoelace-security knot, prized for resisting accidental unties without giving up the quick-release feel of a normal bow.

Utility (Everyday Life)

Other Names Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot Double Slip Knot Category Utility (Everyday Life)

Variations Surgeon's Shoelace Knot – adds an extra twist in the starting knot for even more grip on slick, round laces.

Notable Features

• Doesn't come loose easily. The doubled loop-through-the-hole finish gives the bow far more to hold onto than a single pass.
• Easy to tie. It's the same starting knot and the same two loops as a regular bow — you're just feeding each loop through the middle twice instead of once.
• Still a normal quick-release bow. Pull the ends and it comes apart like any shoelace knot. You're not trading away the everyday convenience to get the extra hold.
• Works on tricky laces. It's often the fix for round, slippery bootlaces that keep coming undone with a regular knot.

Similar Knots

Berluti Knot vs. Double Wrap Shoelace Knot

• Advantage: the Berluti knot ties a more balanced, symmetrical-looking bow — the pick when a clean finish matters as much as hold.
• Disadvantage: the double wrap shoelace knot is the simpler feed to learn, since it's just the same loops passed through twice, with no extra front-to-back wrap pattern to remember.

Ian Knot vs. Double Wrap Shoelace Knot

• Advantage: the Ian knot is the faster tie — a two-handed way to put in an ordinary bow in a couple of seconds — when speed matters more than extra hold.
• Disadvantage: the Ian knot is only as secure as a standard bow, while the double wrap shoelace knot's doubled loop-through is a genuine security upgrade for laces that keep working loose.

Security Level

This is a shoelace bow, so the stakes are low: at worst an undone lace, not a failed rope. Fed through the hole twice and pulled snug, it holds noticeably better than a plain bow while still releasing with a single pull.

Where it can trip you up is the tying, not the holding. Feed the loops through in the wrong front-to-back order, or start from a reversed starting knot, and you'll get a crooked bow — it still holds, it just won't look as tidy.

Downsides

• Takes a little more care to dress neatly: get the starting knot backwards, or feed a loop through the wrong side, and the finished bow comes out crooked instead of even.
• Loose ends can poke out wrong: if the ends end up sticking out the front or back instead of the sides, give the loops a twist before you tighten to bring them back in line.

How to Tie the Double Wrap Shoelace Knot

Step 1

Tie a regular starting knot: left lace over right, and through, same as the first step of any shoelace bow.

Step 2

Fold both lace ends into loops — the same "bunny ears" you'd make for a normal bow.

Step 3

Cross the right loop over the left loop so it sits in front and is now the left loop. Up to here, it's identical to a regular two-loop shoelace bow.

Step 4

Take the loop now on the right and begin wrapping it around the other loop so it ends up in front.

Step 5

This is the step that makes it a double wrap: instead of stopping there, wrap that loop around to the back, so the two loops end up with their ends on opposite sides of the hole in the middle.

Step 6

Feed both loop ends through the hole in the middle — one comes out the front, the other goes out the back.

Step 7

Pull both loops to tighten. It looks like a twisted mess right up until the last pull, then it settles into a neat finished bow on its own.

Pro Tip: if your finished bow comes out crooked, check your starting knot orientation first — a reversed starting knot is the most common reason this bow comes out lopsided instead of even.

History

A shoestring bow built this way appears in Clifford Ashley's 1944 Book of Knots, and a German knotting manual from 1953 describes what looks like the same or a closely related bow under another name — so the structure is old. In the modern era, shoelacing specialist Ian Fieggen apparently worked it out independently and named it after himself while looking for a symmetrical way to tie a secure shoelace bow, though the knot appears in those older references. Bear Essentials Outdoors groups it with its close cousins as one family of secure shoelace bows that solve the same problem in slightly different ways.

FAQ

What's the best way to keep shoelaces from coming untied?

Switch the finish, not the whole knot. Tie your normal starting knot and loops, then feed both loops through the middle hole twice instead of once. That extra pass is what makes this bow hold far better than a regular one.

Is a double knot better than a regular shoelace knot?

If "double knot" means this doubled-loop finish, yes — it's built specifically to resist coming loose, and it's often the fix for round, slippery bootlaces that keep working loose with a normal knot.

Why does my shoelace bow come out crooked with this method?

Almost always a reversed starting knot, or the loops fed through the hole in the wrong front-to-back order. Both produce a lopsided finish even though the knot still holds. If the ends stick out the front or back instead of the sides, give the loops a twist before you pull it tight.

Does this knot work for hiking boots and skates, not just sneakers?

Yes — it's used on hockey skates, soccer cleats, and hiking boots, along with everyday sneakers, wherever a regular bow won't hold through repeated impact and motion.

Important Notes on Safety

This is a shoelace bow, not a load-bearing rope knot — there's no rope-strength rating to worry about here. The only real risk is tying it distracted: get the starting knot or the loop-feed order backwards and you'll get a crooked, unevenly seated bow. Take the extra few seconds to feed both loops through the hole in the right order before you pull it tight.