How to Tie the Ian Knot

Usage

The Ian knot is what you want when you need your shoes tied fast. It's an ordinary shoelace bow — the same one everyone already knows — tied with both hands at once instead of one hand at a time, and once it clicks it's the quickest way most people will ever tie a shoe.

The finished knot isn't anything new. It's the exact same bow you get from the standard "loop, swoop, and pull" method or the classic two-loop "bunny ears" method — Ian Fieggen, who came up with this technique, has always been upfront that he didn't invent a new knot, just a faster way to tie the one everybody already knows. Tied the conventional one-hand-at-a-time way, that same bow is the Standard Shoelace Knot.

Why learn the Ian knot?

Because it's the fastest way to tie an ordinary shoelace bow, and it costs you nothing to switch. On his own site, Fieggen clocks the full routine at roughly 2 to 3 seconds against 3 to 5 seconds for the conventional one-hand-at-a-time method (fieggen.com) — a real saving every time you tie a shoe once the motion is second nature.

It also fixes a problem most people don't know they have: tying one-handed the usual way tends to be a little asymmetric, which wears one lace end faster than the other. Fieggen built this technique after noticing exactly that on his own shoe. Tying both loops at once naturally balances things out.

What it won't do is make your shoes more secure. The finished bow is identical to a normal shoelace knot, so if you need real hold — for sports, all-day boots, or dress shoes — a dedicated secure knot is the better call, not this one.

Common Uses

This is an everyday speed knot, prized for shaving seconds off an ordinary shoe-tie without changing anything about how secure the bow is.

Utility (Everyday Life)

Other Names Fast Shoelace Knot World's Fastest Shoelace Knot Category Other / Specialty Knots Utility (Everyday Life) Shoelace Knots

Variations Standard Shoelace Knot – the same finished bow tied the conventional one-hand-at-a-time way instead of both loops at once.

Notable Features

• Both loops formed at the same time. One loop in each hand, worked together in a single motion instead of one after the other.
• Fast and symmetrical. The two-handed motion naturally balances the bow and spreads wear evenly across both lace ends.
• Unties with a single pull. Exactly like any ordinary shoelace bow — pull both free ends and it comes apart.

Similar Knots

Double Wrap Shoelace Knot (Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot) vs. Ian Knot

• Advantage: the double wrap shoelace knot passes each loop through the center twice instead of once, which makes it noticeably harder to pull loose by accident — the better choice for running, sports, or boots.
• Disadvantage: it takes longer to tie and isn't as instantly fast as the Ian knot for a normal, everyday shoe.

Berluti Knot vs. Ian Knot

• Advantage: the Berluti knot adds extra wraps through the center for a neater, more secure, lower-profile bow — a favorite for dress shoes that need to hold all day.
• Disadvantage: it has more steps and takes longer to tie than the Ian knot, which wins on pure speed and simplicity.

Security Level

The Ian knot is exactly as secure as an ordinary shoelace bow — because that's what it is. How you tied it doesn't change the finished structure, so a correctly-tied Ian knot holds just as reliably, and unties just as easily, as one tied the slower, conventional way. For real hold — running, sports, or a long day in dress shoes — a dedicated secure knot like the double wrap shoelace knot is the better pick.

One myth worth clearing up: the Ian knot has a reputation for coming undone easily, but that traces back to how it's taught, not the technique. A lot of online tutorials get the starting motion backwards, which produces a crooked, unbalanced bow that really does come loose faster. Tied the right way, that problem doesn't exist.

Downsides

• No extra hold. It's a normal bow, so it won't outlast a dedicated secure knot for sports, boots, or dress shoes worn all day.
• Takes some practice to tie snug. Both hands move inward at the same time, so there's no free finger to hold the starting knot in place while you learn — start with bigger loops and shrink them as you get comfortable.
• Trickier with short or extra-tight laces. The simultaneous motion needs a bit more room to work with than the one-hand-at-a-time method.
• Easy to learn wrong. Plenty of tutorials online teach the starting knot backwards, which produces a crooked, less secure bow — worth double-checking your motion against a reliable source.

How to Tie the Ian Knot

Step 1

Tie a regular starting knot: left lace end over right, then through and snug — a single overhand, not doubled.

Step 2

Fold both lace ends into loops by doubling each one back on itself, one loop held in each hand.

Step 3

Twist both loops anti-clockwise, so the left loop's loose end sits toward the front and the right loop's loose end sits toward the back.

Step 4

Bring the loops alongside each other, with the left loop in front.

Step 5

Reach into your own loop with two fingers and grab the other hand's loose end through it — left hand grabs the right loose end, right hand grabs the left loose end.

Step 6

Release your own loop and pull the loose end you just grabbed back through, both hands at the same time. Stop before you pull it all the way through, or you'll just re-tie a starting knot instead of forming the bow.

Step 7

Pull both loops tight to finish.

Pro Tip: Start with bigger loops while you're learning the motion, and shrink them down as you get comfortable — neither hand has a free finger to hold tension during the pull-through, so smaller loops early on just make it harder to keep the starting knot snug.

The trickiest bit is the simultaneous reach-and-grab in Step 5 — each hand dips into its own loop to pull the other loop's loose end through, and a still photo can't quite show both hands moving at once. The Knot IQ app from Bear Essentials Outdoors animates that hand-off in 3D, so you can watch the two loops move together before you try it on your own laces.

History

Ian Fieggen, a shoelacing specialist, apparently worked this method out on June 30, 1982, after noticing that one end of his shoelace kept fraying faster than the other — a sign his own tying motion was a little lopsided. Looking for a fix that would wear both ends evenly, he found that tying both loops at once with two hands was also faster than doing it one hand at a time, and he named the technique after himself. He taught it informally for years before printing an instruction sheet in 1992 and putting it online in 2000, and he has always been clear that he didn't invent a new knot, just a faster way to tie the one everybody already uses. In 2003 he applied to Guinness World Records for a "World's Fastest Shoelace Knot" category; they turned him down, calling it too specialized.

FAQ

How do you tie an Ian Knot?

Start with a regular starting knot, then fold both lace ends into loops at the same time, one in each hand. Twist and cross the loops, reach into your own loop to grab the other hand's loose end, then pull both loops through together and snug them tight.

Is the Ian Knot actually a different knot from a normal shoelace bow?

No — it's the same finished bow, just tied with a faster, two-handed technique. Ian Fieggen, who developed it, has always been clear he came up with a new way to tie the knot, not a new knot.

Is the Ian Knot secure, or does it come undone easily?

Tied correctly, it's exactly as secure as an ordinary shoelace bow — no more, no less, because it is one. Its "comes undone easily" reputation comes from tutorials that teach it wrong, not from the technique itself.

When was the Ian Knot invented?

Ian Fieggen worked it out on June 30, 1982, after noticing one of his shoelace ends kept fraying faster than the other from an uneven tying habit.

Important Notes on Safety

Don't mix this up with the double wrap shoelace knot (also called Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot) — that's a separate, more complex knot by the same inventor, built specifically for extra hold. The Ian knot is a normal, single-pass bow tied fast; the double wrap shoelace knot passes each loop through the center twice for a noticeably firmer hold. If your finished bow looks crooked or sits heel-to-toe, you likely used the wrong starting-knot direction — check your motion against a reliable source, since that's the one thing that actually makes this knot less secure.