For Teachers & Parents

Teach the Ian Knot

One song. Two hands. One useful skill for life.

The goal of the Ian Knot Song Project is simple:

Make the Ian Knot easier and more enjoyable for children everywhere to learn.

A few seconds saved in an everyday action may seem insignificant. But repeated over a lifetime — and shared by millions, perhaps billions, of people — a small improvement can make a remarkable difference.

A little tweak. Potentially billions.

The Ian Knot is fast and simple once learned, but its finger movements can be difficult to explain to a beginner.

So we use a consistent teaching sequence with a few simple visual cues:

Right lace over, tie one knot.
Hold the laces with three fingers.
Make two “crab claws.”
Scoop the laces from opposite sides.
Look for “one and two.”

The song follows the same idea:

One phrase, one action.

Each line tells children what comes next, helping the words, rhythm and hand movements become one sequence they can remember and repeat.

Why teach one standard sequence?

The technique taught here is the Ian Knot invented by Ian Fieggen.

We standardize some finger positions and directions only to make the first stages of learning easier:

• Always begin right lace over.
• Thumb and index finger become the “crab claws.”
• The other three fingers hold the lace ends.
• One (一) and two (二) provide a visual checkpoint.

These are teaching aids, not permanent rules.

Once children can tie the Ian Knot naturally, they can adapt the movements to suit their own hands.

Start with one form that is easy to copy.
Once you know it, make it your own.

From Ian Knot to Naoki Knot

The same sequence can naturally continue to the Naoki Knot, a secure extension of the Ian Knot developed in Japan.

It begins just like the Ian Knot and adds one extra sequence before tightening. There is no need to learn a completely different tying method.

First, learn the Ian Knot.
Then add the Naoki Knot when you need it.

Teach the name — and the credit

This project begins with deep respect for Ian Fieggen, who created the Ian Knot in Australia in 1982.

When teaching children, please teach its name and origin too:

“This is the Ian Knot. Ian Fieggen created it in Australia.”

Children may first remember the “crab claws,” the song and the hand movements. We also want them to remember that this useful technique has a name — and a person behind it.

That is why the song intentionally keeps Ian Knot in its closing line, so the movement and its name can travel together.

The melody comes from the Japanese children’s song “Donguri Korokoro” (“The Rolling Acorn”) , with music by Tadashi Yanada and original Japanese lyrics by Nagayoshi Aoki.

A useful idea can cross countries, languages and generations. Even a tiny improvement to an everyday skill can matter when it reaches enough people.

We hope this song can help the Ian Knot travel around the world — with its name, its origin and its credit intact.

Learn it. Sing it. Share it.