Fast. Simple. Brilliant.
The Ian Knot is a fast and elegant way to tie a familiar shoelace bow.
Invented by Ian Fieggen in 1982, it uses both hands at the same time instead of forming the two loops one after the other.
The finished bow is the same.
What changes is the way you get there.
Original technique: Ian Fieggen
Teaching method on this page: Naoki Knot Project
This tutorial keeps the principle of the original Ian Knot while standardizing the starting direction and finger positions to make the movements easier for beginners and children to learn and repeat.
Step 1 — Right lace over, tie one knot
Place the right lace over the left lace and tie the starting knot.
Using the same starting direction every time keeps the following finger movements consistent and helps prevent an accidental Granny Knot.
Step 2 — Hold the laces with three fingers
Hold each lace with your middle, ring and little fingers.
Keep holding the lace ends with these three fingers throughout the next movements, leaving your thumbs and index fingers free.
Step 3 — Make the “crab claws”
Open the thumb and index finger of each hand into a C-shape, like a pair of crab claws.
Keep the lace ends held with the other three fingers.
Step 4 — Scoop up the laces
Use both crab claws to scoop the laces up from underneath.
The left claw scoops from the near side, while the right claw scoops from the far side.
The tips of both claws move clockwise as they scoop.
Step 5 — Turn the left claw and bring the laces together
Turn the left claw so that the left index finger becomes hidden behind the thumb.
From your point of view, the left hand now resembles the kanji for one — 一.
Keep the right claw as it is, where the two fingers resemble the kanji for two — 二.
Now bring the two hands together so that the laces held between the thumbs and index fingers meet in the center.
Step 6 — Hook the laces and pull out the loops
Use the left thumb and right index finger to hook the opposite laces.
Pull them through.
As the two strands are drawn through, the left and right loops are formed and pulled out at the same time.
This simultaneous exchange is the key movement of the Ian Knot.
Step 7 — Pull both loops
Pull the two loops outward.
Done.
You have tied a familiar shoelace bow using the fast, simultaneous motion of the Ian Knot.
Common mistake — Avoid a Granny Knot
The starting knot and the final bow need to work in opposite directions.
If their directions are mismatched, the finished bow may twist or sit vertically as a Granny Knot instead of lying neatly across the shoe.
For this tutorial, we always begin with:
Right lace over the left.
Fixing the starting direction also lets us keep all of the following finger movements the same every time.
Why is the Ian Knot so fast?
A regular shoelace bow is usually tied in sequence:
Regular bow
Make one loop
↓
Wrap the other lace around it
↓
Push the second loop through
↓
Pull
The Ian Knot takes a different approach:
Ian Knot
Prepare both sides at the same time
↓
Hook the opposite laces
↓
Pull both loops through simultaneously
↓
Tighten
The key idea is simple:
Both hands work at the same time.
That simultaneous motion is what makes the Ian Knot so fast.
With respect to the original
The Ian Knot was invented by Ian Fieggen.
For decades, Ian has documented and shared an extraordinary amount of knowledge about shoelaces, lacing methods and knots.
The Naoki Knot Project did not invent the Ian Knot.
Our goal is to help more people discover it, learn it accurately, and make it easier to teach — especially to children.
With deep respect and gratitude to Ian Fieggen, inventor of the Ian Knot.
Got it? Now learn it with a song.
The Ian Knot Song uses the same sequence of movements, with simple words and rhythm to make them easier to remember.