Ian's Secure Shoelace Knot: A Double Slip Knot That Won't Come Undone

The secure shoelace knot — also called the "Double Slip Knot" — is a variation on the familiar two-loop bow that adds one extra pass. According to the documentation on Ian Fieggen's shoelace site, it needs almost twice the tension to pull undone compared with either the standard shoelace knot or Fieggen's faster "Ian Knot".

How the knot is tied

The method is symmetrical and starts from the two loops most people already make. It begins with a regular left-over-right starting knot, after which both ends are doubled back on themselves into loops — the shapes often called "bunny ears".

The right loop is then crossed over the left so that it sits in front, and the loop now on the right is wrapped around the one on the left. Up to this point the sequence is identical to the ordinary two-loop shoelace knot.

The difference comes next. Instead of wrapping the left loop around the front, it is wrapped around the back, leaving the ends of the two loops on opposite sides of the hole in the middle. Both ends are then fed through that hole — one emerging at the front, the other at the back — and the loops are pulled tight. The tangled arrangement of the previous step rearranges itself into a neat finished knot.

Why it holds

Fieggen's own testing indicates that the knot requires close to double the tension to release. That extra security matters more than it once did, because many shoes are now sold with round, slippery laces that work their way loose during the day.

It also suits people who are hard on their footwear: runners and other athletes, climbers, dancers, and sailors whose boat shoes are constantly getting wet.

When the result looks wrong

A finished knot that comes out crooked, with the loops pointing heel-to-toe, usually means the starting knot was tied the opposite way round. That produces an unbalanced knot that sits crooked and comes undone more easily; the same problem underlies the well-known "granny knot". A knot that looks twisted, or has loose ends poking out of the front or back, generally means the laces did not fully rearrange themselves while being tightened.