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One Handed Shoelace Knot
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Here's the ideal way to tie shoelaces with one hand: Lace the shoe with the bottom end permanently tied off, then
secure the top end with a simple loop knot.
NOTE:
The following lacing diagrams are upside-down compared to the other Lacing Methods
on this site, as they are drawn from the perspective of tying the shoe.
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Step 1:
Start by tying the shoelace onto one of the eyelets nearest the toe (top left in the above diagram). Lace the shoe
similar to Straight (Easy) Lacing until the lace is fed into the last eyelet
(bottom left in the above diagram).
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Step 2:
The loose end (yellow) is now fed across and back out through the opposite eyelet (bottom right in the above
diagram). This second pass of shoelace through the eyelet keeps this knot nice and tight.
NOTE:
When loosening the lacing to remove the shoe, don't pull this lace back out, as it's difficult to feed in
each time.
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Step 3:
Create a loop with the loose end (yellow) sitting across the final straight section of lace (blue). This is easy
to do by holding the loose end between the right thumb and forefinger, then forming the loop around the right thumb.
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Step 4:
Feed a new loop of lace underneath the straight section (blue) and out through the previous loop. The lace is fed
underneath with the right forefinger, meeting up with the thumb (which should still be inside the previous loop).
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Step 5:
Start to pull the new loop downwards and across to the right. Take care not to pull the loose end all the way out!
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Step 6:
Continue pulling the loop until it sits snug and close to the eyelet.
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Finished Knot
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When pulled tight, the knot should be tightly bunched against the eyelet, which will then stay quite secure
(unlike many other one-handed shoelace knots). |
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Technical Details
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Even / Odd Number of Eyelet Pairs:
This photo shows the lacing on a shoe with five eyelet pairs, with the knot that anchors the start of the lacing
on the right hand side (the same side as the finishing knot). For shoes with an even number of eyelet pairs (eg.
4 pairs = 8 eyelets, as in the above diagrams), start by anchoring the lacing with the knot on the left hand side
(ie. diagonally opposite the finishing knot).
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Variations:
1. This lacing favours the right hand because the knot ends up on the right side. Simply reverse the instructions
(mirror image) to end up with the knot on the left side.
2. The recommended way to anchor the start of the lacing is to feed the lace through the eyelet and then tie the
lace back onto itself. In other words, knot the lace onto the eyelet (as shown in the above photo). Alternately,
the lace can simply be knotted and fed through the eyelet from underneath (which hides the knot but which can feel
uncomfortable) or from above (which is more comfortable but which looks messy).
3. Whilst the recommended lacing method is Straight (Easy) Lacing, other
lacing methods can be used instead, particularly Shoe Shop Lacing. The reversed
One Handed Lacing can also be used, with the otherwise loose end passed all the
way back up the shoe to emerge from the last eyelet.
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NOTE:
This knot is mainly for the benefit of people with limited capacity, either temporary or permanent, who are unable
to use both hands to tie their shoelaces. It's not intended as a cute one-handed "party trick" for able-bodied
people! As anyone who tries it will soon discover, it's still a fairly tricky knot to tie (though hopefully easier
than some of the other one-handed shoelace knots that I've seen).
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If you do choose to give this knot a rating (below), please consider how it rates as a serious one-handed shoelace
knot, not how it rates as a "party trick".
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Please only vote once - multiple votes are removed daily
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This page last updated: 16-Sep-2008. Copyright © 2006-2008 by
Ian W. Fieggen. All rights reserved.
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