BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?

Subject: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 06:43 AM

TED.com lecture

In truth what is being demonstrated is the difference between, effectively, a reef knot and a granny knot. Secure and knotso, if you see what I mean.

Reef is left over right, and right over left.
Granny is not.

How many years have you lived without realising this? (see video - 3 minutes)

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 07:31 AM

It just plays an advert then tries to move on to a video about the Mona Lisa!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: gnu
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 08:10 AM

Me too. Try... https://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_how_to_tie_your_shoes

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: DMcG
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 08:30 AM

I saw something similar and it advised you if your laces kept coming undone to use whatever way felt unnatural. This worked brilliantly for a few months. Then both ways started to feel equally natural.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Manitas_at_home
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 08:34 AM

Thank you. It works, as does the shoelace tying!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: leeneia
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 09:08 AM

I didn't watch the video. I lost patience with the ads. Besides, my husband, whose Boy-Scout knot lessons have stayed with him, taught me the difference between a square knot and a Granny long ago.

A saleswoman for SAS gave me a great tip. First you make the underhand knot, then you make the first loop, then you wind the other string around the loop TWO TIMES before pulling it through to make the second loop.

Winding two times really helps.

She also taught me that runners thread their laces through the top holes from the outside to the inside, thus snugging up the top of the shoe. With some shoes, that's helpful.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Doug Chadwick
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 10:23 AM

The reason why he gets a "granny" version is that he is starting off in the wrong way. When he crosses the laces in the first stage, he passes right over left and under. When he comes to the loop stage, he again passes right over left when making the loop from the front, giving the granny knot. If you start off with left over right, then the loops can be tied right over left, to give a reef knot, without the need for sending it round the back.

I always tie my shoes in the "reef knot" style. It was how I was taught as a child. If Mr Moore has been tying his shoes wrongly all his life then it is because he was taught badly in the first place.

DC

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: meself
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 11:02 AM

It took me too long to learn to tie my laces the first time - I'm not going to go through all that again ... !

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Joe Offer
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 11:50 AM

I'm glad I'm not the only one who may be tying his shoelaces wrong. Why was the boy scout knot tying champion of the Racine County Council, but I have never been able to master tying my shoelaces correctly. Whatever I do, seems to hold my shoes on quite well, so maybe it doesn't make a difference.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Charmion
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 12:52 PM

I tie my sneakers with a reefed bow-knot because the laces are shocking pink and, when correctly tied, they stick out athwartships in an attractive fashion. Plus, they don't come untied when I least wish to have to bend down and do them up again.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 02:30 PM

Sorry Folks, the link may go the finish of the video but it doesn't for me. Don't see an advert in the prominent position.
https://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_how_to_tie_your_shoes

The New Scientist reported the fact that round laces are less likely to remain tied, something I have noticed. Perhaps this should reduce that effect. Most of mine are flat. I do tie a double bow. This is important when dancing because stopping to re-tie is not always possible in a set.

But from now on I will try the reef knot wheeze, the bows look more neat and by altering the bow, thew double bow makes another reef knot on top.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: frogprince
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 03:46 PM

Maybe I am tying 'em wrong; I keep tripping when I try to step more than eight inches at a time.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 04:21 PM

If everyone tied their shoes correctly, private detectives couldn't inconspicuously stop and retie their shoes. The Film Noir genre owes one of its major tropes to the fact that we are all pretty much failures at shoe tying.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Joe_F
Date: 06 Sep 16 - 09:19 PM

Indeed, in my childhood I always tied them wrong, and they kept coming untied. But in adolescence, I learned about square knots & granny knots, and generalized that knowledge to shoelaces.

Still more recently, I have gotten rid of shoelaces almost altogether (except on dress shoes, which I resort to about every other year). Most of my shoes have Velcro, and my boots have hooks at the top, so I can tie the laces permanently at the botton and pull the loops at the top over the hooks.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: BobL
Date: 07 Sep 16 - 03:33 AM

Should you tie your right and left shoelaces with opposite-handed knots?

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: JHW
Date: 07 Sep 16 - 05:50 AM

The secret is not to use round laces even though they are often supplied. They come undone.
Replace them with flat ones.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 07 Sep 16 - 02:22 PM


The secret is not to use round laces even though they are often supplied. They come undone.

something to do with compliance and surface area/friction. I suspect the speaker in the video had his epiphany with round profile shoelaces. Hence his voyage of discovery.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Bonzo3legs
Date: 07 Sep 16 - 04:59 PM

My beautiful red trainers which I bought in Corte Ingles Alicante last year, have not stretched as much as I would like for comfortable walking. So I certainly do not tie the laces!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 08 Sep 16 - 02:42 AM

Ah! Fashion over function. I have ten pairs of shoes.
I have noticed the trainers that laced up with the sides running artistcally parallel, now are wider and acute where the laces are. They haven't shrunk, feet swell. Comes with age too! Maybe it is a summer or dance thing - I have done a lot of that lately: Warwick, Sidmouth, WHFF, Towersey, Bunkfest and it is Bromyard FF this w/e.

then there are always patented improvements on the good old fashioned shoe lace:
Zubits
Elastic Laces

Better mousetrap anyone?

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: bubblyrat
Date: 08 Sep 16 - 03:41 AM

Are there many songs about shoelace-tying ( whether wrong or wrongly ; I favour the latter ) ?

Here's one (the only one I know ) ;

" When she came up tae a close,
she bent to tie her shoe,
in a meeld mannered way , I said tae her
"Hello Miss ; How are you"

From "Ricky Doo Dum Day " (Frae Glasgee, nae doot ! ).

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Sep 16 - 06:28 AM

Song: Easy and Slow

read the lyrics carefully and tell me (with a straight face) it is about shoes.

Knowing, that in days of yore, that buckle was also an anatomical euphemism would seal the deal IMHO.

And such a sweet song despite all that!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 13 Sep 16 - 07:01 AM

in the interests of scientific investigation and to improve the shoe tying lives of Mudcatters all, I have a conclusion:

tie
1) (as seen from above on your foot!)
    a) left lace in left hand, right lace in right hand
    b) swap to other hand(s) with original left lace behind, right in font.
    c) front lace fold back, under & through, tighten.
2) now right and left have new meaning so
    a) tail in right hand - make a loop
    b) tail in left hand over base of loop, under & through legwards.
    c) now a reef knot -tighten bow, equalise lengths.
3) stable bow, so optional (only) double*
    a) right index finger - wrap rightmost bow over with tail/loop uppermost.
    b) leftmost loop/tail over top, under and through, legwards.
    c) tighten reef knot thus formed.

*Some peeps only double the bow, not the tails. Which makes for smaller, tighter knot, ie more secure. I favour securing all dangly bits (shoewise).
If your natural tie of the bow is different to mine, then the first section would have to reflect what that difference means. I chose only to alter the first aspect ( 1) ) of my procedure to get the first reef knot, the double bow seems to form a reef from my years of bow/double tying the above way.

Now:
any questions?

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: gnu
Date: 13 Sep 16 - 01:15 PM

Mr Red. Indeed. "And I tied up my sleeve for to buckle her shoe."

I shan't get too graphic. I'll just point out that the lad wasn't talking about shirt sleeves and the buckling wasn't actually with a buckle but rather the "ensuing action" of the shoe. Nonetheless, I sang it many a time in public. One of my favourite songs.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: gnu
Date: 13 Sep 16 - 01:21 PM

Heheheee... just had a thought. What a pickup line! "May I buckle your shoe?" It would lead to a conversation, no?

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mrrzy
Date: 13 Sep 16 - 06:28 PM

Granny is not! Ha ha ha!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Van
Date: 13 Sep 16 - 07:34 PM

Always tie your shoelaces up wrong because after a session you can be sure that those are your feet and you shoes. An extra tip is to tie one right and one wrong so you remember which foot is which.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Donuel
Date: 14 Sep 16 - 11:14 AM

I don't mind Velcro shoe fasteners. I hate Velcro wallets.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Senoufou
Date: 14 Sep 16 - 12:19 PM

Imelda Marcos reputedly had 3000 pairs of shoes (found mouldering away afterwards) I wonder if any of them had laces?
I have only ONE pair of winter shoes (slip-ons) and ONE pair of summer sandals (ditto), but as a girl, we all wore stout leather lace-up shoes. And the way we ensured that they never came undone was to tie the bunny's ears twice. Same with our plimsolls for PE. Tie the bunny's ears twice!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 14 Sep 16 - 02:33 PM

Tie the bunny's ears twice!

= double bow (loop only)

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Senoufou
Date: 14 Sep 16 - 02:42 PM

Exactly Mr Red! (I could do this by the age of three)

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 14 Sep 16 - 03:05 PM

I almost never wear footwear with laces. I'm left-handed and no-one around me was ever able to show me the right way to tie laces. I invented my own way, which took longer to do but which worked, and one pull of one end untied them. As a matter of fact I hardly ever wear anything other than sandals (without socks, even though I'm a Guardian reader), always the strappy Jesus sort, no closed-in toes for me. Velcro is routine these days. My favourite Teva sandals have Velcro adjustments in three places but the fastener across the top of the foot also a snap buckle which means you never have to unadjust any of the Velcro to get it on your foot. Genius. My black wedding/funeral shoes have a Velcro strap fastening. I have a pair of tough walking shoes for winter, which I hate wearing as socks are needed. I can't ever seem to put socks on straight. These shoes have strangely long laces and I'm never sure how they should be threaded through the holes or over those hooks at the top end. They seem ridiculously over-long to me. Yes, I've had a tough life.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Senoufou
Date: 14 Sep 16 - 03:54 PM

Steve, I'm the same - I wear my sandals (Hotter 'Scarlett' in black, with velcro) nearly all year round. My German black leather slip-on shoes are worn only if it's snowing or very wet. I hate wearing socks, they're too constricting.
Unlike Imelda Marcos, I find shoes extremely boring, and would never have more than one pair of shoes or sandals, and definitely no laces. How women can have shelf after shelf of the blooming things beats me. Yawn.
You've only got two feet to put them on, after all!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 15 Sep 16 - 04:14 AM

Ah, now, if you dance a lot it is advisable to have shoes to change into. Hard soled for Contra, Irish Set & French/Scandi. And various trainers for Ceilidh & just walking about, eg flat-soled or featured depending on the floor polish/dust, mud etc.

And it is a good idea to rotate the shoes so that the feet don't habituate. Feels better, but my doctor assures me IS better.

Now I don't need to use motivated reasoning to justify my ten pairs but I will.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Senoufou
Date: 15 Sep 16 - 09:37 AM

Hahaha Mr Red! I'm afraid my dancing days are over! I did when young have a pair of Wellingtons and some riding boots (mad on horses!). And I seem to remember a pair of those flip-flop things for the beach.
In the house I wear some slip-on slippers (had the same ones for years, they go in the washing machine regularly)
My husband loves shoes and trainers etc. He has absolutely dozens, lined up on a special shoe-rack. They seem to need extremely complicated lacing-up systems; he's always sitting on the floor making clever patterns with the laces in ten or so holes. I just couldn't be bothered with all that!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 20 Oct 16 - 05:48 AM

OK - one month on and my new shoe lace tying sequence is becoming second nature - almost. Just the first tie, the bow and the double bow are unchanged.

My current mufti shoes have longish laces and need the double bow or they get trodden on and undo that way.

It is interesting how we can quickly habituate to a knew regime despite the (unspecified) years of repetition.

An interesting aside is that as a 5/6 year-old I started to experiment one day by tying the bow without the first tie. Only to have a teacher remonstrate that I was doing it wrong. Clear demonstration of how the word "no" can kill creativity. I had to wait 15 years before I could regard such tactics as a challenge rather than a command.

That particular experiment has yet to be repeated, but experience and perspicacity probably controlled that.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: bubblyrat
Date: 20 Oct 16 - 07:57 AM

I can see that I shall have to inspect your footwear at breakfast every morning at Sidmouth next year.Doubtless people will talk, but Hey !

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 20 Oct 16 - 10:17 AM

"As a matter of fact I hardly ever wear anything other than sandals.

Maybe you'd best stay indoors than, Steve... some people seem to get upset about that.
Though perhaps this might be useful
............
I generally go for doubling the knot.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Oct 16 - 10:51 AM

Hmm. "Waiter, meatballs and chipolatas for two, please!"

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Senoufou
Date: 20 Oct 16 - 02:31 PM

Just today I was at a very nice coffee morning in the village, and everyone seemed terribly concerned that I was wearing sandals, not shoes, in spite of the rain. My theory is that water gets in but then goes out again if one is wearing sandals. Several people asked, "But aren't you cold?" I had to reply, "No, because actually I'm wearing some clothes."
(I must add, I have very nice, unspoiled feet, so it wasn't as if I was displaying a ghastly array of corn and bunions!)

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 20 Oct 16 - 06:52 PM

Funny how people feel obliged to comment, innit. I don't care any more. I wanna be comfy, and that's my priority, and, in my case, that involves loose clothes and not too many of 'em, feeling slightly on the cold side and having plenty of fresh air about my person. Down, girls!

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Mr Red
Date: 21 Oct 16 - 05:22 PM

Strange how prejudices linger from childhood. At my junior school it was de riguer that we had to be supplied with sandals of a most demeaning variety (for boys anyway). And being a boarding school there was no escape (orphange actually, widowed mothers makes you officially an orphan)

So I won't wear open footwear - EVER.
Whatever you calls 'm.
OK?

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: McGrath of Harlow
Date: 21 Oct 16 - 06:02 PM

I don't generally look at people's feet. I've no idea what they are wearing..

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Senoufou
Date: 21 Oct 16 - 06:17 PM

I often wash my husband's dozens of laces from his trainers etc. They get a bit grubby. I usually hang them on a radiator to dry. Our smallest, wickedest Siamese cat noticed them and ran off with one, tossing it into the air and chewing it vigorously. I rescued it but it was rather..er... mangled. I dried it secretly and threaded it and its partner through the trainers while H was at work. He hasn't noticed...yet. If I'm later found strangled with knotted laces, please direct the CID to this forum. Thank you.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Joe_F
Date: 21 Oct 16 - 06:30 PM

McGrath: I often look at people's shoes & make inferences from them. Sneakers & high heels get you classified as a fashion-follower (coward & fool) in my book. Flipflops or boots, on the other hand, encourage my eyes upward.

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Steve Shaw
Date: 21 Oct 16 - 06:48 PM

I never look at what people are wearing (which is a lie, as I do love to see tight jeans on...no, Stevieboy, don't go there...), and, though I've lived here for thirty years, if you asked me what colour my bedroom carpet is, I'd have to go upstairs and have a look. I do look at my own shoes, but only to check whether I've walked in dogshit. I read a thing somewhere recently that once you get to 65 you no longer need to give a damn. Well I've been like that since I was 18 and it hasn't affected the number of girls I've had. Just the one. But she doesn't half moan about how scruffy I am. How can I help it though? I'm one of those blokes who can make the snazziest new pair of £200 Levis look like I just picked 'em up from the Boy Scouts' jumble sale for two quid....

Subject: RE: BS: Are you tying shoe laces wrong ?
From: Bill D
Date: 22 Oct 16 - 02:49 PM

A Mudcat classic thread

Why do men wear socks with sandals?