Dealing with Shoelaces

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Maybe I should start with a few months ago at work ...
We got this new carpet and for some reason I kept tripping on it all the time. I'm totally uncoordinated anyway, but this carpet was making it 10x worse. So I got permission to wear sneakers, which kind of solved the problem except that the shoe laces were really long so I would trip over them. For months I kept trying and trying different knots, double bows, tucking in. Nothing I tried worked.

Today my coworker saw one untied and pointed it out. I said, I know they drive me crazy, they keep doing that. One of the partners (a woman) was walking by and said, Do you want me to tie it for you so you that won't happen? Then she did!

So there I am, a 52 year old woman and the partner of the firm is tying my shoelace. Then she pointed out that there was another hole I wasn't using, and that would solve the problem for good. So I went and retied them (not without some confusion).

Is this Aspergers? How do you know if something is Aspergers or you're just sort of dumb? (Any wonder why they think I'm nuts at work - (I'm actually pretty good at my job though.))

On the bright side, using the other holes, really did solve the problem (I never even knew they were there).

Well I have trouble with co-ordination - I trip on anything that is uneven. And my shoelaces do have a tendency to come undone.

BTW, I think it was really sweet of the partner to do that. She sounds like a nice person.

I find shoelaces come untied all the time and that was not true when I was young. I think shoelaces are just not made as well as thay used to be. Other people agree with me about this.

I still use the "cheat" way to tie my shoes. And the last time I bought new shoes I had to have the salesman lace them for me because I couldn't do it right.

What is the cheat way?

A couple of months ago a friend at work noticed that my shoelace had come undone. He chuckled and then said "do you know--I've only seen one other person walking along with one shoelace undone like that: your son."

I thought about this and realized that I usually tie a double knot in my shoelaces and then slip my shoes on and off, never undoing the knot. I have been doing this since middle school, when I was about his age. I do knot other things like boots, and I have gotten relatively skilled at working with knots. I have a book of nautical knots that my father gave me, "Knots, Splices and Fancy Work," and have practiced a fair number of knots from it to the point where I can use them to secure loads. But the shoelaces are still a chore.

I was very pleased when the doc who diagnosed my son recommended bungie laces... we tried lock laces and they are marvelous. You can get them in different colors and they don't look odd or out of place on most shoes if you use the right color.

http://www.locklaces.com
www.speedlaces.com/‎

I do the bunny ears way too, I did not know it was not how everyone else tied shoelaces until my mother saw my tie my shoes a few months ago and said something about it.

What I do now with my casual vans sneakers that I don't have to wear to work is, I take the shoelace, make the bunny ear loop and tie a knot into itself the loop at each of the top holes, one on each side. so the shoe stays tied forever and is essentially a slip on shoe.

I've been known to trip over my own feet. I was always tripping when I was a child. It was so bad, mom and dad would always tell me to watch where I was walking. While i can tie my own shoes, I still have problems tripping over them. Thank heavens for loafers and velcro.

You didn't really say, but I presume you mean you do tie your shoelaces, but they come undone all the time?

If so, let me share with you the secret of shoelace tying: http://www.ted.com/talks/terry_moore_ho ... shoes.html (it's only a 3 minute video, well worth watching). Most NTs don't know this, either, by the way, so if you learn it you will probably be top shoelace-tier at your work place.

Here's the knot I normally use and recommend - the "Ian Knot": http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/ianknot.htm

You end up with the same knot as what's shown in the TED video, it's just a faster way to do it and the explanation is in text and diagrams, which is quite helpful. For comparison, here's the same guy's explanation of the "granny knot", which is the one most people know: http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/slipping.htm

Now, when I really, really need the knot to be secure (in a situation where tripping over can be fatal) I use the "Double Slip Knot": http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm I don't bother with this one normally, because it is a bit trickier to tie and I don't think I've ever had the "Ian Knot" come undone. This knot also helps with long shoelaces, though - it "uses up" a lot of the length. Or you can just do the standard knot twice.

Oh, and a little suggestion to the OP: edit the topic title to mention tying shoelaces, so people can get some idea of what the topic is about. I'm sure there are others that can benefit from this, too.

I fixed the title. Ha, the thread was about how bad I felt about the whole having my shoelace tied for me thing, but I like how it turned out to be about how not to have it happen again.

Thanks for all the videos, etc.

I got a pair of NVA (East German Army) boots for $9. They've lasted for 7 years so far and no laces.