Welcome to Ian's Shoelace Site

Fun, fashion & science in the Internet's #1 website about shoelaces – and home of the Ian Knot, the world's fastest shoelace knot. If you want to lace shoes, tie shoes or learn about shoelaces – this is the place!

Lacing Shoes

Contains over 100 × step-by-step shoe lacing tutorials, over 2,500 × shoe lacing photos, plus the interactive “Create-a-Lace” for designing your own lacing.

Tying Shoes

Contains 25 × shoelace knots (including my world's fastest “Ian Knot”), plus info on tying correctly so that they sit straight and stay securely tied – yet can be untied without jamming.

Learn About Shoelaces

Heaps of knowledge about shoelaces, including their construction, length calculations – even what the tips are called, as well as Ian's interviews, articles, Q&As and more.

About

Information about this website and the site's author, Ian Fieggen – including Ian's contact details. Also info on this site's sponsors plus various ways that you, too, can support Ian.

Connect With Professor Shoelace

Contact Ian Fieggen via e-mail or connect with “Professor Shoelace” via YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Gfycat or RSS feed.

Search This Site

Looking for something? This website has more than 300 pages – which can be daunting to wade through! Search the whole of Ian's Shoelace Site using Google Custom Search.

Latest Photo

04-Oct-2023

Today's shoe lacing photo was contributed by Courtney J. in Aug-2012.

Multi-colored Osiris sneakers laced with pink & black Double Lacing.

Both colors complement these multi-colored sneakers.

More Shoe Lacing Photos

What's New?

“Lug Lacing Methods” updates

12-Jul-2023 – Major update to all “Lug Lacing Methods” to allow taller diagrams, so that methods with five pairs of lugs can be shown in full rather than with a cropped diagram.

Updated “Lattice Lacing”

12-Jul-2023 – Major update to “Lattice Lacing” to allow diagrams taller than eight eyelet pairs, enabling step-by-step instructions for individual tall lattices or multiple short lattices.

Updated “Hexagram Lacing”

03-Jul-2023 – Simplified the step-by-step instructions for “Hexagram Lacing” to firstly complete the left (blue) end, plus added a second variation with multiple, overlapping hexagrams.

Updating “Shoelace Lengths” tables

23-Jun-2023 – The “Shoelace Lengths” tables for each lacing method are being updated to better fit on small screens and also to show how much each method “lengthens” or “shortens” the ends.

Updated “Hash Lacing”

15-Jun-2023 – Simplified “Hash Lacing” to just two variations – one with “Regular” hash symbols (roughly square centres), the other with “Compressed” hash symbols (non-square centres).

Recent Visitor Feedback

I've been using your site on and off for many years now, frequently waiting to have something a little interesting in the way I lace my shoes; criss-cross is aesthetically clean, but can become a bit bland. Laces are of course, a nice and discrete way to accessorise, making unique any ensemble.

Thank You very much for both hosting and maintaining your site in the way that you do, I love that it is entirely free to use, had no unnecessary adverts or otherwise invasive elements, is very easy to browse, and even easier to follow your step by step instructions for every single lacing style. I especially like the comparison pages for when there is a logistical need to lace in specific ways; and only just today I noticed the flip feature, genius, no more lacing the second shoe the same as the first because you forget to mirror it by mistake (again)!

– George, Worcestershire, UK, Oct-2023

Love your site, always seem to end up here when looking for disparate answers, love your over under lacing and Ian's knot and aglet repair with thread and glue. Thank you!

– Kathleen D., Sep-2023

I’ve used your site for over 10 years. I taught my children your speed lacing method. As far as I’m concerned I am simply finally settling up with you :)

Thank you for everything,

– Mark N., Sep-2023

I’ve been using your secure knot for many years and was reminded of your website through Hacker News today.

Thank you for doing what you’re doing :)

– Christian R., Sep-2023

Thank you for your very informative website.

– Emad A., Sep-2023