Ian's Fast Moccasin Knot
Ian's faster technique for tying the decorative shoelace bow commonly used on moccasins and slippers. A “loop” and a “noose” are simultaneously formed and pushed through each other.
Step 1:
The left (blue) end is formed into an “open loop” while the right (yellow) end is formed into a “full loop” with the loose end at the front of the top crossover.
Step 2:
Hold the right (yellow) “full loop” by the top crossover and swing it to the left, tucking the loop behind the vertical section.
Step 3:
Swing the left (blue) loop across to the right, ending up behind the right (yellow) loop.
Step 4:
Push the vertical (yellow) section in through the front of the right (yellow) loop to emerge at the left side. This transforms the “loop” into a “noose”.
At the same time, push the end of the left (blue) loop in through the back of the right (yellow) noose to emerge at the right side.
Step 5:
Hold the right (blue) loop and the right (yellow) loose end with the right hand, then hold the left (yellow) loop with the left hand and pull tight to complete the knot.
Finished Knot Gallery
The finished Ian's Fast Moccasin Knot is identical to the regular Moccasin Shoelace Knot, and should have both loose ends draped towards the front of the knot (nearest the toes) and both loops towards the back of the knot (nearest the ankles).
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Technical Details
Tying Quickly
The key to tying this knot quickly is the simultaneous feed-through and transfer of the two loops at Step 4, which I call the “middle fiddle”. Once you've mastered this step, the rest of the knot becomes a fairly smooth in-out movement: Form both loops on the way in, do the “middle fiddle”, then pull everything tight on the way out.
Comparison to Regular Moccasin Knot
This technique forms the identical finished knot to the regular Moccasin Shoelace Knot – only much faster. The result is therefore just as good visually (ie. mirrored symmetry) – but it's also just as bad functionally (ie. doesn't hold the sides of a shoe closed).
Unique Technique?
Although I developed Ian's Fast Moccasin Knot following my own extensive experiments, it's possible that what I came up with isn't new or unique. In particular, it's exactly the sort of fast, efficient technique that I would expect to be used in factories that make moccasins or slippers.
Alas, I've searched far and wide without finding any video, image or even a description of another similarly fast way to tie moccasins. I'm therefore releasing this knot to the world as my very own “Ian's Fast Moccasin Knot”.
If anyone can prove that this knot exists elsewhere, please contact me.
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More “Ian's Moccasin Knot” Pages
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Related Links
Moccasin Shoelace Knot
Regular (slower) technique for tying the identical moccasin knot.
Ian Knot
Ian's similarly fast technique for tying a regular shoelace knot.
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