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Crossed "Ian Knot" Shoelace Knot
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This knot is a curiosity that often results from tying the Ian Knot wrongly. Twisting the
starting loops in the wrong direction results in a knot with the ends crossed within the knot. It seems more secure,
but can easily fall apart.
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Step 1:
Tie a Starting Knot as shown, then double each lace back on itself, exactly as is done
with the regular Ian Knot.
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Step 2:
Unlike the regular Ian Knot, the left (yellow) loop is formed by rotating the loose end
behind whilst the right (blue) loop is formed by rotating the loose end in front.
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Step 3:
Here's the crucial difference: The left (yellow) loop, which would naturally end up behind the
right (blue) loop, is instead crossed back to the front, restoring it to the exact position that it would be
in for the regular Ian Knot.
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Step 4:
With everything back in position, this move is identical to that of the regular Ian Knot,
where each hand uses the two fingers inside its own loop to grab the loose end of the other hand's
loop.
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Step 5:
This step, again identical to that of the regular Ian Knot, sees each hand releasing its
own loop and pulling the loose end of the opposite loop through its own. The only noticeable difference is the lace
ends, which are crossed over each other in the middle of the knot.
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Step 6:
When pulled tight, the result is a perfectly symmetrical knot just like the regular Ian
Knot with an extra crossover of lace ends in the middle. With practice, this can be tied almost as quickly
as the regular Ian Knot.
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Finished Knot
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The finished knot looks very similar to the regular "Ian Knot" except for the additional
crossover in the middle of the knot. |
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Technical Details
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Technical Description:
Just as the Ian Knot uses the same core technique as the traditional "Tom Fool Knot"
(which appears in the definitive reference
The Ashley Book of Knots as
both #1141 and in more detail as #2534), the Crossed "Ian Knot" uses the same core technique as the traditional
"Handcuff Knot" (which in turn is shown as both #1134 and #1140). This knot is generally used to make "handcuffs"
from a length of rope. The Crossed "Ian Knot" could be described as a more intricate variant of the Handcuff Knot.
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Is It A Worthwhile Knot?
I'm reluctant to class the Crossed "Ian Knot" as a worthwhile shoelace knot because my own testing has found that
it's a little unstable. Although it seems more secure than the regular Ian Knot when
initially pulled tight, this is easily undone if the knot is disturbed or if either the loops or the ends are given
a slight tug. This is made worse if the knot is not tightened evenly from both sides, which causes the crossover to
end up either in front of or behind the knot rather than squeezed in the middle.
The regular "Ian Knot" is just a good old-fashioned reef knot with the ends passing right through the knot. With
the Crossed "Ian Knot", neither end passes through the knot; instead they pass in and back out the same side. As
a result, where the regular "Ian Knot" needs a large movement of lace before the knot starts to come undone, the
Crossed "Ian Knot" only needs a small movement to spill the crossover out of the knot, after which the knot simply
falls apart.
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This page last updated: 20-Aug-2008. Copyright © 2005-2008 by
Ian W. Fieggen. All rights reserved.
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