How do you tie your shoes?

I know, you have been tying your shoes since you learned to dress by yourself, and you can now do it with your eyes closed, but many, perhaps most, people do it the wrong way. I was told about the right way by an engineer quite some time ago, but for some reason I never followed his advice until now. Done correctly, the knots are much less likely to come undone.

When I went to post this question, Fluther gave a pointer to a previous related question. Scroll down to Harp’s post. As was so often the case during his brief tenure here, Harp nailed it, but the answer is worth repeating.

This is a case where a picture is not worth a thousand words. I checked a few Web sites giving pictorials, but I think a simple verbal explanation works best.

The usual way of tying shoes is a variation on doing a double knot. There are two ways of doing a double knot. One is the granny knot where both knots are tied in the same direction, either left over right or right over left. The other way is a square knot where the two knots are tied in opposite directions. The square knot is the better way to go. Any force that acts to loosen one knot will be resisted because it will tighten the other knot.

Check to see which directions you use for tying your shoelace. If both knot directions are the same and your laces tend to get undone, switch the direction that you do the first knot. It will work wonders.