A better way to tie gym shorts (or any drawstring) [video]

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• Hacker News
• HN is reading my thoughts again with this one
  by yesidoagree
• haha...not bad. Nice try
  by mmakeev
• I have learned so many complex things in my life but I can’t for the life of me seem to be able to learn knots. There was a period I had a rope on my desk I would practice them for a couple of months everyday. It’s been maybe 5 years since then and I can’t remember a single one.

  Same thing with solving a rubics cube. I spent 3 months getting pretty good at it, like I could consistently solve them in under 15 secs. That was two years ago. I picked up a cube two months ago and tried to solve it and couldn’t remember even the first step. I had an app I used to set up, solve and track the cube and I logged 10,000+ solves and I can’t remember how to do it less than 2 years later. Sigh.

  by dyauspitr
• Interesting...
  by roger-2026
• It looks like you really fucked up tying you shorts though. Don't mind me, I dum dum
  by raver1975
• From a knot theorist: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/yZuWPjnF6k0
  by esafak
• Looks like the Ian Knot, seen on hackernews everywhere.
  by loco5niner
• It's amazing the things you learn here..
  by weavie
• Agreed! Even better, this is a knot I need.
  by mondainx
• Flag rope knots are low key stressful. You only need to do them once every 5-10 years or so, so you don't really develop any expertise through practice. If you do it wrong, you probably have to pay or arrange for a team of two people to lower the flagpole.

  The flag rope for our 12 meter flagpole broke. I seriously debated getting a drone to replace it in situ. Then I realized hauling just a few hundred grams of rope needs a fairly serious drone.

  by lysace
• If you have to tie your gym shorts, they're the wrong size.
  by someguyiguess
• hn really is more reddit-like with each passing day.
  by adhoc_slime
• That's a semi-noob illusion, as old as the hills
  by kube-system
• Life’s too short. Double cross is the only knot you need.
  by brador
• just start with a double square knot (or whatever the first step is called) and pull it tight before starting the bow. it won't move while you tie the bow, and it's so much easier than this. if you have particularly slippery substrate, start with a triple instead
  by stronglikedan
• A reef knot (or square knot) cannot be adjusted or tied under load. When you tie the second crossing, the first one always loosens a bit. The lapp knot in the video can be tensioned properly after tying, which is pretty slick.
  by wffurr
• As long as you switch directions when tying a bunny ears knot, it will stay tied. I do left over/right under for the first step and then left under/right over for the second step. The ears/loops should sit balanced and not lopsided. I use the same knot to tie my shoes.
  by quickthrowman
• Does this also work for full length pants?
  by BrokenCogs
• Isn't that just a slipped sheet bend?
  by senderista
• Tightens well but I end up with a weird super long dangly side
  by zeafoamrun
• I lived several decades knowing only the standard set of knots (square, granny) that every six-year-old knows.

  Recently, due to Scouts, learned more and I can't believe how often I use them.

      "Dryer's busted! My DIY laundry line sags! What to do?!"
  
      "If only I could make a loop that won't move in the middle of this rope!"
  

  ... and... this knot is new to me. I'm stoked to add it to the brainbox. Way to go, OP!
  by inanutshellus
• Ever since I was a scout in the 90s I've been considering how to get in contact with them about discouraging use of the square knot.

  The way that loading it crosswise causes it to shift into a double half hitch, turning from a "hold fast" knot to a slipknot... That's funky behavior and should disqualify it from being among the first few knots people learn. If you're using it for its advertised purpose, it's downright dangerous, and the square/granny confusion is just needless pain to discourage a newbie.

  If you wanna tie two ropes together and have a less finicky experience, use a fisherman's knot. Which is basically a pair of overhands, each around the other rope.

  It's a much more reliable knot for trying two ropes together, lacks the annoying gotchas of the square knot, and for a long list of reasons I won't bore you with here it is a better foundation for learning other knots. (It's no good for drawstrings though, too reliable, no quick release).

  by __MatrixMan__
• This is up there with opening a banana by pinching the other end
  by tim-projects
• Doesn't seem to work very well with flat strings it seems (or I suck at knotting).
  by PatronBernard
• Or the way most drawstrings are now: a loop and not two loose ends.
  by SoftTalker
• 99% of all loose ties are due to people doing a granny knot instead of a square knot.
  by mgaunard
• It took a few minutes to get the hang of, but it does work very nicely! Being able to adjust length without any re-tying is a great feature
  by ActivePattern
• The knot of called a "sheet bend". Great for connecting two different sized ropes as well.
  by __mharrison__
• Funny, I just went seeking this video again last week

  He published an addendum https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbTYCHPLWLI

  by gegtik
• Very interesting, I've seen these various knot videos and seems really cool. Some even do it with one hand. Pretty sure I'm going to be trying this one though
  by KashifNY