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• Begin straight across on the outside (grey section) and in through the bottom eyelets.

• Cross the ends on the inside and emerge through the set of eyelets three rows higher up the shoe (skip past two sets of eyelets).

• Cross the ends on the outside and feed in through the next lower set of eyelets.

• Continue three steps up, one step back until lacing is completed.

1 The standard method skips the second-from-top and second-from-bottom eyelets, which results in underlying crosses of a consistent height and angle.

2 The top and bottom crossovers can be "squashed" by skipping past only one pair of eyelets. This will result in a look that is less consistent but more dense, which will also use more shoelace. Note that on shoes with an odd number of eyelet pairs, one end of the lacing (either the top or the bottom) will need to be squashed.

3 The overlapping crossovers can be interwoven, producing a really interesting look. Note that because of the weave, the laces follow the opposite path through the eyelets: The inner crossovers weave to the outside, then in through the eyelets, while the outer crossovers weave to the inside, then out through the eyelets.

Although this interwoven variation looks great, it is terribly difficult to tighten or loosen. It's best used on low shoes or sneakers, which can be removed without loosening and thus disturbing the interwoven sections.