Lacing Shoes

The most extensive section of this website, including over 100 × step-by-step shoe lacing tutorials, 2,000 × shoe lacing photos, plus the interactive “Create-a-Lace” for designing your own lacing.

Shoe Lacing Methods

An extensive selection of 62 × shoe lacing tutorials, including traditional, decorative, functional and military methods.

Bi-Color Lacing Methods

Lacing shoes with two different colors is a great way to display country or team colors or simply to make use of the spare shoelaces that are supplied with many sneakers nowadays.

Lug Lacing Methods

Many shoes, sneakers and boots come with lugs instead of eyelets. This section presents a number of variations of regular Lacing Methods that are suitable for shoes with lugs.

U-Lace Methods

U-Lace are short, individual elasticized segments for simple, modular lacing – even in multiple colors. This section presents a number of variations of regular Lacing Methods adapted for use with U-Lace.

Create-a-Lace

Experimenting with Shoe Lacing Methods on a real shoe can be tedious. Create-a-Lace is a “virtual diagram” that makes it so much easier. Your creations can even be shared with others by simply sharing the URL.

2 Trillion Lacing Methods?

On an average shoe with six pairs of eyelets, there are almost 2 Trillion ways to feed a shoelace through those twelve eyelets! Impossible? This page shows the maths behind that extraordinary number.

Shoe Lacing Comparison

I've presented a number of different Shoe Lacing Methods on this website. This page compares them feature by feature to help you choose.

Shoe Lacing Ratings

All of the Shoe Lacing Methods on this site allow visitors to rate them from 1 to 5 stars (1=Awful to 5=Excellent). This page shows the results of those ratings.

Shoe Lacing Photos

Huge gallery of more than 2,000 photos of sneakers, shoes, boots & more with every imaginable combination of lacing methods – all contributed by site visitors.

Recent Visitor Feedback

I want to thank you for your site, it is very entertaining and has helped me choose a lacing method for every pair of shoes for years now. Through your site I have discovered Double Helix lacing, which I now use for my everyday shoes.

– Dylan H., Baytown, Texas, USA, Mar-2021

More than everything, I'd like to thanks you for the amazing website; I always struggled a bit with shoelacing, resulting in a bit of a mess; I could tie a knot, but the lacing left a lot to be desired: I always left it exactly as how the shops laced them.

Things started to change when I bought a pair of shoes with my first paychecks (Working does miracles!), I grew affection to them and I wanted to give them proper respect, raise them to a newfound level of respect for something I always took for granted, despite knowing that we were quite poor and we could afford a pair of shoes once every two years.

And then I found your site... What a goldmine!

Everytime I buy a new pair of shoes I don't wear them until I find a lacing that I love and think it fits!

It may not be much, but I even improved on lacing; and I understand them a every step (Mainly because you did an amazing job at explaining each step for any number of eyelids the pair of shoes have).

Again... Thanks. A lot!

– Roberto N., Italy, Mar-2021

Thanks for all the cool techniques on lacing...I’ve been using your site for years.

– Jen S., Yonkers, NY, USA, Feb-2021

My partner found your shoelace website a year ago or so, and he’s had a lot of fun experimenting with different shoelace styles. I just wanted to email you and say how much I love and appreciate your “contribution to the Internet”, as you say. It’s positive, fun, exciting, and extremely informative. Thank you for being who you are, and what you do.

– Tessa., San Francisco, CA, USA, Jan-2021

To whom it may concern I just want to let you know that your website was very helpful to me in learning how to lace a shoe in different ways, appreciate the help thank you so much.

– Donna R., Nov-2020

When I tried to set up my new hunting boots, my dad sat me down and taught me a lacing method that his grandfather had learned in boot camp during World War One. After looking at your site, it turns out that he was taught Straight European Lacing. It's very effective for these boots!

My dad also mentioned that he once saw an exhibit on World War One with mannequins and photos. The mannequins were wearing boots with Criss-Cross Lacing, but in photos, all the doughboys were using Straight European Lacing. Just an interesting anecdote on little historical details!

– Eli K., Pennsylvania, USA, Nov-2020

Just wanted to drop you a note to say thank you for your site. I had to re-lace some shoes today and, without even thinking, searched for 'Ian's Shoelace Site' like an old friend. I spent so much time as a teenager trying out different lacing techniques on my doc martens and converse sneakers, thinking I was the coolest kid alive. Thanks for providing such a good service to the world in such a clear and efficient way.

– Sid R., Durham, NC, USA, Nov-2020

I'm in the UK with a brand new pair of Dr Martens. I found your site while trying to find a lacing method that didn't cross over the tongue as I find it puts pressure on my foot.

I am blown away!!

I didn't realise there were so many beautiful ways to lace and tie.

– Anne E., Oct-2020

Your nickname is a memory palace in and of itself. Whenever I buy new shoes and they need a little work, I remember Professor Shoelace. I have not spent more than $30 on a pair of shoes in a long time now and what I have learned here makes them good shoes.

– Graham G., Aug-2020

I did an internet search looking for a tutorial on “straight” lacing. Your site popped right up, and I’m so glad it did. I learned proper terminology and “how to” very quickly. I can’t wait to peruse your site further very soon.

– Laura, Tennessee, USA, Aug-2020