Shoe Lacing Methods

Criss Cross

Probably the most common method of lacing normal shoes and boots, the laces simply criss-cross as they work their way up the shoe.

Over Under

Alternates between outer and inner crossovers, which reduces friction, making it easier to tighten and loosen plus reducing wear and tear.

Lock

Vertical segments with the opposite ends passing underneath form “pulleys” for extra tightening, locking the heels for less slippage in running or climbing shoes.

Gap

Skip a crossover to create a gap in the middle of the lacing, either to bypass a sensitive area of the foot or to increase ankle flexibility.

Straight European

Traditional straight lacing, which appeared to be more common in Europe, has straight sections on the outside and diagonals on the inside.

Straight Bar

Horizontal “bars” on the outside with inner, hidden verticals, which looks neat plus relieves pressure on the upper ridge of the foot.

Hidden Knot

A variation of “Straight Bar Lacing” with the knot hidden on the inside, resulting in a distinctive look for trendy shoes or dress shoes alike.

Straight Easy

Simplified variation of “Straight Bar Lacing” where one end runs straight from bottom to top while the other end steps through the eyelets.

End Shortening

A variation of “Straight Bar Lacing” with a convoluted path on the inside that invisibly consumes more shoelace, effectively “shortening” the ends.

Commando

Used by various military to lace tall combat boots. One end is anchored at the bottom and the other end is used for tying off at the top.

Hiking / Biking

Distributes pressure evenly, plus keeps knots and ends to the inside – away from scrub (hiking) or to the outside – away from chains (biking).

Quick Tight

Straight lacing split into sections for quick and even tightening. One loose end tightens the top section, the other end tightens the bottom.

Gippo

A blend of “Quick Tight Lacing” and “Corset Lacing”, combining split sections plus closed loops at top for quick, firm tightening of tall boots. (From: Rene de Wet)

Ukrainian

Permanently-anchored loose ends plus a “captive” starting knot, which saves having to re-tie that first knot each time. (From: Vitaliy Gnatenko)

Corset

Traditional lacing for corsets in which the laces can be gripped and pulled very tightly via the middle loops. Effective – but looks unusual.

Sawtooth

All of the inner diagonals pull at a steep angle, which shifts the alignment of the sides and may fix an otherwise ill-fitting shoe.

Lightning

Looks a bit like a lightning bolt, plus it's lightning fast to lace. The laces run diagonally on the outside, vertically on the inside.

Shoe Shop

Once common in shoe shops when shoes came pre-laced this way. One end runs from bottom to top, the other zig-zags through the eyelets.

Display Shoe

Inside-out version of “Criss Cross Lacing”, often used by shoe stores and photographers to hide the loose ends inside their display shoes.

CAF Combat Boot

The official method prescribed by the Canadian Armed Forces for lacing combat boots, safety boots and lineman boots.

Chevron

Separate sections of “Criss Cross Lacing” and “Display Shoe Lacing”, forming upright and inverted chevrons (∧, ∨) similar to those on military or police uniforms.

Ladder

Distinctive lacing worn on military boots by paratroopers and others. The laces weave horizontally and vertically, forming a secure ladder.

Quick Release Ladder

To speed up the removal of tall boots with many eyelets, this lacing only needs a couple of simple steps to release the top row, then the rest of the lacing loosens instantly.

Spider Web

A decorative method sometimes worn on military boots. The laces weave vertically and diagonally, forming an intricate “web”.

Double Back

The lacing first runs down the shoe, then doubles back up the shoe. Looks interesting plus holds very firmly, but is awkward to tighten.

Bow Tie

Vertical sections on the inside and crossovers on the outside form a “bow tie” outline. Needs minimum shoelace length and thus “lengthens” ends.

Army

Used on combat boots by various armies. Inner crossovers and outer verticals allow the sides to flex more easily – perfect for stiff army boots.

Train Track

Outer verticals and doubled-up inner horizontals look like train tracks and sleepers. Very tight lacing due to the doubled passes through eyelets.

Winter Solstice

Laces take the shortest path through all the eyelets and with hardly any segments visible – reminiscent of the sun's path in mid-winter.

Left Right

One end always emerges through eyelets, the other always feeds in through eyelets, forming “V”s that point alternately left and right.

Double Helix

Laces angled one way on the outside and the other way on the inside. This double helix reduces friction for faster, easier tightening and loosening. (From: Monte Fisher)

Locked Double Helix

A variation of “Double Helix Lacing” with inside-out crossovers, transforming it from a low-friction, fast lacing into a high-friction lacing that “locks” each row. (From: Matt Jensen)

Double Cross

The laces run three steps forward on the inside, one step back on the outside. The result is short, wide crosses overlapping tall crosses.

Two-One-Three

Lacing across the ankle area in “2-1-3” sequence reduces pinching and may help prevent painful “lace bite” in tightly laced boots or skates.

Hash

The laces are crossed steeply on the outside, then take one step back on the inside, forming overlapping crossovers that resemble hash “#” symbols.

Waffle

This method runs two steps forward, one step back, with double-passes through eyelets. Resembles the grid pattern of a waffle.

Lattice

The outer segments are crossed at a steep angle, allowing them to be woven through each other to form a decorative lattice in the middle.

Zipper

At each eyelet, hook under the prior crossover to “lock” the laces, which helps when lacing tightly. Also looks interesting – a bit like a giant zipper.

Riding Boot

Specifically meant for equestrian or motorbike riding boots that loosen at mid-boot. The laces zig-zag from both ends and tie at the middle.

One Handed

Anchored at top and laced down to the bottom, with the friction of the eyelets sufficient to hold fairly tight without even tying off the loose end.

Segmented

Using two shoelaces per shoe splits the lacing into two segments, each of which can be laced up as tightly or loosely as required for comfort.

Knotted Segment

Tie a “Reef Knot” near the middle of the lacing to permanently set the tightness of the lower section independent of the upper section.

Loop Back

Each side loops back on itself down the middle, rather like when two springs become intertwined. Those loop backs may shift off-centre.

Hill Valley

Pairs of rows are looped around each other, the peaked rows forming “hills” and the dipped rows forming “valleys”.

Knotted

Adding a half knot at each crossover increases friction and holds the lacing much firmer, such as when firmly tightening skates.

Twistie

Similar to “Loop Back Lacing” with full twists instead of half twists, forming vertical half knots similar to the horizontal ones in “Knotted Lacing”.

Roman

Verticals hidden on the inside plus “X”s and “I”s on the outside, which looks like Roman numerals and suits both casual and dress shoes.

C.I.A.

Taught to C.I.A. officers during the Cold War, one or more “signal” crossovers is placed between straight segments for covert signalling. (From: Robert Wallace)

Hexagram

Forms a decorative “hexagram”, or six-pointed star, which has been used by many cultures and religions, most notably as the “Star of David”.

Pentagram

Forms a decorative “pentagram”, or five-pointed star, which appears everywhere from Converse sneakers to the flags of various countries.

Asterisk

Lacing sets of three eyelet pairs with a crossover plus a straight section results in a decorative series of asterisk (_*) symbols.

Starburst

All of the visible shoelace segments cross diagonally at the middle of the shoe, forming a massive “starburst”.

Supernova

The laces cross diagonally over two focal points, forming a “black hole” in between. Needs maximum shoelace length and thus “shortens” ends.

Zig Zag

The laces alternate between inner verticals and outer diagonals that wrap around the opposite verticals, forming a twin-rail zig-zag path.

Progressive

Crossovers running at progressively steeper angles towards the toes. Feels progressively tighter towards the ankles, plus it looks decorative.

Perspective

Vertical segments on the inside plus diagonal segments of varying slopes overlapping on the outside form a sideways perspective grid.

Escher

Decorative lacing whose outline resembles fish swimming alternately left and right, like those from Dutch artist M.C. Escher.

Cascade

A decorative lacing with each row looped under the previous row, forming a diagonal series of loops that appears to “cascade” down the shoe. (From: Tim Talley)

Cyclone Fence

Alternately looping under the left and right of previous rows forms a decorative lacing that resembles a section of cyclone fencing (or “chain-link” fencing).

Woven

An “extreme lacing” for those who want what others wouldn't attempt. The laces weave up and down between rows, creating an intricate mesh.

Footbag

Footbag players use this lacing to open up the front of their shoes, making it easier to catch or otherwise control the footbag (or “Hacky Sack”).

NASA Space Boot

Used on astronaut's space boots during the early space program. A doubled-up shoelace snakes up the shoe, passing both ways through each eyelet to lock tightly.