Ian's Shoelace Site – Pentagram Lacing

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

Eight pairs of eyelets, variation 12345

Pairs

8

7

6

5

Flip

⇄

Lacing diagram Copyright (c) 2023 by Ian Fieggen

Step

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Lacing Technique – Variation 1 – Upright pentagram

• Begin straight across on the outside (grey section) and in through the middle eyelets. Adjust so that the left (blue) end is a little longer than the right (yellow) end.

• The left (blue) end forms the bottom “cross” as follows: Straight down on the inside (left), diagonally up on the outside, straight down on the inside (right), diagonally up on the outside.

• The left (blue) end then continues to form the upper “rung”: Straight up on the inside (left), straight across on the outside, straight up on the inside (right) and out through the top right eyelet.

• The right (yellow) end forms the middle point as follows: Straight down on the inside (right), diagonally up on the outside to loop around the middle of the top “rung”, diagonally down on the outside.

• The left (yellow) end then runs all the way up the inside to emerge through the top left eyelet.

Variations

• Variation 1 forms an upright pentagram.

• Variation 2 forms an inverted pentagram, which will appear upright when looking down at your own shoes

Features

Decorative look

Loose fit

Tricky to tighten

1% longer ends (approx.)

Notes

• If the crossovers of the laces are carefully woven as shown, the centre of the pentagram will have all the “overpasses” running clockwise, which helps to maintain the shape more securely.

• This lacing works best with thinner or flat laces because several eyelets have to accommodate two passes of shoelace.

• When feeding a second pass of shoelace through an eyelet, take care that the aglet (shoelace tip) doesn't catch on the shoelace fibers and cause any damage.

• These diagrams are drawn with the pentagrams fairly symmetrical and centered. Running the horizontal sections through different eyelets will change the proportions of the five points.

• An inverted pentagram (see above), particularly one inside a circle, is used by some people as a Satanic or occultic symbol.

• On shoes with a tongue centering loop, the top point can be run through that loop to eliminate the upper “rung”. Same goes for an inverted pentagram on shoes with a lower centering loop. Both variations can be seen in the gallery below.

• Although I haven't yet created diagrams for fewer than five eyelet pairs, it's possible to create a pentagram using four eyelet pairs, as can be see in the gallery below, while an inverted pentagram is possible with as few as three eyelet pairs. Simply use the diagram with the fewest eyelet pairs and leave out any empty rows of eyelets.

Pentagram Lacing Gallery

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More photos of Pentagram Lacing

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Shoelace Lengths for Pentagram Lacing

Pairs of eyelets:	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
Length needed:	(N/A)	(N/A)	96 cm 38 inch	107 cm 42 inch	107 cm 42 inch	124 cm 49 inch	124 cm 49 inch
Lengths available:			36"	40"	40"	45"	45"

NOTE: These are approximate shoelace lengths for using this lacing on an average sized sneaker. For more accurate lengths, use the Shoelace Length Calculator.

Comparative Length

Shorter shoelaces needed than those for basic Criss Cross Lacing.

Longer ends if existing shoelaces are re-used (+1% on average).

More details.

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Pentagram Lacing

Lacing Technique – Variation 1 – Upright pentagram