Shoe Lacing Patterns

If you are ready to get snazzier sneakers, creative shoe lacing patterns can help make your shoes stand out. There are many variations in lacing shoes people may want to try, whether it's to add style or for easier lacing.

Basic Shoe Lace Pattern

The most basic shoe lace pattern –- and probably the most traditional – is the standard criss-cross method. This is advantageous for a number of reasons. It's simple to do, offers a neat appearance, and creates a comfortable balance for the shoe's pull on the foot. To lace shoes in a criss-cross pattern, simply simply start with the lace straight across the two bottom eyelets, then alternate crossing the ends of the lace in an under-and-out pattern to the top of the shoe.

This criss-cross method is the one most commonly taught to children. As a guide to shoe lacing, pattern cards and puzzles are sold in many places to help kids master the skill in a fun and easy way.

Another basic lacing method is over-under lacing. This is similar to criss-crossing, but the laces alternate going over and under one another for a more decorative look.

Straight Shoe Lacing Patterns

Straight shoe lacing is another popular pattern that there are actually several variations of. Straight lacing offers a distinctive appearance that can make athletic or casual shoes look a bit more polished, and make dress shoes look as dressy as they deserve.

The easiest way to create a bar lace pattern is to feed both shoe laces through the bottom eyelets and create a bar. Then feed one side of the shoe lace up under the inside of the shoe and pull through the top eyelet. The other shoe lace is the main lace – pull through underneath and straight across to form a bar for each eyelet. Finish with a simple bow to secure. Standard straight lacing alternates laces. Each side of the lace is pulled through underneath and skips an eyelet before lacing across to form the bar.

Other types of straight lace patterns include:

• Hidden Knot Lacing: This pattern used either simple or standard straight lacing, but secures the shoe via an inside knot rather than an external bow.

• European Straight Lacing: This method creates a straight lace, then feeds through diagonally over the tongue of the shoe, each side of the lace alternating eyelets. The result is a straight lace with zigzag pattern underneath.

Creative Lacing Patterns

Not just for function, unique shoe lacing patterns can really create a statement – whether that statement is an edgy, anti-fashion one or a trend-loving fashionista is up to you.

A few types of creative lace patterns include:

• Spiderweb Lacing: This thick, decorative lacing look is fairly wide and creates the appearance of an interlocking web. The lacing actually begins in the second to last eyelet, then utilizes an intricate pattern of vertical bar, then a diagonal, then swooping down and under the previous lace and forming another diagonal to create the web.

• Checker Shoe Lacing: As the name suggests, this lacing pattern is a unique decorative look resembling a checkerboard and is popular on many urban footwear styles. This lacing pattern needs two different colored shoe laces, and begins with a standard bar lace using one shoe of the colored laces. The other colored lace is woven in, out, and through alternating in an over-under pattern to create the small blocks of color. Laces are typically tucked into the shoe to finish.

• Bow Tie Lacing: Cute with a classic feel, bow tie shoe lacing is achieved by feeding the lace underneath vertically, then creating a criss-cross. This lace pattern skips an eyelet after each criss-cross for a distinctive look and finishes with a bow or knotted bow.

Sports Shoe Lace Patterns

Many sports and activities may require certain lacing methods or patterns for optimum safety and comfort. For example, avid hikers and bikers may use a lacing pattern that is an external straight lacing method. This creates secure laces and ends with both laces tied on the interior side of the shoe. It also reduces the possibility of snagging laces. Runners may use a lace lock method, looping laces under a vertical bar, using several diagonal criss-crosses near the top of the shoe, or looping the laces around themselves for the final tie to create lacing that is very secure and tight.

There are many different patterns and cool ways to lace shoes. You might choose a certain pattern for function, fashion, or simply to have some fun with your footwear. An excellent resource is Ian's Shoe Lace Site, by the man known as Professor Shoe Lace, which provide tutorials and photos of many different types of unique lacing methods. The Shoelace Book by Burkard Polster is another good resource, offering information on the various strengths and weaknesses of different lacing patterns.

• Women in Knee High Boots
• Fashion Stiletto Boots
• High Heels Models
• Shoe Style Rules Quiz
• Shoe Fads and Trends Quiz

• Discount Ugg Boots
• SAS Shoes
• Buying SAS Shoes
• Sexy High Heels
• Off Broadway Shoes

• Interview with Professor Shoelace, Ian Fieggen
• Cool Ways to Lace Shoes
• Guide to Lacing Shoes
• Category:About Shoes
• Shoes to Wear with Skinny Jeans