6 ways to thread shoelaces!

I bought some new tennis shoes. Or would you call them sneakers? I never use that word. Whatever they are, they have 4 pairs of holes. They came with the standard shoeshop display lacing, but I don't like it very much, because the laces end up on the inside of the shoe plus they are tedious to tighten. I decided to explore other options which means to Google. I struck gold at Ian's shoelace site!

On the right you see "Straight European Lacing". The laces run straight across on the outside and diagonally on the inside. It looks sleek and minimalist and was definitely the favoured style in Stockholm, when I lived there. But it's a bit fiddly to tighten.


On the left I've just done two crosses on the top. The laces criss cross all the way on the inside and end up on the inside on the top. It's easy to tighten, looks tidy and eats up some length which is nice, since I don't like the ends hanging long.

The left starts with one straight across and carries on with a cross. Finishes with a bow on the top. The laces criss cross all the way on the inside and are easy to tighten. The style looks neat but a bit random.

The right one is the classic "Criss cross" with a straight start. You could have the straight on the inside to achieve an unbroken crisscross look. It's simple, comfy and quick and leaves the ends on the top.

The crazy one on the left is "Double Helix Lacing". All the laces run one way diagonally on the outside and the other way on the inside. It's said to reduce friction and to allow faster, easier lacing. The style looks interesting but you have to pull one lace on the inside and one lace on the outside to tighten. Straange.

The style on the right is called "Display Shoe Lacing". It's a reverse of the criss cross and leaves the knot on the inside, hence you can hide the laces inside the shoe when it's in the box. This one you have to start with one straight across.

Bet you haven't seen these before. Here we have "Lattice Lacing" on the left. It looks cool but it would take you ages to get the shoes on! The knot is very much on the inside. This style has a point of difference for sure.


I must admit I find the "Asterisk" on the right very cute. It's actually not too difficult to tighten as a single one. You need multiples of 3 eylet pairs + one for tying the knot.




And the chosen method is... Now I just need black laces, as the white ones are too glary!