Many shoes do not require laces. Dress shoes, sandals, flip-flops and Crocs are all shoes that you can easily slip on and do not have to worry about lacing or tying. Many children shoes also have easy access where lacing is not an issue. If you often wear this type of shoe it may be unusual to encounter a shoe that requires lacing. The following will provide a quick how to for lacing athletic shoes. You can use this same concept to lace casual dress shoes, children shoes, or even boots.

Lacing a Shoe

Step 1: Insert shoe lace through one hole starting from the outside of the shoe at the very bottom (closest to the toe) and run it across the shoe and out the hole on the other side of the shoe.

Step 2: Make sure the lace is even by bringing the tips of the laces together and adjusting the lace as necessary.

Step 3: Run the lace from the bottom right up to the next hole on the left.

NOTE: Insert the lace from the inside or bottom of the hole.

Step 4 : Run the other end of the lace from the bottom left up to the next hole on the right.

Step 5: Pull the laces tight and repeat the process inserting from the bottom of the hole.

NOTE: Depending on personal comfort you may want to lace through the shoes tongue holder. For this example the tongue holder is used right after the sixth set of holes. Simply place the lace under the loop and continue lacing up the shoe.

Step 6: Continue lacing the shoe first with the left lace then with the right lace until you reach the top of the shoe.

NOTE: Most athletic shoes have an additional hole slightly lower than the top most hole. You can lace through this as the last hole to provide additional support as needed.

Once you lace a shoe it is a simple process. Teaching someone to tie a shoe is a little more tricky and takes time and repetition if you are teaching children. If your lace brakes and you need to buy new ones you can typically find replacement laces at Walmart, Meijer, or Walgreens.