Decorative Lacing Patterns

schematic

Checkerboard Lacing

Checkerboard lacing weaves a second lace horizontally through a first laced in vertical bars, producing an alternating two-colour grid across the whole tongue.

Best for: Two-colour geometric display

Steps

1. Lace the first colour in straight bars all the way up.
2. Thread the second lace under the first bar, over the second, under the third.
3. Weave the second lace back across, reversing the over-under sequence.
4. Continue until the grid is filled, then tuck both ends.

Tip
The bars must be evenly spaced or the squares come out as rectangles. Lace slowly.

schematic

Spider Web Lacing

Spider web lacing crosses each end back through the crossing two rows below, building a layered web of overlapping diagonals that radiate from the centre of the tongue.

Best for: A radiating web across the tongue

Steps

1. Bar across the bottom pair, ends on top.
2. Cross the ends and feed each down through the second row up.
3. Bring each end back and hook it under the crossing two rows below.
4. Cross again and continue upward.

Tip
Reads best in a single bright colour against a dark shoe. Two colours muddle the web.

schematic

Zipper Lacing

Zipper lacing threads each end back through the loop it just made before crossing, creating an interlocking chain up the centre that mimics zipper teeth.

Best for: A lace that looks like a zip

Steps

1. Bar across the bottom pair with ends on top.
2. Feed each end up through the loop it formed on its own side.
3. Cross the ends and thread into the next eyelet pair.
4. Repeat, always looping before crossing.

Tip
The tightest-holding decorative pattern. It is genuinely hard to loosen quickly.

schematic

Ladder Lacing (Display)

Ladder lacing shows two taut vertical rails with horizontal rungs between them, tucked under the rails at each side. It is the most structural-looking of the display patterns.

Best for: A rigid vertical ladder

Steps

1. Bar across the bottom pair, ends underneath.
2. Run each end straight up the outside into the next eyelet on the same side.
3. Cross both ends and tuck each under the opposite vertical.
4. Repeat to the top.

Tip
Keep every rail segment at identical tension or the ladder visibly leans.

schematic

Lattice Lacing (Display)

Lattice lacing skips two rows at a time in each direction and weaves the returning diagonals over and under the outbound ones, filling the tongue with a diamond basket weave.

Best for: A woven basket panel

Steps

1. Bar across the bottom pair.
2. Run each end diagonally up, skipping two rows.
3. Return each end diagonally, weaving alternately over and under.
4. Finish by threading both ends up the top pair.

Tip
Needs eight eyelet pairs minimum. On six pairs the diamonds have nowhere to close.

schematic

Double Helix Lacing

Double helix lacing keeps both lace ends spiralling in the same rotational direction, so the two strands twist around each other like a rope rather than crossing flat.

Best for: A twisted-rope spiral

Steps

1. Bar across the bottom pair, ends underneath.
2. Run each end up the same side one row and out.
3. Cross both ends in the same rotational direction and thread down.
4. Never reverse the twist direction.

Tip
Two contrasting colours make the helix obvious. One colour and it just looks messy.

schematic

Hexagram Lacing

Hexagram lacing builds a six-pointed star by running long diagonals across three rows and short bars back, with the crossings arranged to intersect at the centre of the tongue.

Best for: A six-pointed star on the tongue

Steps

1. Bar across the bottom pair.
2. Run each end diagonally up three rows to the opposite side.
3. Bar across, then run diagonally back down two rows.
4. Adjust the crossings so they meet at the tongue centre.

Tip
The star only centres on an odd eyelet count. Six pairs will not close the shape.

schematic

Riddle Lacing

Riddle lacing looks like a continuous chain with no visible start or end. Both lace ends are hidden inside the shoe and the pattern reads as a closed loop.

Best for: An apparently impossible pattern

Steps

1. Start both ends from inside the shoe at the middle eyelets.
2. Work one end upward in a chain and the other downward.
3. Turn each end back at the extremes and lock it under a crossing.
4. Tuck both ends inside the shoe.

Tip
The shoe becomes effectively slip-on. Lace it once to a foot that fits.

schematic

Bi-Colour Lacing

Bi-colour lacing runs one colour up one side and a second colour up the other, producing a shoe split cleanly down the middle. It is the simplest two-colour pattern.

Best for: Two colours, one clean split

Steps

1. Take two laces and knot them together at the midpoint.
2. Hide the joining knot under the tongue at the bottom eyelet.
3. Lace each colour up its own side in straight bars.
4. Tie a two-colour bow at the top.

Tip
Buy two pairs of laces in different colours and you have four bi-colour combinations.

schematic

Chevron Lacing

Chevron lacing forms a column of pointed arrowheads by pairing each crossing with a short vertical, so the visual result is a stack of V shapes rather than X shapes.

Best for: Stacked arrowheads up the tongue

Steps

1. Bar across the bottom pair.
2. Cross the ends and thread down into the next row.
3. Run each end straight up one row on its own side before crossing again.
4. Repeat so each crossing sits directly above the last.

Tip
The verticals must be short. Long verticals turn chevrons into a plain zigzag.

schematic

Knotted Lacing

Knotted lacing ties a simple overhand knot in the lace at each crossing point, giving a beaded texture down the centre of the shoe and a pattern that cannot slip.

Best for: Beaded texture along the tongue

Steps

1. Lace criss-cross for the bottom row.
2. Before threading the next eyelet, tie a single overhand knot where the ends cross.
3. Pull the knot down to sit flat on the tongue.
4. Repeat at every crossing.

Tip
Nearly impossible to loosen quickly. Not a pattern for a shoe you take off often.

schematic

Corset Lacing

Corset lacing runs long crossings with the lace passing back under itself at each eyelet, so tightening one point draws the whole shoe in evenly, exactly as a corset does.

Best for: A drawn-in, cinched appearance

Steps

1. Bar across the bottom pair with ends underneath.
2. Cross the ends and pass each up through the next eyelet from inside.
3. Before crossing again, pass each end under the crossing below.
4. Continue to the top and tie a long bow.

Tip
The friction that makes it cinch also makes it slow to loosen. Budget the time.