Which lacing for which problem
The methods follow Ian Fieggen’s descriptions on Ian’s Shoelace Site (fieggen.com/shoelace), a long-running site devoted to shoelaces and lacing methods. Our diagrams are our own, drawn from above with the toes at the bottom and six pairs of eyelets. If your shoes have more or fewer, keep the same idea and adjust the rows.
Heel lock for heel slip
Ian’s Shoelace Site calls this lock lacing, and lists the other names you will meet: lace lock, loop lacing lock, heel lock and runner’s tie. Its purpose, in Ian’s words, is locking the heels for less slippage in running or climbing shoes. The version drawn here is his “high lock”:
- Criss-cross as normal until the ends come out of the second-from-top eyelets.
- Run each end straight up the outside and in through the top eyelet on the same side, which leaves a short vertical section on each side.
- Cross the ends and feed each one under the vertical section on the opposite side.
- Pull the ends down and outwards, which draws the loops tight round the ankle, then tie as usual.
Nike’s running guide also describes a heel lock, feeding each lace end through the top loop on the same side, and treats the “runner’s loop” as a separate variation; the names overlap, the principle doesn’t change. If your heel still slips with the lock done up firmly, the shoe may be too long: measure your feet. Heel grips, which Dr. Martens suggests while new boots soften, are the other easy fix.
Gap lacing for a high instep
Ian describes gap lacing as skipping a crossover to create a gap in the middle of the lacing, either to bypass a sensitive area of the foot or to increase ankle flexibility. There are no laces running across the gap to press into the foot, and the gap can sit wherever you need it. Nike calls the same idea window lacing. In the planner above, choose where it presses and the gap moves:
- Criss-cross until the ends come out just below the sore spot.
- Run each end straight up the outside to the next eyelet on the same side.
- Criss-cross from there to the top and tie.
If the whole top of the foot is tender rather than one spot, Ian’s straight bar lacing, which runs the laces straight across rather than crossing them, is another option he describes for relieving pressure on the upper ridge of the foot.
Lacing for a wide forefoot
Nike’s advice for a wide foot is to start by skipping a set of eyelets at the bottom and crossing the laces over. With the lowest eyelets empty, the laces no longer pull the sides of the shoe in across the widest part of the foot. Ian’s progressive lacing takes the idea further, skipping lower eyelets so the crossovers get steeper towards the toes; he says this directs the tension along the shoe rather than across it, which reduces inward tension and may help those with a wide forefoot. His knotted segment lacing is another route: lace the lower half looser for a wide forefoot, lock that tension with a reef knot, and lace the top firmer.
And laces that come undone
If the problem is the bow rather than the fit, look at it: a bow that sits crooked, pointing heel to toe, is a granny knot. Ian’s Shoelace Site says reef knots stay tied while granny knots tend to slip and come loose, and the fix is to reverse your starting knot. Engineers at the University of California, Berkeley, studied how shoelace knots fail when you walk or run. The repeated impact of the foot loosens the knot and the whipping of the free ends then makes it slip, often within seconds; neither does it alone. The bow based on the square (reef) knot held better than the granny version.
Common mistakes
- Overtightening the lock until it bites into the ankle. Firm, not tourniquet.
- Lacing the whole shoe tighter to stop heel slip, which only squeezes the forefoot.
- Laces too short for a lock: it uses a little more lace than plain criss-cross.
- Leaving long loops and ends: the Berkeley study found the swinging ends are part of why knots fail.
For other fit problems, the shoe problem fixer has steps for tight shoes and heel slip by material.