The common activity of everyone’s routine with shoes is to tie or untie the shoelaces but do you ever think about what comes to mind when you hear about shoelaces? Simply you think about the shoestrings system in which a cord passed through eyelets on opposite sides of a shoe.
Types of Shoelaces
You can simply secure your foot in the shoe by tightening the laces. But let me tell you that there is a complete science behind types of shoelaces and different types of shoelaces styling. We will tell you each detail about Shoestrings that can help you to learn more about this product.
Different Types of Shoelaces
Cotton Shoelaces
Do you believe if I tell you that cotton shoestrings are the most common type of shoelaces used to tie shoes? Cotton is a conventional material that is used to make laces for many years. The cotton laces come in different varieties and colors so you can easily choose your desirable laces according to your comfort. It is a traditional natural fiber that provides strength to the laces. The rough surface of the cotton laces helps you to make a reliable knot as compared to the other materials.
But why is it a good quality shoestring? The strength, durability, and easy cleaning make it a fabulous shoelace. You can buy different types of cotton shoestrings like Flat Athletic Cotton, Round Waxed Cotton, Waxed Cotton, Cotton Twisted, and Cotton Fashion shoestrings. The cotton shoe strings are good for all types of footwear such as fashion sneakers, sports shoes, trail running shoes, canvas shoes, casual shoes, and dress shoes.
Polyester Shoelaces
Add luster to your shoes with the sturdy polyester shoestrings. It is a resilient and durable fiber that is used to make different types of shoestrings. You can use different structure polyester shoestrings such as Round, Reflective, Flat, Square, Oval, and Round Shoelaces. The tear resistance and waterproof qualities make polyester shoestrings worthy of your shoes. These shoestrings are great for sports sneakers because they give you a tight grip.
Textures, Spun, and Recycled polyester material are used to make different types of polyester shoestrings. The polyester shoelaces are soft and thick so they stay tied all day long.
Polyester shoestrings come in a wide range of colors so you can easily match them with your sneakers. You don’t have to worry about its cleanliness because you can easily clean them in your automatic washer.
Nylon Shoelaces
Looking for an ideal shoestring for your shoes then you can tough and durable nylon shoestrings. Nylon shoe strings are susceptible to friction and provide high abrasion-resistant. These shoestrings will not tangle due to their thickness. You can use these strong shoestrings in your survival, military, and hiking shoes. Nylon Shoe Strings are the best substitute for your shoe’s speed lace eyelets.
The shoelaces come in different styles such as Braided nylon shoelaces, Flat nylon shoestrings, Athletic Nylon Shoestrings,550 Paracord Boot Laces, Riedell Spun Nylon Laces, outdoor Nylon Boot Laces, and OrthoStep Thin Round Nylon laces.
You can also use soft and durable Nylon Led shoelaces to sparkle your sneaker in Parties, Dancing, Cycling Hiking Skating, and outdoor activities.
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These shoestrings are easy to wear and easy to clean. You can wash them in your washing machine and it will dry quickly.
Elastic Shoelaces
Elastic Shoestrings are one of the best laces for your sneakers. These are made from stretchy material that provides a flexible and snug fit of shoes on your feet. Elastic laces wrap your foot easily and your shoe will not slip easily. You can smoothly put on and off your shoes with elastic shoelaces. Elastic laces can bear maximum tension and tightness can adjust according to your sneaker.
You can buy the elastic shoestrings in different styles such as No Tie Elastic, No Tie Curly Elastic, Coilers Elastic, Norco Elastic, Stretch lace Elastic shoelaces.
The elastic shoelaces are very easy to clean as compared to other material shoelaces such as cotton or polyester. You can clean them with a wet cloth and they will shine like new shoestrings.
Leather Shoelaces
Want to give your shoes an expensive and premium look then use leather shoelaces. The leather shoestrings are the traditional lace that was used 5,500 years ago in Areni-1 shoes. The leather shoelaces are used by old civilizations. Leather is a versatile material known for its sturdiness and durability.
The leather shoestrings come in different styles and materials such as Rawhide laces, Sheepskin Leather Shoelaces, Round Leather Shoelaces, Flat PU Leather Laces, TOFL Logger Leather laces, and Tan Leather Shoelaces. There is one benefit in leather laces that you can easily trim them according to your required length because these laces are longer than necessary. The leather shoelaces work great with construction, running, trekking, hiking, sporting, and hunting footwear.
The wash of leather laces is very easy. You just have to fill a bowl with warm water and add 30ml of laundry detergent or one scoop of washing powder. Just Remove the laces and place them in the bowl to soak.
After a few minutes remove the laces from the bowl and leave these to dry. After drying, you can use the new shiny leather shoelaces.
Hemp Shoelaces
Want to upgrade your pair of shoes with eco-friendly sustainable shoestrings then Hemp is the best choice for your shoes. Hemp is the part of Cannabis sativa plant species that is grown only for industrial purposes. Hump fiber possessed great strength and durability that makes them suitable for shoelaces construction.
Shoelaces made from 100% raw natural hemp are eco-friendly and great for those who care about the environment.
These shoelaces are Leather-free; Sweat free, Biodegradable, and Non-Synthetic. You don’t have to wash them in a machine, simply use a wet brush for cleanliness and let them dry naturally.
Laces Aglets / Laces Sheath / Laces Tips
The shoestrings are incomplete without the aglets because you cannot put your shoelaces into your shoe holes without aglets. The small piece of metal or plastic at the end of the shoestrings is the aglets that serve the purpose to keep the shoelace fibers together and prevent the shoelaces from fraying.
The aglets not only give shoestrings a fine decorative look but also you can easily put shoestrings through the lugs. The aglets can be made of different stuff such as plastic, metal, rubber and silicon. Many sources claim that Harvey Kennedy is the mastermind behind this invention. You can use different types of aglets that suit your laces.
Metal Aglets
Do you want to give extra protection to your shoestrings? Simply use the metal aglets. The metal aglets are hard and durable that cannot be easily broken. The metal is a sturdy material that is convenient to use in the shoestrings. The Metal aglets provide solid grip to the both ends of the strings and make it easier to cross the holes smoothly.
The metal tips are also useful in preventing the strings from losing thread. The metal aglets are a good alternative to change your frayed shoestrings. The metal aglet comes in different sizes, shapes and colors so you can easily choose the suitable aglets for your shoes.
Plastic Aglets
Nowadays plastic is the most common material for making aglets. Plastic aglets are more affordable than metal aglets. The plastic tip provides extra protection to the cords and extends the life of shoestrings. Most of the companies are making aglets with Thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) that gives transparency, and abrasion to aglets. The plastic aglets make it easy for you to replace old frayed laces. The plastic aglets come in various colors so you can decorate your laces with bright colors.
DIY Aglets
Don’t want to spend your money on some expensive aglets, then you can use the DIY process for making some convenient and strong aglets but why do you have to use the DIY process when you can replace the old aglets.If you are unable to find matching laces with the correct length or you want to make strong aglets with a sparkle then you can use the below methods for homemade aglets.
Wax / Resin Aglet
If you are in an emergency or want to replace your damaged aglets then you just need candle wax for quickly making an aglet. You just have to Drip wax onto the end of the lace and then start molding the wax between your fingers to give the aglets a sharp look. Just make sure wax will not dry and stay warm during the rolling.
Glue / Nail Polish Aglets
This process is also a quick way to make aglets with glue or nail polish. Just put a tiny amount of glue or nail polish onto both ends of the laces. You have to squeeze and twist both ends to minimize the thickness of the aglets. Simply trim the rough ends after completely drying the solution. You can add some more layers of colorful polish with glitter to add sparkle and shine to your laces. Don’t use instant glue such as super glue, gorilla glue, or Loctite Super Glue Gel because it will skin on your skin and dry quickly which is much harder to take off.
Melted Aglets
It is the fastest way to change your frayed aglets. You can use this process if you are using synthetic material laces such as polyester, nylon, rayon, and latex. You have to simply melt both ends to turn the ends into a bead. You can add some glue to harden the tips. Don’t touch the melted synthetic material with naked skin as it can burn the skin.
Types of Shoelaces Styles
We simply learn to tie shoelaces in the simplest way but there are many ways to tie your laces. You can tie your shoelaces in amazing styles which enhances the beauty of your shoes and gives you a firm grip. There are many other styles of shoe lacing that can be adapted according to comfort, better fit, and to prevent slippage. We will guide you on the best ways to tie your shoestrings that add grace to your shoes.
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Straight Bar Style Lacing
Straight bar lacing is the best style to tie your shoes. It gives your shoes a simple, clean, and aesthetic look.
• Simply insert both ends of the shoestrings into the bottom holes
• Take the right lace and put it through the right hole bring it over and through the left hole
• Put the other lace into the left hole and Now go over through the right hole
• Switch laces and put in the left hole Cross over again and put in the right hole
• Switch the shoelace again and reinsert the right hole by crossing the left hole.
• In the end put the lace in the left hole and go through the right hole
Criss Cross Style Lacing
The most common and simple method to tie your shoes is the Criss Cross lacing style. It is a more comfortable lacing style that you can do with ease. If you want to give your shoes an astonishing look then it is the simplest and easy method to decorate your shoes.
• Now insert the lace running across the bottom and out through the bottom eyelet
• Now each time insert the one end under the eyelet and out through the next higher eyelet
• Repeat the same process until you reach the top
Waffle Lacing
Waffle Style is one of the unique styles to give your shoe a decorative look. This style enhances your shoe look and makes it different from others. This style of lacing also gives you a tight grip.
• Put the lacing going straight across and out through bottom eyelets
• Now crossing the ends and going in through the eyelets two eyelets higher up the shoe skipping one eyelet
• Go through the second eyelet towards higher up
• insert the shoestrings on the inside and out from the next lower eyelet
• Now repeat the same process on the other side Put down the laces on the inside and out through the next lower eyelet
• Now again cross the ends and go up through the empty eyelets
• Put the laces down on the inside and go through the previous eyelet that is already in use.
• Now again Put the other lace out through the already used outlet.
• Now you can repeat the same process if you have more than 4 pairs of eyelet
Army Lacing
Army lacing is used on heavy army boots (Logger Boots Have High Heels). This style of lacing gives you more flex near the ankle area. Check the below details for Army style lacing
• If you have even eyelet pairs, then begin straight across on the inside and put out through the bottom eyelets.
• If you have odd eyelet pairs, then begin straight across on the outside and put in through the bottom eyelets.
• Put the laces straight across the bottom and out from the bottom eyelets.
• Put each side straight up and in through the next higher eyelet
• Cross the ends and put them out through the next higher eyelet from the bottom.
• Again put in the shoelaces straight up outside through the next higher eyelet
• Cross the ends and put them out through the next higher eyelet from the bottom.
• Lastly put the laces straight up outside through the top eyelets
You can try this above method for a stylish and form lacing for your shoes although there are some other styles you can try on your shoes for a cool look. Zig Zag lacing gives your sneaker a decorative look. Sawtooth lacing is a suitable style for sports and military shoes. Woven Lacing is one of the extreme lacing styles which make your shoe look distinctive from others. Lock lacing style gives you a firm tightening and reduces the chances of slippage. This style is beneficial for sports shoes.
The Origin of Shoelaces
Most people don’t know about the origin of shoelaces, which is the most common thing in their daily routine. Do you have any guesses about the origin of shoestrings? The shoelaces’ history goes back to 3500 BC when the team of archeologists discovered the Areni-1 shoe in the Areni-1 cave.
It is estimated by the archeologists that the Areni-1 is a 5,500-year-old leather shoe discovered in 2008. The shoe and laces are made from single-piece cowhide leather. The Areni-1 shoe is two hundred years older than the leather shoe found on Ötzi the Iceman.
Ancient Rome wears the Calceus a mid-weight, outdoor walking shoe which covers the entire foot and ankle, up to the lower shin, and was secured with crossed thongs or laces. The ancient Roman soldiers wear the Caligae boots that were heavy-soled and laced up the center of the foot and onto the top of the ankle.
FAQ’s
What is the material of shoelaces?
The shoelaces can be made of different materials such as Cotton, Polyester, Nylon, Elastic, Leather, Hemp. Each material has unique properties which make shoelaces strong and reliable.
What are shoelace tips called?
A small sheath on both ends of the cord is called the aglet or shoelace tip which protects the fibers of your laces.
Who invented laces?
Harvey Kennedy is the mastermind behind the invention of aglet in 1790.
What is the strongest shoelace?
Ironlace Paracord 550 laces are considered to be the strongest and unbreakable shoelace that comes with 1500 lb. breaking strength. These are made with Para-Aramid Fibers that add more strength to the laces.
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