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Bi-Colour Lacing
A multi-coloured variation of "Straight (Bar) Lacing"
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Here's a way of lacing to end up with two different colours alternating up the shoe. Two shoelaces are cut and
joined, then laced as per Straight (Bar) Lacing.
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Faint sections are underneath
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Lacing Technique:
1. Take two different colour laces, each a tiny bit longer than the correct length for the shoes. (I was lucky to
receive two such pairs with my last pair of sneakers!)
2. Cut them not quite in half, but offset by two or three centimetres. See below for how to calculate the
difference in length between the two halves.
3. Tie one longer piece of one colour (purple in my diagram) and one shorter piece of the other colour (orange in
my diagram) firmly together and trim off the excess. For extra security, add a dab of glue. Use the remaining
pieces to make the bi-colour lace for the other shoe.
4. Pull the longer (purple) end out through the bottom right eyelet, feeding from inside the shoe, until stopped by
the joining knot.
5. Now lace the rest of the shoe as per Straight (Bar) Lacing.
FEATURES:
 Very decorative
 Work required
Slight discomfort
NOTE:
Any slight discomfort the knot may cause can be minimised by positioning it on the side nearest your little toe. |
Even or Odd?
Because this method is based on Straight (Bar) Lacing, it needs a
slightly different method for shoes with even or odd numbers of eyelet pairs:
- For even numbered (eg. 6 pairs = 12 eyelets), the two laces are tied together as shown above, with the knot at the
bottom right.
- For odd numbered (eg. 7 pairs = 14 eyelets), each cut end should be knotted or fitted with a lace stop to prevent
it from passing through the eyelet. One end then starts from the bottom right eyelet, whilst the other end starts
from the left eyelet 2nd from bottom (ie. diagonally across from the bottom right eyelet).
This ensures that the laces end up across from each other at the top of the shoe, and overcomes the even number of
eyelet pairs restriction. See my Straight (Bar) Lacing page for more
details.
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Cutting to Length:
The lengths to which the laces are cut also depends on whether the shoe has an even or odd number of eyelet pairs:
- For even numbered, the difference in length is the horizontal distance (H) between the bottom two eyelets plus the
vertical distance (V) between the bottom and 2nd from bottom eyelets (ie. H+V).
- For odd numbered, the difference in length is only the vertical distance (V).
If you then take half that calculated difference in length, the result is the offset from the middle of the
lace at which you should cut the laces. In other words, fold a lace in two, then from that centre fold, measure half
the calculated difference in length towards one end and cut the lace at that point.
If this all sounds too complicated, use my Shoelace Length Calculator to get the
exact lengths of each lace.
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Symmetry Between Shoes:
Because each coloured lace has been cut into one long piece and one short piece, your colour combination will also
alternate between the two shoes. For example, one shoe will have the purple lace at the bottom whilst the other
shoe will have the orange.
If you would prefer both shoes to look identical, you'll need to begin with one longer lace of one colour and one
shorter lace of the other colour, each cut exactly in half. Then each shoe will be laced with the same coloured
longer end at the bottom.
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This page last updated: 27-Jun-2008. Copyright © 2005-2008 by
Ian W. Fieggen. All rights reserved.
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