Shoe Lacing Tips - Get a Better Shoe Fit

Here are a few shoe lacing tips that can help you prevent foot injuries, reduce pain and relieve some foot problems. They encourage people with specific foot problems to use these techniques to help get a good fit with your shoe.

First the general stuff 'just in case you forgot'. Well ...maybe not you but we might forget! We're rather 'seasoned' after all!


When you put on your shoe, don't just step into them - use your hands. Loosen the laces to make it easier to get your foot into the shoe. It will reduce the tightness on the eyelets and the backs of the shoes.
To get the most comfortable fit, start your lacing nearest the toes and snug them up one set of eyelets at a time.
Check the number of eyelets. The more your shoes have, the easier to adjust for a custom fit.
The ever-popular crisscross lacing, where you work from the bottom to the top, does the trick for most folks.

Now for some of the 'good shoe lacing stuff'. These shoe lacing patterns can all help you adapt shoes to feet when you just can't get quite the perfect fit off the shelf. Shoe lacing patterns help to make sure you get the best fitting shoes possible!


NOTE: For the narrow and wide feet, shoes with double eyelet rows are used for shoe lace tying.

Narrow Feet
Narrow feet? Lace up using the eyelets furthest from the shoe tongue of the shoe. You bring up the side of the shoe this way and can adjust the snuggness to suit you.

Wide Feet
Got wide feet? You can lace up using the eyelets closest to the shoe tongue. This relaxes the sides of your shoes for more comfort with wider feet.

Heel Problems
Heel fit problems? You want to make sure the part of the shoe closet to your heel is snug and the part by your toes is roomier. How? Use every other eyelet when you lace up. Stop at the next to last eyelet on each side and lace through the last eyelet to make a small loop. Thread the opposite lace through each loop before you tie them.

Narrow Heel and Wide Forefoot
Got narrow heel and wide forefoot? This one is a bit tricky. Use two shoe laces for each shoe. Work one lace through the bottom half of the eyelets. Lace through the top half of the eyelets with the second lace. The top eyelets should be more snug as this supports your heel. The bottom eyelets should be tied to fit comfortably on your forefoot. You might want to experiment a bit with this until it feels best for you.

So - there you have it. Just a few little shoe lacing tips to help you out in special shoe fitting situations. Try them out. See if they help. If so, you've got some more good info in your 'shoe fitting' tool chest