How do you lace boat shoes?

June 6, 2006 1:26 PM

I have a pair of docksiders (boat shoes) with broken raw hide laces. I bought replacement laces but cannot manage to get them laced. How do you lace boat shoes?
posted by I Foody to Clothing, Beauty, & Fashion (10 answers total)

I think you can use a lacer used for a baseball glove. You can buy it at walmart for cheap. I THINK it would work... I haven't tried this tho. Good luck
posted by FeistyFerret at 1:33 PM on June 6, 2006

whenever i need to check how to do a set of laces i use ian's laces. covers a HUGE range of methods.
posted by moochoo at 1:33 PM on June 6, 2006 [1 favorite]

Is it like this? Once you have the laces wrapped through the eyelets in the rear, it seems fairly obvious in the front.
posted by junesix at 1:39 PM on June 6, 2006

Response by poster: junesix Yes, it is like that , but I can't get the lace between the rear eyelets.
posted by I Foody at 1:45 PM on June 6, 2006

Use a piece of stiff wire, like a coat hanger, to pull the lace through.
posted by o2b at 1:50 PM on June 6, 2006

Response by poster: I tried using a coat hanger but attaching the coat hanger wire to the shoe lace results in something too thick to fit through the eyelets.
posted by I Foody at 1:54 PM on June 6, 2006

Maybe a paper clip? Make a small L shape at the end of the paper clip, poke it through at the end of the lace, pull through. Cut off the end of the lace if the paper clip damaged it.
posted by ldenneau at 1:58 PM on June 6, 2006

Response by poster: The paperclip is a good idea, I'll try that.
posted by I Foody at 1:59 PM on June 6, 2006

From Ian's Shoelace Site that moochoo linked to:

To thread new laces through the channel that runs around the back of deck shoes, use a plastic drinking straw. Glue a short section of one end of the lace inside the straw using Super Glue. When the glue is completely dry, feed the straw through, pulling the lace behind it. Simply cut off the short glued section afterwards.
posted by junesix at 4:12 PM on June 6, 2006

Use picture hanging wire (some people call it bell wire). A thin single strand of copper wire stiff enough to push through, but thin enough to wrap around the lace.. Push it through one hole to another and out. Then wrap or coil the wire around the lace. Pull and viola!.
posted by Gungho at 7:06 PM on June 6, 2006