Introduction: Frayed Shoe Lace Fix

About: I've worked for Instructables off and on since 2006 building and documenting just about everything I enjoy doing. I am now the Creative Programs founder and manager for Autodesk and just finished building out…


Frayed tips on shoe laces is about as annoying as things can get. Forcing the little ends of the shoe lace through those tiny holes can sometimes feel hopeless when everything is coming apart and bunching up. I've found a pretty effective and simple fix that takes a few a minutes and costs just a couple dollars.

Step 1: Gather Materials

To fix the shoe laces I needed a lighter, a scissors and some heat shrink tubing. I bought an assortment pack of heat shrink tubing and ended up using the ones that were 3/32" in diameter. You might want to pick up some bigger or smaller tubing depending on how frayed your laces are and what size they are.

Step 2: Slip on the Heat Shrink Tubing

Slip an end of the heat shrink tubing over the frayed end of the shoelace. I covered the tip with about 3/4" of the tubing and then trimmed the excess with a scissor.

Step 3: Shrink the Tubing

Ideally the tubing is supposed to be shrunk with a heat gun, but any heat source will do. I grabbed a lighter and carefully held it under the tubing for a few seconds so that the top of the flame was about an inch below the tubing. Its not good to light the tubing on fire directly, so leave a little space and keep the heat source moving.

Step 4: Repeat, Re-lace and Enjoy

I repeated this process on each of the other three frayed ends, put them back in my shoes and happily reconnected with my favorite pair of laces.