How To Shorten Your Shoelaces When They've Become Too Long To Single Tie

If you are a person like me who wears athletic shoes most of the time, you most certainly have to deal with the annoying problem of shoelace growth.  Over the lifetime of the shoe, everything stretches. The lace holes will elongate bringing them closer and closer together.  This results in shoelaces that must be double or even triple tied in order to avoid catching them on something.   Here is an easy fix for this problem.

Step 1: What you will need

You will need:

• Small diameter heat shrink tubing
• Hot air gun or similar heat source
• Super (Krazy) glue
• Scissors

Most hardware stores carry heat shrink tubing, but in black only. If you want your aglets (that’s what the ends of your shoelaces are called)  to remain clear, or white you will have to spend a few extra bucks and get an assorted pack from Radio Shack. The part number is 278-1610. The assorted pack will provide you with a lifetime supply of tubing for shoe lace shortening.

Comments

[jpnagle59]

Ditto bunnydeath , I also thought the same thing. 

Sir 2xlbu4u , I have fought this beast many times, and being the idiot I am, the answer was in front of me the whole time... Thank you so much! The perfect need I have of your post, is the grandchildren and kids...kids now days are doing wild stuff with their laces like they did in the 80's and 90's, and they don't like the knot in the middle, or the cut in half, it 'frizzes' they tell me. Yours produces a clean, professional solution...  Brilliant!

[pcooper2]

I shorten my shoe laces by several inches by tying a double knot dubbed by its inventor as "Ian's Secure Knot". It has the added benefit of keeping the knots from opening while walking, yet is almost as easy to undo as a regular knot. Learn to tie it with step-by-step illustrated instructions at Ian Fieggen's site, http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/secureknot.htm.

[CaseyCase]

I shorten my shoelaces by marking where they need to be cut, painting that area on the shoelace with an oil-based polyurethane. Let the poly dry overnight and then cut. The polyurethane gets absorbed into the fibers and hardens and binds them together so no replacement aglet is needed.

[2xlbu4u]

Sounds cool. Have you tried plastidip? I works really well when you need to cut stranded rope. I work it in with a brush, let dry, cut, and then a final dip.

[CaseyCase]

Good idea--especially if you wanted a colored aglet.

I wanted to add that if you were in a hurry, you could "harden" the shoelace before cutting with superglue instead of oil-based polyurethane. I tend to use the poly because that's generally what I have on hand.

[workoutbuddy78]

Great idea, cutting the shoe lace in half when shoe is new, will prolong the life of the shoe lace.

[who1buffy]

You can get a pack of assorted heat shrink at Harbor freight Tools for about $2.00.

[2xlbu4u]

Thanks. I love Harbor freight Tools and they are opening stores on the east coast now!

[heathbar64]

What a great idea! I've always just cut the lace in the middle and tied them together so the knot is at the bottom middle of the shoe. this is much nicer.

[2xlbu4u]

Yup.. I used to do that too. But that ugly knot.really bugged me so I had to think of something better

[who1buffy]

That's a good idea. Quick & Easy!

[f5mando]

Excellent instructable - well explained and shot! Thanks so much for this.

[2xlbu4u]

You are welcome. It is my first one. The collective intelligence of the people who contribute to this site is supreme so I felt that I had to put forth a solid effort right out of the gate

[JBZG]

buy shorter laces

[lucjoker]

the short sulution is this:
take out the shoelace
fold in 2
cut the folded site off and tie together
put the lace back in the shoe
takes about 1 min
no glue...............

[Monsterguy]

I've always thought it was odd that even though (almost) everyone has shoelaces, that most people don't know what aglets* are called.


*it's not even in the dictionary the spellchecker uses in Chrome...silly red line :p

[bunnydeath]

At first, I thought this had to be the stupidest instructable EVER. Then I read it. GREAT WAY TO DO IT. THANKS.

[WVvan]

Double plus good idea!

[bowdenski]

Good tip. (sorry for the pun)
I tend to shorten ONE lace, but twice as far.
Have y'all added the glue before shrinking?