Have you ever had a cute pair of shoes but you wanted to do something to make them even cuter and more personalized? Look no further! It's really easy to change up the laces in your shoes to make them unique to you. I've done this three times already and I can't wait to change out laces on even more shoes. This is also a good method if you need to fix the aglet on your favorite pair of shoelaces. The aglet is the end piece of the shoelace in case you didn't know!
What you need:
A pair of lace-up shoes (hopefully with the laces still in them)
Ribbon
Scissors
Heat shrink tubing, cut into 1" pieces (I got mine from Ace Hardware)
Heat source (hairdryer, heat gun, etc.)
What to do:
Take one of the shoelaces from your shoes and measure the length. I ended up holding my ribbon up to one end and just pulling both the ribbon and shoelace alongside each other until I got to the end of the shoelace and cut the ribbon to match it. Repeat this to make two lengths of ribbon. Since I used two different colors per new shoelace, I ended up cutting four lengths.
You're going to make the aglets now! Take one of your ends and start rolling it up tightly. Slide this into one of the heat shrink tubes. You may need to "screw" the ribbon into the tube to get it all the way in. I know I had to do that with mine. It might take a few tries before you get it right.
Once your tube is all the way on the end of your ribbon, use your heat source to shrink the plastic around the ribbon. I made sure to hold my ribbon with pliers to keep the heat gun from scorching my fingers. Repeat this for all ends of your ribbons!
When all your ribbons have gotten aglets, you can then lace up your shoes. I laced mine slightly differently from the original lacing, but I really like how it turned out. Once that's done, go ahead and rock your shoes!
I've always wanted to have cute shoelaces that match my outfits. I find that little details like that make a sweater and jean combo stand out just a little more. Feel free to experiment with different ways of lacing up your shoes! I've seen a ton of things on Pinterest. Maybe I'll try one with the next pair of shoes. I'd love to see the ways you've altered your own shoes! Feel free to pop into the Innovation Wyrkshop and show off your updated kicks! Maybe you'll see the ones I'm rocking too!