How Do I Tie Thumb Laces for Rawlings?

Rawlings started making baseball gloves in 1920 and invented the Gold Glove Award, to recognize fielding excellence, in 1957. The company makes an inexpensive glove lacing kit that includes a lacing needle, awl, needlenose pliers, scissors and laces. The lacing needle is particularly helpful if you play a lot of softball or baseball and you need to re-string your entire glove annually. Gloves and mitts have slightly different lacing patterns. Thumbs are the easiest part of a glove to re-lace.

Things You'll Need

  • Scissors
  • 3/16 inch replacement lace (for most gloves)
  • 1/4 inch replacement lace (for first baseman's mitts and catcher's mitts)
  • Glove dressing or petroleum jelly
  • Small flathead screwdriver or lacing needle
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Instructions

    • 1

      Cut the worn or broken lace with scissors, then pull the pieces from the glove with your fingers and discard.

    • 2

      Tie a simple overhand knot about three inches from one end of the replacement lace. Coat the untied end of the lace with glove dressing or petroleum jelly.

    • 3

      Push the lace through the bottommost hole in the glove with the lacing needle or a small flathead screwdriver. Typically, Rawlings thumbs have laces on the top and bottom outside of the thumb with a third lace that attaches the thumb to the webbing.

    • 4

      Pull the lace all the way through the hole with your hands. Turn the glove inside out when necessary.

    • 5

      Lace the thumb following the factory pattern, which should be either an "X," a spiral, or a pattern that resembles the movement of an inch worm. Tighten the lace as much or as little as you like.

    • 6

      Untie the overhand knot at the beginning end of the lace. Trim away all but three inches of the other end of the lace.

    • 7

      Position the glove so one loose end of the new lace is under your right hand and the other is under your left hand. Tie the two loose ends of the lace in an overhand knot, twisting the right end of the lace around the left end of the lace.

    • 8

      Put the new left end of the lace over the new right end and tie another overhand knot. Pull the square knot tight, then go play.