How to Lace Figure Skates

Whether you skate professionally or for recreation, proper figure-skate lacing will help you skate safely and comfortably. Because your figure skates have holes and hooks from the toes of the skates up past your ankles, you must create the proper tightness in all these areas to ensure your feet have adequate support while you skate. Through a process of trial and error, you can determine the correct tightness or looseness in the laces to lace figure skates properly.

Instructions

    • 1

      Loosen the skates completely before you attempt to put your feet in the skates. This includes the hooks at the top and the holes near the toes. You do not need to take the laces completely out of the skates.

    • 2

      Place your feet into the skates, pushing your heels in hard to make sure they contact the bottoms of your skates properly.

    • 3

      Begin tightening the skate laces in the holes near the toes of your skates first. As you progress up the holes toward your ankle, make the laces tighter to support your feet. Do not make them so tight that you cut off circulation, however.

    • 4

      Cross the laces in front and wrap them around the bottom hooks (nearest the holes). You can either wrap them around the hooks from the bottom to the top or from the top to the bottom, whichever you prefer.

    • 5

      Bring the laces back together again at the center front after wrapping them around the bottom hooks. Wrap the laces around each other as if you were going to tie them in a knot (tying half a knot only) to give the laces more stability.

    • 6

      Wrap the laces around the next hooks and then bring them back together again in center front. Continue crossing the laces and wrapping them around the remaining hooks, making the laces looser at this point to allow your ankles to move freely while you skate.

    • 7

      Tie the laces together in a tight bow in the center front after wrapping the laces around the top hooks.

    • 8

      Hook each loop of your bow over the top hooks, pulling the ends of the laces carefully to tighten the bows securely around the hooks. This will prevent your skates from untying as easily.