7 Simple Ways to Tie Your Shoes So They Turn into Slip-Ons

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Create lace-free slip-on shoes in minutes

Co-authored by Moe Draper and Cheyenne Main

Last Updated: November 15, 2024 Fact Checked

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Hiding the Laces

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Knotting the Laces

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Straight-Bar Lacing

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Army-Lacing

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Double Lacing

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Using Lace Anchors

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Using Elastic Shoelaces

Untying and retying your shoes can be a hassle—luckily, it’s easy to hide your shoelaces and turn your shoes into comfy slip-ons you’ll never have to secure again. From hiding or knotting your laces to relacing your shoes or replacing your laces with elastic, we have all the solutions to help you get out the door faster. Read on to learn more!

Things You Should Know

For a quick fix, untie your laces and slip them under your shoe’s insole. You can also tie your laces and slip the bow underneath your shoe’s tongue.
When relacing your shoes, consider using a straight bar pattern or a double-cross lacing with two different colored shoelaces for a cool slip-on look.
You can also attach a lace anchor to each end of your untied shoelace and hide the laces inside or replace them completely with elastic laces.

Method 1

Method 1 of 7:

Hiding the Laces

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Tuck your laces inside your shoes for a quick fix. If you’d like a quick and easy way to transform your shoes into slip-ons, hiding your shoelaces might do the trick. Remove the laces from the top eyelets. Rethread them through the top eyelets so that they run from the outside of the shoe to the inside. Slip the ends of your laces inside your shoe. You can also tie your shoelaces into a bow, then tuck it underneath the tongue of your sneakers.^{[1]
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- If you’re worried about the bow coming undone, you can also tie your shoelaces into a knot and tuck it in the side of the tongue.
If you have a removable insole (the inside part that runs along the bottom of your foot), simply take it out. Take the ends of your untied shoelaces and put them in the bottom of the shoe. Reinsert the insole over the laces to keep them out of the way.^{[2]
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Method 2

Method 2 of 7:

Knotting the Laces

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Lace your shoes as usual, but do not tie them into a bow. Put your feet in the shoes or put balled-up socks inside. Note how far your laces come out from the eyelet to make your shoes comfortable. Unthread one lace from the first eyelet.^{[3]
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Make a knot on either end of the eyelet to lock the lace in place. With the lace unthreaded from the eyelet, double-knot it where you want the tension to be. Thread the lace through the eyelet so that the knot is flush against the shoe. Double-knot the other side.^{[4]
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Tuck the laces inside the shoe. If you have an additional hole for ankle support, thread the lace from inside the shoe through this support hole. Make another double knot. Tuck the excess lace into the little loop made on the outside of the ankle support hole. Repeat these steps for each lace on each shoe. Slide them on, and you’re ready to go!^{[5]
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Method 3

Method 3 of 7:

Straight-Bar Lacing

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Unlace your shoes completely. You can either leave your feet in your shoes or insert a balled-up sock to keep the tension you want in the laces. Starting with an unlaced shoe, thread both sides of the shoelace down into the first two eyelets near the bottom of the shoe.^{[6]
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Take the lace on one side and thread it under and through the eyelet above it. Bring the same lace over to the other side and down into the second eyelet. Repeat this step for the other lace, alternating laces until you reach the top of the shoe.^{[7]
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Both laces should come out on the same side. Tie the laces into a knot and pull the knot all the way down the lace until it’s flush with the eyelet. Tuck the knot and the excess laces under the tongue.^{[8]
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Method 4

Method 4 of 7:

Army-Lacing

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Thread your lace through the back of both eyelets at the bottom. Thread the laces so that it creates a stitched pattern at each side. Insert one lace behind and through the eyelet directly above it. Do the same for the other side. Cross both laces to the other side and thread them through the next eyelets.^{[9]
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Once you reach the top of the shoe, hide your laces inside. You can tie the laces together into a bow, push the bow behind the tongue, or remove your insole and place the untied laces underneath. The added flexibility in the shoe should now give you enough room to slide your shoes on and off easily.

Method 5

Method 5 of 7:

Double Lacing

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Grab two colored laces of your choice and tie them together at one end. Whatever lace color you want on one side, slip it underneath through the bottom eyelet on the opposite side. Slide it all the way through, so that the knot is flush against the eyelet. Tuck the knot underneath the tongue of the shoe.^{[10]
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- This method is best for shoes with 6 or more eyelets.
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Use both shoelaces to start the lacing pattern. Take the lace coming out from the top of the eyelet and thread it through the top of the bottom eyelet on the other side. Crisscross the laces twice, pulling the laces so that they end up on the same sides they started out on. Insert one lace through the front of the next eyelet, and do the same with the other side.^{[11]
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Repeat the previous step until you reach the top of the shoe. As you go, you may have to rotate the laces so that they lay flat on top of the shoe. Make sure that the laces line up all the way down the middle of the shoe, and adjust the tension if needed. Once you reach the top of the shoe, tuck the laces inside.^{[12]
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- You can also tie the laces into a knot or a bow and slide it underneath the tongue of the shoe.

Method 6

Method 6 of 7:

Using Lace Anchors

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Starting with a laced-up shoe, unthread the top laces. Move your laces from the outside of the eyelet to the inside of the shoe by threading them back through the top of the eyelets. Before inserting the anchors, place your foot inside the shoe or insert a balled-up pair of socks to make sure you have the amount of lace slack you need.^{[13]
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Thread your lace through the anchor. Insert the lace into the center hole of the lace anchor and slide the anchor down until it’s flush against the top eyelet on the inside of your shoe. Thread the lace through the other anchor hole. Push down on the top of the anchor to set the tension. Thread the lace through the bottom slot in the anchor to lock it in place.^{[14]
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- Before you thread the lace all the way through, fix any creasing or twisting in the lace.
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Check the shoe’s fit and cut off the excess laces. Insert your feet into your shoes to see if they fit correctly and make sure that your heels won’t slip out. Using a pair of scissors, trim off the excess lacing to the edge of the anchor. Rotate the anchors slightly to hide the lace ends. Now you’re ready to go!^{[15]
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- If you don’t want to cut off your laces, you can tie them into a bow. The bow doesn’t create any tension, so there’s no need to tie and retie it.^{[16]
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Method 7

Method 7 of 7:

Using Elastic Shoelaces

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Unlace your shoes completely, then lace them as normal using elastic laces. As you lace, double-check that both sides are even and adjust as needed to make sure they will meet at the end. Take the locking mechanism and while pressing the button, slide each lace through each side. Cut off the excess lacing, and you’re ready to go!^{[17]
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- If your laces come with a tab to keep your laces from fraying after trimming them, open the tab and push the laces into the thinner side. Close the tab until it clicks into place.^{[18]
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- Some elastic laces come in a pack of 10 and are only 1 or 2 inches (2.54 to 5.08 cm) long. Thread these through each set of eyelets to create a straight-laced pattern.
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Replace your shoelaces with curly elastic laces for a funky cool look. Lace your shoes as normal using the curly laces, pulling as you thread them through the eyelets to make sure that they go all the way through. You won’t need to leave room for the laces to tie, so adjust the tension as needed throughout. Once you reach the top of the shoe, leave the curly ends at the sides of the shoe.^{[19]
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- If you have too much lace left over, you can pull at the top and the bottom of your shoe’s laces to adjust the tension and distribute the lacing more evenly throughout.