Lace figure skates from the toe up, threading each eyelet from the outside in. Keep the laces fairly relaxed over your toes and firmest across the instep and the bend of the ankle, where they hold your heel down, then ease off through the top hooks so you can still bend your knees. If your foot goes numb or the front of your ankle gets sore, something is usually laced too tight.
Key takeaways
- Push your heel to the back of the boot before you start, then lace from the toe up, feeding each eyelet from the outside in.
- Most of the hold comes from the last few eyelets and the first hook, right where your ankle bends. Your toes and the top hooks can stay softer.
- If new boots are so stiff that you can't bend, it's fine to leave the top hook open until they start to break in.
- Numb toes usually mean the laces are too tight over your foot, and laces that have frayed or keep working loose are due for a change.
Lacing looks like the simple part of skating, and it's rarely something anyone sits down and teaches you. Plenty of skaters learn it by copying whoever is next to them on the bench, and coach Chris Conte describes a common error where the laces are left loose through the eyelets and then pulled as tight as they'll go on the hooks. How you lace changes how your boots feel more than you'd expect.
This page goes through lacing from the toe up and how firm each part should feel, including which hooks you can leave open while your boots are new. It also covers what a numb foot or a sore ankle is telling you, and when it's time for new laces. Read it alongside our fitting guide, since lacing can only do so much in a boot that doesn't fit.
Before you start lacing
Sit down and loosen the laces right down to the toe, so your foot slides in without being forced. Once it's in, push your heel right to the back of the boot, tapping it on the floor if it doesn't settle on its own. Edea's lacing guide says the main job of lacing is keeping your heel in its pocket, so get it there before you pull anything tight.
Wear thin skating socks or tights, and only one pair. A thick sock, or two pairs to fill extra space, changes how the boot fits and usually means you end up pulling the laces harder just to feel held. If you're just starting out, our first lesson checklist covers what else to wear to the rink.
It's also worth straightening the tongue before you begin. Feet aren't symmetrical, so tongues tend to drift toward the outside, and Edea says the lace tab on the tongue, together with good lacing, is what keeps it in place. If your tongue has a tab or a pair of slots, run the lace through them.
Lacing the eyelets
Work from the toe up, one pair of eyelets at a time, feeding each lace in from the outside of the eyelet rather than the inside. Edea and several skate shops recommend this outside-in direction, because the laces lock against each other at every crossing and press less on the top of your foot. Keep the laces lying flat as you go, since Edea notes that twisted laces slip and wear out faster.
Over the toes, snug is plenty. Your toes need a little room to move, and pulling hard on the first few eyelets is one of the quickest ways to make them go numb. From the middle of your foot toward the ankle, let the tension build gradually, pulling each pair of laces outward and down rather than straight up so the boot closes evenly around your instep.
The ankle bend and the hooks
The firmest part of your lacing should be the last couple of eyelets and the first hook, where your ankle bends, because that's what holds your heel down. Edea describes the overall shape as an hourglass, looser over the toes, tighter across the instep and looser again on the upper hooks. It can feel odd if you're used to tight top hooks, but Chris Conte points out that over-tightening them makes it harder to bend your ankles and knees.
Riedell suggests a small trick at the top eyelet before you go onto the hooks. Cross the two laces over each other a couple of times there, which helps keep your heel in place while leaving the ankle free to flex. It only takes a few seconds and it's worth trying if your heel tends to lift.
On the hooks, take the lace over the top of each hook first and then around and under, so it catches on itself. Edea calls its version of this a 360 degree wrap, and Conte says going over the hook locks the laces in place better. Riedell is more relaxed about it and says over-under and under-over both work, so if your coach or fitter shows you a particular way for your boots, use that.
Ease off as you work up the hooks. The top one or two should feel noticeably softer than the ankle bend, because that's where the boot flexes forward when you bend your knees. Conte leaves a little slack off the top hook so the tongue can move the way it was designed to. Finish with a bow and keep the ends short or tucked in, since Riedell warns that long laces are a tripping hazard.
Leaving the top hook open
Brand new boots can be so stiff that lacing all the way up makes it hard to bend at all. A skate technician writing in U.S. Figure Skating's Skating magazine suggests leaving the top hook unlaced in that case, until the boots start to break in. Once they've softened, lace the top hook again, just not tightly. Our fitting guide has more on getting through the break-in period.
How tight each part should be
There's no number to aim for, which is annoying, but a quick check at the boards tells you most of what you need. Stand up and bend your knees as if you're about to push off. Your heel should stay down at the back of the boot while you can still wiggle your toes, and you should be able to sink into the bend without the top of the boot fighting you.
If your heel lifts as you bend, the ankle bend usually needs to be firmer. When you can barely bend, or the front of your ankle starts to ache, the top hooks are probably too tight. New boots tend to need a few adjustments before they feel right, and skate shops often suggest re-tightening during short breaks while you're breaking them in.
Numb toes and lace bite
A foot that goes numb or tingles is usually telling you the laces are too tight somewhere, most often over the instep or the toes. Skate shops list pain over the instep and trouble bending your knees as the other common signs of over-tight lacing. Loosen the laces over your toes and the top of your foot first, then build the tension back up from the instep and see whether the feeling comes back as you skate.
Lace bite is the soreness at the front of the ankle where the tongue and laces press in as you bend. Pulling the top hooks too tight is one of the usual causes, and Riedell warns that over-tightening around the ankle can bring it on. Easing the top hooks is the first thing to try. Healthline also notes that lacing from the outside of the eyelets, as above, takes some of the pressure off the tongue.
While new boots soften, a bit of padding can help too. We carry CRS Cross lace bite gel pads, which sit over the front of the ankle, and CRS Cross ankle gel discs, which cushion the ankle bone and go under your sock or a gel sleeve. Both are CRS Cross products and ship separately from the CRS Cross warehouse, so they'll arrive in their own package.
If the same spot keeps hurting however you lace, or the numbness doesn't go away when the laces are loose, it's probably not a lacing problem anymore. Our guide to why figure skates hurt goes through the usual causes, from lace bite to sore ankle bones, and our fitting guide has a table of common fit problems and what usually helps. See a skate fitter or a doctor about pain or numbness that doesn't settle.
Choosing and replacing laces
Figure skate laces come waxed or unwaxed. Waxed laces grip at each crossing and hold their tension for longer, which is why several skate shops recommend them for figure skating. Unwaxed laces are softer with a little more give, but they're more likely to work loose during a session. Both do the job as long as they hold your heel, so it mostly comes down to how you like them to feel.
Getting the length right matters more than the color. Laces that are too long end up trailing on the ice or wrapped around the top of the boot, and Riedell warns that wrapping them around the ankle instead of using the hooks can damage the tongue and cut down how far you can bend. Check your boot maker's lace chart for your size, or measure a pair that already fits well.
Laces wear out sooner than most of us notice. Edea suggests that skaters who train daily change them about every two months, moderate skaters every other sharpening and high-level skaters every time they sharpen. Anyone should swap sooner if the laces fray or stretch, and skates that keep coming loose mid-session are often a sign of worn laces rather than bad lacing.
It's worth keeping a spare pair in your skating bag, because laces have a way of snapping right before a lesson. Our laces collection has waxed Derby Laces CORE laces in a few colors. We also stock CRS Cross figure skate laces, which come two pairs to a pack in lengths from 80 to 146 inches and, like the gel pads, ship separately from the CRS Cross warehouse.
After you skate
When you take your skates off, undo the hooks and loosen the laces all the way down before you slide your foot out, which is what Riedell recommends after every session. It saves wrestling with the boot, and the laces are already open for next time. Edea also suggests storing boots with the tongue standing upright, since a tongue that isn't stored that way tends to start slipping to one side.
Wipe the blades dry before they go in your bag, and put soakers on them rather than hard guards. Let the boots air out once you're home, with the laces still loose. Our skate care guide covers the rest of the routine, from soakers and guards to keeping your boots in good shape between sharpenings.
This is general advice from adult skaters, and boot makers don't all lace the same way. If your coach or fitter shows you a different method for your boots, go with theirs, because they can see and feel things this page can't.
