Hiding Pesky Drawstrings
The drawstrings on your ballet shoes keep the shoe opening snug to your foot. Most new shoes come with really looooooong draw strings. But they're not meant to be kept long, nor are they meant to be tied in a bow.
Here's how to "set" and hide your drawstrings:
- Put the shoe on your foot and stand on that foot. (This is important because your foot will expand slightly when you stand on it, and you want your drawstrings to accommodate that.)
- Now bend over and pull the drawstrings so the shoe opening becomes snug (but not too tight) on your foot. Make sure the drawstring isn't cutting into your heel.
- Tie a square knot in the drawstrings, then snip off the length, leaving tails about 2 inches long.
- Tuck the tails inside the shoe and, VOILA! You're done.... almost....
But how do you keep those pesky drawstring tails from sneaking out while you're dancing, and ruining the clean line of your foot?
Here is my favorite hack for that:
Start by turning your shoe inside out. Pull the drawstring tails toward the inside of the shoe.
Cut a 2-inch length of cloth athletic tape, and tape the drawstring tails to the inside of the shoe. Press the tape firmly into the shoe's fabric lining, especially around the tape edges.
Turn your shoe right side out again and behold! No more pesky drawstrings!
I've used this trick for decades and the tape always stays in place for the life-time of my shoes. But if the tape comes off, it's easy to just apply new tape.