How to Lace, Tie, and Break in Highland Dance Ghillies
Highland dance ghillies (also commonly referred to as pumps, slippers, or dance shoes) are essential for highland dancers… and also notoriously difficult to navigate for new dance parents. This is part two of our Ghillie Guide, and we’ll be covering:
- How to lace up ghillies
- How to tie ghillies
- How to break them in (AKA how to make these shoes WEARABLE when they’re bought small!)
For some of these topics, we also have video guides. Find them linked throughout!
Wait, where do I buy ghillies? What kind should I get?
Make sure you’re caught up on these answers and more in part one of this blog duo!
Topics we detailed in part one:
- What are highland dance ghillies?
- Where can you buy ghillies?
- What are the shoe brands? What are the differences, and which is the “best”?
- What are the different styles of ghillies?
- What size ghillies should you buy?
How to lace ghillies
Ghillies very often come from the supplier with the laces separate from the shoes, so step one will be putting the laces in. You can also use elastics, which we’ll talk about a bit later.
1. Thread your lace to begin
If you have closed toe shoes:
- Begin by threading the lace through the middle top loop (closest to the toes)
- Then, keeping the laces to the same side they come out of the loop (don’t cross them), thread them through the first, closest eyelet on each side. You should not have a cross in the laces yet.
If you have open toe shoes:
- Begin by lacing through the two eyelets closest to the toe. You should go through the eyelets from the inside.
The process from here on out is the same for open/closed toe shoes.
2. Crossing the laces
- Take the two ends of the laces and cross them
- Put each end through the next eyelet down on the opposite side of where it came from. (How you would lace up a normal sneaker!)
- Stop when you get to the last eyelet on the “top” of the show.
3. Lacing the back of the shoe
This part varies a bit, depending how you/your teacher prefers to do it, AND depending on how many eyelets your specific shoe has at the back.
- Cross the ends of your laces one more time, and then thread them through the back leather loop at the heel of the shoe. This should leave you with a two big loops going around to the heel.
- Take those ends and (without crossing them) bring them through an eyelet on the side (below the ankle) of the shoe.
- Some shoes have multiple eyelets on each side – you can choose which, or both, of these you’d prefer to use.
- Or, you can choose to not use them at all! Some dancers prefer to just lace through the heel loop and tie their shoes from there.
WATCH: Video tutorial for lacing highland dance ghillies
Using elastics instead of laces
Some dancers/teachers/parents prefer using elastics in their shoes instead of traditional laces. Why?
- For young dancers, tying shoes can be challenging. Elastics are kind of like the highland equivalent of velcro shoes for kids.
- Some dancers, even grown up ones, just find them more comfortable!
How to put elastics into ghillies
- You can get black elastic of varying thicknesses at your local craft or fabric store.
- Cut a length of elastic, and follow the steps in the section above, using your elastic as a lace.
- When you get to the end, make sure the ends you have left are an appropriate length, and then double knot them together so it’s a loop.
Then, instead of tying your shoes, you’ll tighten the elastics around the dancer’s foot and loop the elastic around like a hair elastic until it’s snug.
(But not too snug – we aren’t super keen on elastics because they tend to cut off the circulation in your foot after a while lol).
How to Tie Ghillies
Now that you have the laces in them, how do you tie your pumps?
- Loosen the shoe
Start from the HEEL and pull slack from the ends of the laces into the loops.
Continue to pull the slack toward the toe until the entire shoe is loosened. - Put your foot in the shoe
For the loops that go around to the heel loop, make sure the “x” goes on top of the foot. - Tighten the shoe
Starting from the toe, pull the crosses tight. Work your way backward, keeping tension tight and consistent, until you pull the loose ends tight and the shoe is formed to the foot.
Dancers want their shoes tied pretty much as tight as possible without being acutely painful. A tight shoe might not be comfortable at first, but eventually, you get used to it and you rely on the foot support that shoes provide for things like half points.
Once you have the shoe tight to the foot, you have two options for the ends:
- Take the lace ends in front of your foot and cross them once. Then, wrap the ends around the arch of your foot, crossing underneath, and then on top, etc. until you run out of length. Double knot it! Tuck the excess lace inside the shoe OR wrap it around another part of the lace.
- Follow the step above, BUT instead of wrapping around the arch, wrap the laces around the ankle. (We don’t personally this as it’s a little painful, but it’s allowed).
ALWAYS double knot your laces! If you tie a bow, it will come undone super easily while dancing.
WATCH: Video tutorial for tying highland dance ghillies
How to Break in Highland Dance Shoes
This is a question we get a LOT.
Why?
Well, unfortunately it can be difficult.
But after years of taking shoes from five sizes too small to tolerably comfortable, we’ve picked up some hacks.
Life hacks to make breaking in dance shoes easier
- Wearing them around the house while you’re cleaning, getting ready for the day, or just sitting around watching TV.
- Wearing wet socks in them
- Getting the shoes themselves wet and then wearing them
- Heating them up with a hairdryer
- Heating them up with hot water
- Wearing thick socks / multiple pairs of socks
- Wearing them overnight
Here are a few more we haven’t personally tested, but we’ve seen them done:
- Putting them in the freezer
- Heating them up and then stuffing them full of socks or newspaper
- Microwaving them (potential fire hazard for sure lol)
- Having someone with slightly bigger feet than you wear them
In a pinch and need your new shoes stretched out NOW?
Our favourite fast method: Wear them in the shower!
WATCH: Video tutorial for tying highland dance ghillies
More on highland dance costumes
Looking for more about the world of recreational and competitive highland dance? Check out our other parent guides!
