How to Lace a Lacrosse Stick

Lacing a lacrosse stick

Lacing your own lacrosse sticks has many advantages but the biggest one is that you can custom build it to your style and comfort. Building your own stick allows you to lace your shooting strings how you want and where you want. Building it yourself also gives you the advantage of fitting the mesh according to how you want it--loose or tight. You also have the option to lace your stick with colors that best fit your personality as well as your teams, since all the strings come in a variety of colors.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors Lighter 30-inch hockey string 36-inch top string 2 30-inch sidewall strings 2 30-inch shooting strings Mesh (hard) Lacrosse stick face

Instructions

Stretching the Mesh and Tying the Top Section

1. 

   You want to stretch the hard mesh so that it will be easier to work with. Spraying it with hot water will help to soften the mesh while you are stretching it. It will harden again as it dries.

2. 

   Lay the lacrosse stick down on a flat surface with the jagged teeth facing upward (the jagged teeth area is where the holes are for the top string). Place the mesh inside of the lacrosse stick frame.

3. 

   Tie a knot in the bottom of the top string (36 inches) and then pull the string through from the outside of the upper right hole on the side of the stick. Pull the top string through the first hole (or diamond) on the mesh coming from underneath, always keeping the string that you are holding on the inside of the outer string.

4. Once the top string has been pulled through the mesh from the underside, pull the string through the top hole of the first tooth, then pull from below. Bring the string through the mesh from below and then pull back up, skipping one hole or diamond each time. Pull on the top string to make it tight.

5. 

   Once you have gone clear across the top, tie a tight, firm knot at the upper left hole.

6. Repeat this same process, each time skipping a hole and always keeping the string that is being pulled through the mesh on the inside.

Tying the Sides

1. Tie a firm knot at one end of your side string. Pull through from the outside on the next hole going down the side of the stick.

2. 

   Pull the string from underneath on the first hole of the stick and then loop it through the first hole on the mesh, pulling it up. Pull the string on through to the next hole going down the stick, always keeping the string you are holding on the inside (you will make a circle). Pull on the string, but do not make it too tight.

3. Repeat this process all the way down the side of the stick until you reach the last hole.

4. Once you have reached the last hole, instead of making the circle, go straight through the hole from the top and then pull the string through the last hole. Leave the string somewhat loose and then tie a firm knot.

5. Repeat the same process on the other side, using the other 30-inch side string.

Tying the Bottom

1. Take one hockey lace and tie a knot on one end. This knot may need to be bigger since the holes that the laces will go through are larger than all other holes on the stick.

2. Pull the string through the inner right side hole (the inside hole closest to the shaft of the stick).

3. Pull the string back through the outer hole.

4. Pull string through the mesh, weaving it in and out of every hole until you reach the other side of the stick.

5. Pull the string through the opposite side outer hole from the outside in, and then pull the string back through the inner hole so that the string sticks out.

6. Pull on the string and the mesh will tighten into the frame of the stick, allowing you to shape the mesh the way you want for the ball.

7. Once you have the mesh in place where you want it, tie a knot at the end of the hockey string.

Shooting String

1. Take a 30-inch shooting string, count down two holes from the top of the mesh and run the string half way through the first hole, leaving half the string hanging. Begin weaving the string in and out of each hole on the mesh, pulling tightly as you go across in a straight pattern. Once you have gone clear across, there should be an inch or two of string left over.

2. Starting back at the beginning, take the rest of the string that was left hanging, go above the hole that you just weaved in and out of and pull the string through the first hole. Instead of weaving it in and out across the mesh, you are now going to lace it in the hole below and then back through the next upper hole and then down again, going in an up-and-down pattern. This pattern should cross over the first weave.

3. 

   Once you have crossed to the other side, pull the remainder of the string through the side and tie both ends together in a tight knot (you want this shooting string to be tight so that you will have better control over the ball). You could also choose to repeat this process, forming a second row. Simply skip one row and then proceed in the same way as above.

Forming the "V"

1. 

   Take your second 30'' shooting string and while holding the stick downward, count five or six side holes down from the top. With your finger, trace a "V" across the mesh to get an idea of where you will weave the string. Notice the shape of the V in the image.

2. With only half the string (the other half left hanging for later), begin weaving the lace in and out of the holes (DO NOT skip holes). Begin with the first hole and then count up one hole and then over one hole. Weave the lace in and out in this pattern for four or five holes and then begin to weave downward, working your way back down. Stop when you are on the same row of holes from where you began, leaving about an inch or two of string.

3. Now return to the string that was left hanging and begin weaving up and down, over the top of the first weave--in a cris-cross pattern.

4. When you get to the other side, take the two ends and tie a loose or tight knot depending on how loose or tight you want the mesh to hang.

Finishing Up

1. Trim all your strings to the length desired.

2. Take a lighter and burn the ends of the strings to keep them from fraying.

3. 

   Connect the mesh top to preferred shaft stick and screw together.