new shoes! 11th pair

Here we have the basic ankle tie again, shown with our 5/8" black and silver metallic ribbons. We laced the first and fourth loops, then wrapped the rest around the ankle. For a streamlined look, the ribbons were tied in a knot with the ends tucked in. The ribbons were used in the length they come in, 66" per shoe.

new shoes! 10th pair

Oh man, I love these ribbons so much. I wish I could find a source for them, but I just found a few yard of it online, and have no idea who the manufacturer is.

A variation on the basic ankle tie for a sophisticated look. The first three loops are laced, then the ribbon is simply wrapped over the top of the foot and tied behind the ankle in a knot or bow. Depending how big you'd like the bow or loose ends in back, as well as your shoe size, this look uses about 56"-72" of ribbon per shoe - about 3 1/8 to 4 yards total. This is another style that works great on lower heels as well.

new shoes! 9th pair

Continuing with the basic ankle tie theme:

These ribbons are so cute, with their red scalloped edge on one side. Unfortunately, I have no idea where I found these ribbons. This is another look that works really well on the lower heels as well. We've laced the first and third loops, crossed the ribbons over the front of the foot, around the ankle, and finished with a bow toward the side, easy-squeesy. We're using about 60" of ribbon per shoe, or 3 1/3 yards total, for a size 9.

new shoes! 8th pair

Another variation on the basic ankle tie:

This is very similar to the 6th pair, also using 66" gold lame ribbons in each shoe. We've laced the first and third loops, crossed the ribbons over the top of the foot, and wrapped around the ankles. For a sleek look, you can tuck the ribbons in, ballerina style. We no longer carry these gold lame ribbons because they really don't hold up very well after a couple of wearings, but you can probably find something very similar at your local fabric/craft store. These are blinding in the sunlight.

new shoes! 7th pair

This is a great look with our lower heel styles. It will work with any of our styles, of course, but this is particularly good for our flats and low heels because the back half of your foot can move more freely.

This is a variation on the basic ankle tie. We laced the first three loops, then crossed the ribbons over the top of the foot and around the ankle a couple of times. You'll need at least 66" for this style, more if you'd like more wraps around the ankle or a larger bow. The pretty vintage ribbon in the photo was found on eBay or something, sorry we don't have a source for it!

new shoes! 6th pair

Today's new pair of shoes are pretty similar to the basic tie - the only difference is that we're wrapping the extra ribbon length around the ankle. The ribbons we sell on our site are all 66" long, so for those ribbons to be long enough to wrap around your ankle, you will skip some of the loops as you lace them up.

In this illustration, we laced the first two sets of loops, then skipped to the 5th set of loops. From there, you can wrap the ribbons behind your foot and around your ankle as shown above and in the photo. The ribbon at the back of your ankle, where your Achilles tendon is, may tend to fall down if your ankle doesn't taper a lot there. No worries, there's a solution:

• at the back of the ankle, just before tying your knot/bow, tuck one end of the ribbon under and around the ribbons circling your ankle.

It's so simple to do, not as simple to describe. One of these days, I'm going to make little videos showing these different ways to tie... But anyway, here's a photo showing 5/8" wide gold lame ribbon. Each ribbon is 66" long, shown on a size 7 foot:

We really don't recommend Mohops for rock climbing, by the way.

new shoes! 5th pair

We'll finish off the week with this final look showing the basic tie:


This is a really neat double-sided ribbon we found at a fabric store - I can't remember if it was Soutache or Vogue... Anyway, about 66" of ribbon is used per shoe. I recommend starting with 3 3/4 to 4 yards of ribbon depending on your shoe size (the bigger your foot, the more ribbon you'd need, of course).


Next week, we're going to go nuts and start wrapping ribbons around the ankle, so be sure and come back! Happy Friday!!!

new shoes! 4th pair

These are very similar to yesterday's shoes, but you can see with a slightly different ribbon and the addition of tights (or socks), you can easily have an entirely new look:


We're using 1 1/2" wide solid black grosgrain ribbon laced in the first two loops, with a nice big bow tied at the side (sorry the bows are kind of dark in this photo). You'll need about 44" of ribbon per shoe - close to 2 1/2 yards total.

new shoes! 3rd pair

Another variation on the basic tie:



We have 1 1/2" wide black and white grosgrain ribbon laced in the first two loops and finished with a knot at the side of the foot. Only about 30" of ribbon for each shoe are needed for this look, so you'll need approximately 1 2/3 yards (60") of ribbon total. This makes a nice slip-on sandal, great for airports and places where you have to take your shoes on and off quickly. Due to the weight of solid wood, this look works better with lower heeled sandals, as opposed to the high wedges shown here.

new shoes! 2nd pair

Our second pair of shoes also is tied with the basic tie:

The ribbons shown are about 50" long for each foot - the exact length varies depending on your foot size. To get a similar look, buy about 3 yards of a double-sided jaquard ribbon, cut that length in half, and seal if desired. Unfortunately, I can't provide a source for the ribbon shown - I found it online ages ago, and can't find a link.

These shoes are made extra cute by tying the ribbon slightly off-center, to the outer side of the foot.

new shoes! 1st pair

Tying Mohops is easy as lacing your trainers/sneakers/gym shoes/whatever you want to call them. The best way to start is by lacing them in what I call "the basic tie" (I'm really good at coming up with catchy names).

• before you put the shoe on, lace it up like a tennis shoe [illustrations A, B, C]
• loosen the ribbon so you can easily slip your foot into the shoe, with all ribbons on top of your foot
• tighten the ribbons on your foot, starting at the loops near your toes. work your way back, pulling the ribbons firmly against your foot to achieve even tension. the sandal should feel slightly tighter than you may be used to with other shoes; the elastic will allow the ribbons to move with your foot [illustration D]
• tie a knot or a bow [illustration E]

KEEP IN MIND: you can use as many or as few of the loops you’d like - try lacing all of them for a Grecian-inspired look [illustration F]. try using just the first couple loops for an easy, simple slide - or try skipping or alternating loops... it’s up to you!

The above picture shows our 3/8" fuschia stitch grosgrain ribbons at 66" long (the length they come), laced in the first four loops on a size 7 foot - I mention the foot size because the ribbons would look shorter on a larger foot, or longer on a smaller foot. If the bow is a bit large for your taste, you could trim the ribbon, or lace through another set of loops - whatever you're in the mood for.

Tune in tomorrow for a new pair of shoes! xoxox