How to make Foam Lacing Shapes

Lacing provides a great opportunity for fine motor skills and makes for a wonderful busy bag. I recently saw a pack in the toy store in the city and thought my 4-year-old would love to give that a try.

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Unfortunately, as an imported toy (we live in Ecuador), the price was a bit too much for my liking. So we made our own!

How to make Foam Lacing Shapes

To make your own foam lacing shapes you will need:

Sheet of foam in various colors (cardboard also works if you are in a pinch!)
Laces – Either a shoelace or special lacing pack with the ends in plastic for easy threading.
Shapes of your choice, or you can freehand it.
Pen, scissors, and a hole punch.
Optional assistant and / or cuppa hot stuff 😉

 

Select a shape and trace it on your foam. I turned the cookie cutter over to maximize the size.

Make as many shapes as you want and cut them out.

Use your hole punch to make holes for the laces around the edges. Try not to get too close to the edge because your foam will tear with the force of lacing if you do.

I also made some large shapes for the kids to lace. At fist the lacing might look like these below, but the more practice, the better. 🙂

There are many ways the kids can lace once they get over the initial randomness.

These also make for great gifts! The themes are endless if you’re gifting them!

If you don’t have the time to make these at home, Amazon also has tons of lacing shapes that you can buy. Check them out here.

If you enjoyed this, be sure to explore our other printables and activities and follow our social media for more delightful learning experiences.

If you enjoyed this, be sure to explore our other printables and activities and follow our social media for more delightful learning experiences.