Do you know how to relace a baseball glove? Have you tried relacing one that turned out differently than expected? Well, no matter the category you fall under, sit tight as we take you on a journey through relacing baseball gloves.
Table of Contents
Relacing a baseball glove
If you want to learn how to relace a baseball glove, then you must be aware that there are different tools you will need. These tools include:
- Brush: It will be used to clean the ball gloves, so it should be a hog hairbrush
- Tape measure
- Glove conditioner
- Laces: You are expected to have roughly four Laces of seventy-two inches strands per glove. The lace should be about six strands if you are relacing an oversized glove.
- The lace cutters
- The glove lacing needle: You will need it to move freely through the eyelets and holes of your glove.
Let us begin the journey with all of these items at your disposal. The steps involved in how to relace a baseball glove are:
Step one: Surveying the damage on your glove and strategizing a plan
Before you relace a baseball glove, you must look at the damage. By completing a complete check, you can figure out how to get the relacing done. Now, you will have to make use of your glove conditioner.
The conditioner aims to soften the glove so your needle can easily pass through without much hassle. Note that you will also be applying this glove conditioner on the lace. You might even need to clean the inside of the glove.
Step two: Cutting the old laces and remove them from your glove
This second step will entail unlacing the glove now that you know how severe the damage is. Do this carefully, as you need to cut the laces with a knife or scissors.
Or, you can pull the laces out with a needle nose plier. However, since you may need to cut some of the existing laces, you must be careful not to damage the glove’s leather.
Step three: Measuring and cutting new laces
Once you have successfully removed the old laces, you will need to begin measuring the new ones and cutting them up. The third part of relace a baseball glove is to lay out your glove on a flat surface. Then, measure the amount of lace you need before adding roughly six inches to your measurement. The reason for the addition is that you will have an extra length to complete the work.
With all these done, use your scissors to cut the right size of your new glove laces.
Step four: The needle and thread process
You must make a hole in your glove with the needle before passing your thread through the needle. As this is done, a knot should be made on the thread’s other side so it will not entirely pass through your hole.
The above is the fundamental step for all sewing procedures you may already know. First, start your work on the most challenging area, such as the palm, before moving to accessible areas, like the fingers.
Ensure you discover the pattern of the holes in your glove because different gloves have diverse lacing patterns. You will be threading your new laces via the eyelets. And to get this done, you will thread one end of your lace via an eyelet before tying a knot at the end of the lace.
This process will be repeated for all other eyelets till it goes around the edges of the glove. When you finish this threading, you will tie a knot at the end of every one of them.
This can be done by quickly wrapping an end of every lace around itself a few times before securing them with another knot. It helps in keeping the laces in place.
With the lacing holes filled up with your new lace, take a tiny dab of adhesive tape or glue to secure the laces’ ends before trimming off those excess laces.
When you relace a baseball glove, starting with the pinky hole is advisable. So, to do this, ensure you expose the smooth side of the lace, then search for a hole. This hole should not fit the backside of your pinky finger.
And you will find it situated on the right side of your pinky finger’s right-hand throw glove. If you are relacing a left-hand throw glove, you will find it on the left-hand side.
Place your needle through this hole, then move along the line to your palm. Remember that this first hole will likely turn out to be very complicated. However, it will become easy once you get it the first time.
So, continue relacing the rest of the glove using the previous lace pattern. And when you get to the part where your web is meant to be, make use of your closest hole to tie the knot.
Remember to leave space for another knot in case you have to tie it up later.
Step five: Re-lacing is finished
You know that you are done when you get to this step. Quickly apply the glove conditioner to soften and protect the new lacing. As you apply the conditioner, use a clean cloth and leave it to dry before using the glove completely. Make sure to do general glove care and maintanence after every few games or seasons.
Conclusion
Generally, it will take you a few hours with our guide to learn how to relace a baseball glove. Therefore, you should read through carefully to ensure you get all the holes. With proper care you won’t have to repair a baseball glove often.
