Be sure that you are wearing your toe pads and any other accessories that you use while wearing your pointe shoes.
This ensures that when you tie your pointe shoes, your ankle is flexed, giving the ribbons slack when you actually stand up on the pointes. That way, you don’t initially tie your pointe shoes too tight, hurt yourself with the taut ribbons, and cut off circulation when you come down from pointe with you feet flat on the floor.
Make sure you pull tight enough on the ribbon so there aren’t any folds or gaps when the ribbon crosses your foot. [3] X Research source The inside ribbon is going to be wrap around your ankle more than the outside ribbon. This will give your ankles added stability.
Again, make sure that you are wrapping the ribbon tight enough that there are no gaps or folds in the ribbon, and then ribbon is taut against your skin.
The knot should fall on the side of the ankle, in the divot between the inner ankle bone and the back of the ankle on top of the Achilles tendon. [4] X Research source This is the perfect spot for the knot to be placed so the pointe shoe ribbons can still keep a relatively flat profile on the ankle.
You can use hairspray or even sew the knot into place with the ribbons for added security. If there is way too much extra ribbon after you have tied the knot, consider trimming the ends of the ribbon. However, leave enough ribbon that you can easily tie your pointe shoes in the future. This is especially important if you alternate which foot you wear your pointe shoes on, because the ribbon lengths need to be longer depending on which foot the pointe shoe is worn. [5] X Research source Trimming the ribbons on a slanted angle may help with reducing the fraying of the cut ribbons. [6] X Research source
