Guides for lacing systems

A lace guide for routing a lace about an article comprising:

• a strip of woven material having a longitudinal length and a lateral width, the strip of woven material being folded along the longitudinal length to form a loop within which the lace is disposed and the strip of woven material having a center portion and two end portions along the lateral width, the two end portions being disposed on opposite sides of the center portion and being substantially parallel to one another and the two end portions being more flexible than the center portion so that 1) when the lace is tensioned, the two end portions flex or curve longitudinally outward more than the center portion to create a curved lace pathway that does not present sharp turns to the lace, and 2) when the lace is relaxed, the two end portions return to an un-flexed state to create a more linear lace pathway, wherein the center portion has sufficient strength to resist compression along the lateral width of the lace guide and thereby minimize the lace guide from bunching within the center portion when the lace is tensioned;
• wherein the center portion and the two end portions are made from the same woven material and wherein the center portion has a greater material density than the two end portions such that the center portion is less flexible than the two end portions.