I found those laces at the dollar store. I bought 2 packs which gave me 4 separate laces. i cut the ends and used an old hair pressing comb(the kind you had to heat on the stove) to melt them together. unfortunately, it doesn't hold that well , which the studs helped to fix. If I had a few extra dollars I could've just bought agelets and put the two ends together like that.
The laces are a bit short, so tying a proper bow after lacing is near impossible. I might buy one more pack and add to the ends. I still haven't gotten a chance to skate in them yet to see how the laces and crystals hold up in action.
About dyeing laces, could you try letting the resulting pale colored laces completely dry, then try redyeing them to see if you get a darker color? You might have to do it multiple times to acheive the desired color. I've never dyed anything before, so I'm not sure if this would work or not. What type of dye do you use?