Folks would kill to fill your shoes

A source of great frustration for me is the fact that I can't make everything. I would really love to learn how to make shoes and hats (obviously making hats is a more realistic goal). I am always on the lookout for shoe lasts or a hat block. I had never thought of covering shoes with fabric until I saw the tutorial on Burdastyle. I wanted to cover some shoes as soon as I saw it but it took a while to find the right shoes and fabric. Although, it isn't quite making your own, it's still a fun way to personalise your shoes.

I started with a pair of second hand wedges that I got off Trademe for $10 and a skirt that I had bought at the op-shop. The skirt was made of gorgeous fabric but didn't fit me very well.

I did a few things differently to the Burdastyle tutorial. I didn't have any self-adhesive fabric so I just used some fabric scaps and attached them with double sided tape to make the pattern. It seemed to work. I used Mod Podge glue to glue the fabric on and then did another layer of glue over the top to seal it. I left the shoes overnight to dry and then cut off the excess fabric around the sole with a craft knife. There was some dried glue bits on the thin strip of sole that you could see around the bottom of the shoe so I used some black nail polish to cover it.

It was quite difficult getting the fabric smooth around the curves, especially on the toes. The glue also makes the shoe very stiff so I wouldn't use shoes that are a little bit tight. These fitted me perfectly before and they still fit me but they are a tiny bit snug. I think next time I will use shoes half a size bigger than I normally wear.

I'm really pleased with the way they turned out though. I can't stop thinking about the next pair I want to do.