How to Recycle Fabric Scraps...into Restyled Shoes!

April 10th, 2009 in other crafts, fashion, restyle     

After a recent fabric project, I was left with a pile of tiny scraps—all triangular but much too small to use in any kind of sewing. But I loved how they looked jumbled together, so I started casting about for ways to reuse them. In my closet I found a pair of canvas shoes that have seen better days but need to last one more season. And voila!

What you'll need:

• Canvas shoes
• Low-tack painter's tape
• Fabric Mod Podge (see link below)
• Fabric scraps
• Paintbrush, 1 inch or smaller
• Small dish

You can use any canvas shoe for this project—tennis shoes, espadrilles, ballet flats, etc. Before you begin, remove any laces and run the shoes through the washer and dryer to get them as clean as possible. Don't use any fabric softener—that will prevent the Mod Podge from adhering well to the canvas.

Mask any noncanvas areas of the shoe with tape.

Protect your work surface with some paper. Then mask any noncanvas parts of the shoes with low-tack painter's tape. To pass the tape along a curved edge, you can clip it, as shown, or place lots of small pieces of tape along the curve.

Brush Mod Podge on the canvas, and press fabric scraps into it.

Now to decoupage the fabric scraps onto the shoe. Pour some Fabric Mod Podge into a small dish. Working one section at a time, brush a medium-thick coat of glue onto the shoe. Then lightly press the fabric scraps into the glue one at a time, overlapping them as you like. (This process goes pretty quickly, by the way.)

Brush another coat of Mod Podge over the scraps.

Brush more Mod Podge over the fabric scraps. You want to get them saturated with the glue (especially where they overlap one another), and make sure all the edges are flattened against the shoe.

Repeat this process to cover all the canvas of both shoes.

Remove loose threads with tweezers.

If you're, um, detail-oriented like I am, then you can also remove any stray thread bits with tweezers while the glue is still wet. This photo also shows you how helpful that masking is!

If your shoes have a tongue, apply masking to the back of the eyelets so the pieces won't be glued together.

If your shoes have a tongue, like most tennis shoes, then apply some painter's tape to the back of the eyelets, as shown here. This will prevent the tongue from getting accidentally glued to the eyelets.

Leave the shoes to dry overnight.

Allow the shoes to dry overnight, then remove the masking.

I experimented with adding an extra coat of Mod Podge, which is what I'd do with a paper decoupage project, but I found that this extra coat made the shoes a little too stiff for comfortable wear. So make sure that your first coat is securely adhering all those scraps.

After 72 hours, you can wash these shoes in cold water on the gentle cycle, or spot-clean them by hand. But, according to the manufacturer's website: "Fabric Mod Podge will hold up best on decorative items that don’t have to be washed often." Which is fine if you're just trying to get another season out of an old pair of shoes.

Now, imagine cutting some pretty motifs out of your favorite print fabric and using this technique to customize a tote bag!

posted in: other crafts, fashion, restyle, fabric, decoupage, shoes