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

Diane Gilleland, contributor

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What a simple, fun way to give new life to old shoes—fabric decoupage!

Katin Imes

Sometimes, you can get a great project out of things you have around the house. (I couldn't bear to toss these fabric scraps I had left over from another craft.)

Diane Gilleland

With a little Fabric Mod Podge, you can seal those scraps to the shoes.

Diane Gilleland

What a simple, fun way to give new life to old shoes—fabric decoupage!

Photo: Katin Imes

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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.

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Comments (11)

EchoLin writes: cool shoes. i really want to have one.
Posted: 10:42 pm on March 4th

chardonay1234 writes: LOVE THEM!!! I am going to do this for my 8 yr.old :-)
Posted: 8:43 am on October 9th

dea4 writes: What a neat idea.
I have another thing that can be done with white canvas shoes, but isn't necessarily crafty or anything, but thought I'd throw it in here.
My daughter got a pair of white canvas shoes, then carried a bunch of different colored sharpies with her and had her friends and teammates(volleyball team) sign her shoes. She now has a pair of shoes with tons of signatures all over them. Makes an interesting conversation piece when she wears them and it is also a neat keepsake from her teen years.
Posted: 4:19 pm on June 29th

mdorta writes: &&& Super chic & oh so creative. Love it.
Posted: 3:58 pm on December 11th

crafteegyrl writes: I made shoes a bit like these, except I didn't use small scraps...Check them out!

www.crafteegyrl.wordpress.com

I thought I was pretty original...guess not! LOL!

Thanks, HB
www.crafteegyrl.wordpress.com
www.crafteegyrl.etsy.com
Posted: 4:27 pm on September 18th

paperrain writes: AUGHHGHGHG!!!

Next time I go to Hawaii, I'm taking several pair!
Posted: 7:32 pm on April 22nd

PamHarris writes: Beautiful! Brilliant! Love the idea! And I didn't know there was a fabric mod-podge. Can't wait to get my hands on some of it!
Posted: 11:20 pm on April 11th

Sweet_Dee writes: Gotta try!
Posted: 7:07 pm on April 10th

Edytheanne writes: I am all over this. I think I will make some new shoelaces to go with them and maybe add a few charms at the tail end.
Thanks for the idea.
Posted: 6:03 pm on April 10th

Merit writes: I recently got a pair of denim ballet slipper type shoes from Old Navy, but I kept thinking they just needed a little... something. Thanks for the great idea!
Posted: 5:43 pm on April 10th

theemptynest writes: Sooo cool!! Kids will love these.
Posted: 3:49 pm on April 10th

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