I love a good canvas shoe for casual weekend wear. I love them even more when they can be cute and cheerful! Lucky for me, I have small feet so I can actually look for cute, cheerful, colorful canvas shoes in the children’s section of stores. This time they didn’t have exactly what I was looking for so I got a pair of black canvas shoes that are very simple but also very easy to embellish.
It’s time to get creative so gather your supplies and tools!
SUPPLIES:
- HeatnBond PeelnStick Fabric Fuse
- Fabric Fuse Liquid Adhesive
- Deco Foil Color Harmony Transfer Foil Shades of Pink
- Deco Foil Liquid Adhesive
- Small amount of HeatnBond Medium Weight Non-Woven Interfacing To apply to the fabric for the top of the shoe)
- Small amount of quilter’s weight cotton (to fit the top of the shoe)
- DMC pearl cotton size 8
- Canvas shoes
TOOLS:
- Craft Knife
- Scissors
- Hand embroidery needles
- Iron
- Wool felt mat
GETTING STARTED:
1. Press your fabric to lay nice and flat, then apply the medium weight batting to the wrong side of the fabric. The interfacing gives the fabric a little more body, keeps it from fraying, and also allows you to use light colored fabric over black shoes without changing the shade of the fabric too much. In case you’re wondering, the fabric I’m using is Monaluna from the Modern Love collection from a few years ago. I feel like I’ve been holding on to this scrap for just this project.
2. Make sure the shoes you’ll be using for this project are clean and free of lint or dirt. Take a sheet of Fabric Fuse, cut it into strips, and apply the strips to the top of the shoe. Don’t get too close to the edge at the top or you’ll have a hard time hand embroidering through the layers of fabric and a layer of glue.
3. Place the prepared piece of fabric on the shoe, being careful not to create gaps or creases.
4. Using a good pair of fabric scissors, cut the shape of the top of the shoe, leaving about 1/8″ overhang. Use a craft knife to carefully cut through the fabric near the toe of the shoe.
HAND EMBROIDERY:
5. Blanket stitch around the tongue of the shoe. Take your time to make nice, even stitches.
6. I decided to add a little bling to the top of the shoe with DecoFoil Transfer Sheets. I just added little accents to the flowers that were already on the fabric.
Just a small amount of DecoFoil liquid glue, let it dry, and add the foil.
7. The final step was to apply a thin line of Fabric Fuse Liquid Adhesive right at the edge of the fabric to prevent the fabric from shifting and creating a gap between the toe and the fabric.
MORE IDEAS FOR EMBELLISHING CANVAS SHOES:
Here are some more ideas! Add DecoFoil accents to any part of the shoe. I only added accents to the fabric, but in fact you can use the liquid adhesive and foil transfer sheets on any part of the shoe.
Add some embroidery stitches to the side of the shoe, not just around the tongue like I did… add flowers, or hearts, small fruits like strawberries and lemons, or any other small accent.
Thanks for joining me in creating and embellishing these canvas shoes. I hope I’ve inspired you to create something fun for your feet. If you liked this project, please let me know by posting a comment. And don’t forget to stop by my Instagram and say HI!
Hi! I'm Deb from Quebec, Canada. I'm always up to something, either sewing, cooking or baking. My family and close friends inspire my creative side.