Shoe Refashion: Turn Ballet Flats Into Custom Mary Janes
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I don’t know about you, but to me, spring means new shoes. Each season, I scour the internet for the best deals and styles to add to my collection. While I absolutely love stumbling on new designs, I also love to re-invent and refashion what I already have. Do you have a few boring pairs lying around that could use a shoe refashion?
Today, I’m going to show you guys how to refashion some basic flats into Mary Jane’s with a bit more personality and style.
Supplies:
My supply lists are now shoppable for your convenience! Just click any aff. link below to gather everything you’ll need to complete this project from Amazon.
- A pair of old flats
- 2 Large Jewelry Beads You Love
- 2 Fur Strips (cut to 10″ in length)
- Needle and Thread
- Paper Clips
- E6000 Adhesive
- 3-inch Wide Black Elastic
Steps:
To begin, start by sliding your flats on and then measuring how long you want your elastic to be in order to comfortably stretch over the top of your foot. It’s OK to have the elastic stretch slightly as long as this is comfortable for you. Apply some E6000 glue and use paperclips to hold in place white the glue dries.
They already have a completely new look huh? But we can’t stop there… from here, you get to be as creative as you want and play around with embellishments.
The beads I used for this project came from a necklace I broke last year. You can find similiar beads in the supply list from Amazon above.
I started gathering the fur trim by sewing a quick running stitch up one side of the fur and then pulling the thread tight until it formed a circle. You can hand sew the fur directly into the toe of your shoes before moving on.
Next, apply some E6000 glue to the back of your bead and apply it to the top of your fur trim. Let your new shoes dry overnight before wearing. From there, enjoy!
This little project was so fun to get my creative juices re-flowing after I’ve been in a rut since you really can get as creative as you want.
Experiment with different mediums and textures. Lay different beads across the top or even the sides to see what looks best. Don’t be afraid to play around and see what you like! Often, the more bold the shoe, the more compliments they bring anyways.
I hope you guys liked this little shoe refashion. If you did, I bet you’ll also like this Pom Pom Sandal DIY, Glitter Sneaker DIY, or my Basic Heel Refashion.
As always, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to let me know in the comments below!
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Will give this a try to the shoes that I thot were ready to get rid of. Thanks for the idea.
Great idea. I especially like the the elastic bands.