Reupholstering My Sandals
Yesterday was very satisfying creatively.
For some reason I had all this restless energy and an unusually long day ahead.
Not long in the weary way it has come to mean in the last few years, but long in that idyllic slow motion way. I can not even remember the last time I felt like that. Well, recently anyway.
After I wrote a few entries here, I walked away from the computer. That's usually what I do after a good writing session, I get up and walk away. I feel a sense of completion. I said what I wanted to say. I'm "done" for now.
It almost felt like the day should be done now.
I don't know why.
It was almost surreal, still having hours and hours left. Being surrounded by all this wide open space. I almost didn't know what to do, now that I was unexpectedly feeling something I spend so much time wishing I could feel.
So I laid down in my bed to recoil and think a minute. Maybe I could continue cleaning and decluttering? I could finally cut and dye my hair. I could not let this precious buzzing energy go to waste. I felt restless and wired. I needed to do something, and I had plenty of time to do it.
I noticed my suede hippie sandals in the closet. The soles were so black and dirty. I've been meaning to try to clean them for a while. Dirt really is a force of nature. It's amazing how black the bottoms of my feet get from walking around barefoot, only my feet get washed all the time. My sandals don't. And they're my favorites, so they get worn all the time.
If anything, they really needed a new sole. The suede had become dry, rough and papery with age. It was starting to peel away from the cork layer underneath. They probably couldn't be cleaned.
Then I saw some brown cotton floral print fabric through my clear fabric bin.
Suddenly, a little creative voice said "Hey, let's reupholster your shoes!"
What a great idea!
I practically jumped up, and grabbed my sandals and the fabric out of the bin.
The funny thing is I have been wanting to do this to a pair of shoes for a while. I'm not sure what reminded me, but I remember as a kid lots of shoes had pretty fabric soles inside, whether or not you would be able to see it when you wore the shoe.
I liked to look at the different patterns and a lot of the time found the inside pattern more attractive than the shoe it was part of.
Sometimes you can still find shoes like that, but it is just one of those little creative touches that has disappeared. It's sad how no one cares about craftsmanship anymore, in both the sense of quality and aesthetics.
Anyway this was one of those little projects floating around in my mind. I just needed to pick a pair of shoes and a fabric.
This combination just jumped out at me.
My sandals were the perfect candidates, because they really needed some TLC and you would be able to see the fabric more than inside an enclosed shoe.
Also the dark fabric not only matches, but won't show dirt as badly as the original light khaki colored sole. The new cotton soles will probably be able to be surface washed.
The first thing I did was glue the old soles back down. They both had started peeling away from the cork layer.
If they were not sewn down, I would have taken them off, used them for patterns, then thrown them away. But they were not going anywhere, despite peeling a little. They were stitched down tight.
In retrospect, I could have tried the seam ripper.
It ended up being easier to apply the new soles right over the old ones.
It can be a challenge to reupholster something you can not take apart. I wish I could have used the old soles as patterns, as well as removed the straps but neither was possible.
I ended up measuring out a square of fabric that was a little larger than my sandal. There was about an extra inch on each side, and about a half inch at the top and bottom.
I unbuckled the sandal, then laid the fabric over the inside, positioning it so I could see where I would need more fabric and where I could have less. I needed a little extra where it curved at the outer edge of your foot. It's always good to give yourself extra fabric when you can't make an exact pattern. In fact, I like to give myself extra even if I can.
Then I began glueing down the fabric down a little at a time, using "No Stitch" waterproof fabric glue.
I started at the bottom, applying the most glue around the edges of the shoe, and little light "zizzy" lines across the rest of the surface to hold it down.
As I worked, I used the bottom of a nailpolish bottle to smooth the fabric down, keeping it taut and smoothly pressed down.
Finally when I got to the top of the sandal, I had to cut a hole for the thong to come through. I held the fabric down around the base of the thong, then carefully cut around it with an Exacto blade.
Then I had to make a small cut out from that hole, above the thong so the fabric could be pulled under the strap and through the top. If I had been able to remove the straps, I wouldn't have had to do this. One of the things about reupholstering something you can not take apart is it will not be seamless. You're going to have some minor "scars". It's frustrating because you want it to be as perfect as possible.
However this particular pattern is very forgiving, and the "scar" is small, hardly noticable and will be right under my foot.
When I glued it all down, I lined up the pattern the best I could at the scar area, and it's almost invisible.
The second sandal went a lot faster, because I already knew what to do. I repeated the sequence, just with more confidence.
Looking over my work, I noticed another area that needed repair. The tiny loop you pull the strap through was starting to come apart. The liner inside separated from the very thin suede. Eventually it would have ripped in half.
So I glued the liner back inside the loop, then reinforced it by glueing a strip of the fabric over the top of it. It is 3 layers thick now.
Right now my sandals are on top of the refridgerator drying. No Stitch dries overnight, so it is a slow setting glue.
This morning I felt the fabric but it still seems damp in places where there was a lot of glue, so I'll let it dry another day. The air has been chilly and humid, that can not be helping the drying time.
When the glue has dried, I'll trim away the extra fabric from the edges, and I'll be done!
My favorite sandals will be improved and as good as new! ;^D
I'll definitely post some pictures of my handiwork. Sorry, no "before" pictures. I thought about it, but that would be kind of nasty.
Who wants to see my dirty old shoes? ;^Q
Probably no one!
For some reason I had all this restless energy and an unusually long day ahead.
Not long in the weary way it has come to mean in the last few years, but long in that idyllic slow motion way. I can not even remember the last time I felt like that. Well, recently anyway.
After I wrote a few entries here, I walked away from the computer. That's usually what I do after a good writing session, I get up and walk away. I feel a sense of completion. I said what I wanted to say. I'm "done" for now.
It almost felt like the day should be done now.
I don't know why.
It was almost surreal, still having hours and hours left. Being surrounded by all this wide open space. I almost didn't know what to do, now that I was unexpectedly feeling something I spend so much time wishing I could feel.
So I laid down in my bed to recoil and think a minute. Maybe I could continue cleaning and decluttering? I could finally cut and dye my hair. I could not let this precious buzzing energy go to waste. I felt restless and wired. I needed to do something, and I had plenty of time to do it.
I noticed my suede hippie sandals in the closet. The soles were so black and dirty. I've been meaning to try to clean them for a while. Dirt really is a force of nature. It's amazing how black the bottoms of my feet get from walking around barefoot, only my feet get washed all the time. My sandals don't. And they're my favorites, so they get worn all the time.
If anything, they really needed a new sole. The suede had become dry, rough and papery with age. It was starting to peel away from the cork layer underneath. They probably couldn't be cleaned.
Then I saw some brown cotton floral print fabric through my clear fabric bin.
Suddenly, a little creative voice said "Hey, let's reupholster your shoes!"
What a great idea!
I practically jumped up, and grabbed my sandals and the fabric out of the bin.
The funny thing is I have been wanting to do this to a pair of shoes for a while. I'm not sure what reminded me, but I remember as a kid lots of shoes had pretty fabric soles inside, whether or not you would be able to see it when you wore the shoe.
I liked to look at the different patterns and a lot of the time found the inside pattern more attractive than the shoe it was part of.
Sometimes you can still find shoes like that, but it is just one of those little creative touches that has disappeared. It's sad how no one cares about craftsmanship anymore, in both the sense of quality and aesthetics.
Anyway this was one of those little projects floating around in my mind. I just needed to pick a pair of shoes and a fabric.
This combination just jumped out at me.
My sandals were the perfect candidates, because they really needed some TLC and you would be able to see the fabric more than inside an enclosed shoe.
Also the dark fabric not only matches, but won't show dirt as badly as the original light khaki colored sole. The new cotton soles will probably be able to be surface washed.
The first thing I did was glue the old soles back down. They both had started peeling away from the cork layer.
If they were not sewn down, I would have taken them off, used them for patterns, then thrown them away. But they were not going anywhere, despite peeling a little. They were stitched down tight.
In retrospect, I could have tried the seam ripper.
It ended up being easier to apply the new soles right over the old ones.
It can be a challenge to reupholster something you can not take apart. I wish I could have used the old soles as patterns, as well as removed the straps but neither was possible.
I ended up measuring out a square of fabric that was a little larger than my sandal. There was about an extra inch on each side, and about a half inch at the top and bottom.
I unbuckled the sandal, then laid the fabric over the inside, positioning it so I could see where I would need more fabric and where I could have less. I needed a little extra where it curved at the outer edge of your foot. It's always good to give yourself extra fabric when you can't make an exact pattern. In fact, I like to give myself extra even if I can.
Then I began glueing down the fabric down a little at a time, using "No Stitch" waterproof fabric glue.
I started at the bottom, applying the most glue around the edges of the shoe, and little light "zizzy" lines across the rest of the surface to hold it down.
As I worked, I used the bottom of a nailpolish bottle to smooth the fabric down, keeping it taut and smoothly pressed down.
Finally when I got to the top of the sandal, I had to cut a hole for the thong to come through. I held the fabric down around the base of the thong, then carefully cut around it with an Exacto blade.
Then I had to make a small cut out from that hole, above the thong so the fabric could be pulled under the strap and through the top. If I had been able to remove the straps, I wouldn't have had to do this. One of the things about reupholstering something you can not take apart is it will not be seamless. You're going to have some minor "scars". It's frustrating because you want it to be as perfect as possible.
However this particular pattern is very forgiving, and the "scar" is small, hardly noticable and will be right under my foot.
When I glued it all down, I lined up the pattern the best I could at the scar area, and it's almost invisible.
The second sandal went a lot faster, because I already knew what to do. I repeated the sequence, just with more confidence.
Looking over my work, I noticed another area that needed repair. The tiny loop you pull the strap through was starting to come apart. The liner inside separated from the very thin suede. Eventually it would have ripped in half.
So I glued the liner back inside the loop, then reinforced it by glueing a strip of the fabric over the top of it. It is 3 layers thick now.
Right now my sandals are on top of the refridgerator drying. No Stitch dries overnight, so it is a slow setting glue.
This morning I felt the fabric but it still seems damp in places where there was a lot of glue, so I'll let it dry another day. The air has been chilly and humid, that can not be helping the drying time.
When the glue has dried, I'll trim away the extra fabric from the edges, and I'll be done!
My favorite sandals will be improved and as good as new! ;^D
I'll definitely post some pictures of my handiwork. Sorry, no "before" pictures. I thought about it, but that would be kind of nasty.
Who wants to see my dirty old shoes? ;^Q
Probably no one!