Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Mom Needs a New Pair of Shoes!

Well, just like the title reads, my mom was complaining about not having comfy shoes to go with her outfit. So, I said, "Why not make some!" Out of can tabs, of course! One day later, here one is:

mom's shoe top

shoe side

mom's oufit with shoe

mom's can tab shoe right

Strange style for her outfit, I know, but they definitely fit her personality. :) She says they are comfortable, but we will have to field test that at TRF before a true judgement can be made. We need a louder bell, jewel, or charm for the toe.

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As requested, here is a pattern for making a shoe like the one above. This is a simplified version. The original has a left and right side, but I altered it so it would be easier.

can tab shoe pattern
To join the two pieces, I tied the ends of the top and bottom toe point together. Then pulled a separate strips of fabric/cord between the two layers on each side of the shoe starting at the top most point. Pull the ends out of the first holes on either side of the top point. Then, start weaving into the next hole of the top layer down thru the bottom layer and then move over a hole on the bottom layer and up thru the same top hole. Then move over to the next top hole going down to the next hole in the bottom layer. Keep repeating this until you reach the last hole of the top layer. Be sure to alway go to a new hole on bottom and the same hole on top to get the curled toe.

When the toe is finished, continue around the shoe to soften the edge and make the opeing smaller. Next, with a new strip start joining the side to the bottom 'til you reach the back. I ran a strip of vertical tabs up the back to hold the two sides together. The last tab should stick up in the back where you could add a lace to tie them around your ankle.

I highly recommend lining the inside with soft fabric for extra cushion.

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The illustration below shows how to create the staggered weave pattern needed to make the shoe.:
staggered can tab pattern