Embroidered Shoes

I recently got into embroidery after I completed my first cross stitch pattern in 30 years. I’ve slowly been doing a few projects here and there using up the thread I had left over. It is a nice way to keep my hands busy while I watch tv or during the winter months. I haven’t been doing any kits, just more freehand work with the help of video tutorials for certain stitches. I’m really loving the visible mending, random and mindful stitching trends.

These shoes turned out so cute I knew I had to share to inspire you to start your own project regardless of your experience level. I had no plans on sharing while I was making them so I have no pics of the process. Just the final picture I sent to my mom and sister. I would consider myself a total beginner and it’s more about the process than the final outcome- though I am in LOVE with how these turned out!

I’ve had this rough idea of a fun pair of canvas shoes after seeing a few projects on Pinterest. While out to dinner one night we stumbled into one of those Amazon return bin stores that recently opened in my town. Everything in the bins are a set price based on the day you are there. That day, everything was priced at $5 and I found a generic pair of Chuck Taylor’s in bright white.

Originally, I wanted to do an eco dye with Rosemary but all of my plants died over the winter and the dead branches didn’t produce enough concentrated color to be used. So while the shoes were still wet from the failed dye bath, I painted India ink on them that I had lying around. I put them on a shoe dryer to help dry and ‘set’ the color. It produced this textured effect which I wasn’t sure about at first but grew on me once the embroidery was done.

I knew I wanted to incorporate roses so I searched Pinterest and found this tutorial for roses. I looked up a French knot stitch on YouTube and the rest were free-hand random stitches. Each shoe took about 2 hours to complete.

I have no idea how these will wash. The color has rubbed into the laces after 2 wears. This was a really fun project to do and has me itching for another project already.

Have you ever tried embroidery? Any other beginner tips you can share?