DIY Pretty Shoes
Thursday, August, 19, 2010 
66 Comments
Remember those cute shoes I designed for the 500 Days of Summer inspiration feature? Well, today I’m sharing how you can make your own couture wedding shoes – and the best part is they are really easy to make! You will need some comfortable shoes to start – I found these basic ivory shoes at shoebuy.com (Nina brand). You will also need some nylon fishing line and some silk chiffon fabric in the color and/or pattern of your choice! I recommend buying a yard so you have extra.
Next cut two pieces of fabric. 15″ x 13″ in length. Then fold the fabric in an accordion style with the 15″ length longest.
Take the fabric and tie a lose knot around the front of the shoe. This is why it’s important to use a shoe the has a narrow middle part in the front.
Next, cut four pieces of fishing line about 30″ long. Then push one side in so there is a nice small bump and wrap the fishing line around where my fingers are below. Tie in a knot on the underside so you won’t see it. Wrap the fishing line around again and knot again.
Do that again so you have two small sections on each side. And then repeat on the other side.
Once you have the first shoe done, go ahead and repeat on your second shoe. Once you have your shoes done, trim the ends so they match each other in length.
And there you go! Pretty shoes for your wedding day – easy to create and if you get tired of them, you can easily take off the fabric and use a different fabric! I hope you enjoyed our first DIY project here on Green Wedding Shoes. I have lots more ideas + hope to share more each month. What do you think, would you like to see more DIY projects? What type of projects would you like to see ideas for?
top left photo by Sarah Yates, all other photos by green wedding shoes
the lightspot of this shoes is just the green chiffon fabric with DIY style. I think the DIY shoes is so cute and creative and it is cheaper and practice
Yes, more DIY projects, please! I just love your site!
Classic! What a brilliant idea! Mmm, I wonder how it would look if the fabric had a gradient of color….
Cute! I would love to see more DIY projects here. Maybe some creative ideas for decorating the ceremony or reception space?
Hey Jen,
How creative! This adds such a fun, light touch to the shoes – all the better too because it’s DIY.
Thanks for sharing (and using Nina Shoes!)
Matthew
Nina Shoes
You don’t need to be a bride to do this fabulous shoe re-do! Great tutorial! I can’t wait to try this on a pair of shoes! Thank you!
I was wondering when you were going to post about your DIY shoes! :) simply brilliant!!! those shoes went SO well with our shoot!! nice work, Jen!
Adorable!!!! What a great way to freshen up an old pair or liven up an new one.
Ingenious!!! I love this. Totally great idea for any girl that loves a unique pair of heels. Thanks Jenny.
Super cute!
SO great!! I unfortunately have to wear flats for my wedding. Does anyone know where I can find a similar shoe but flat?
SO cute! Love it!! You could probably even do this project with a vintage silk scarf. I wore Nina shoes for my wedding, by the way, and they were so comfy…
very cute…more diy please
Totally Parisian chic! I love.
Too cute! I’d love to see more DIY ideas! :)
I loved this post! Would do it if the shoes were more like, I don’t know, $10. More DIY in the future please!
Obsessed! I love these Jen!!!
I was waiting for this tutorial :)
Thanks! super easy to do and they look awesome!
How charming! This is a fabulous DIY project and the end result is so chic!
This is totally rad. I wanna get married again just so I can make cute shoes like this!!!
I *LOVE* this post. I am going to do this to a pair of my shoes for my next party.
love this DIY!
I love!!!
I’m SO glad to see some DIY stuff on here! greenweddingshoes.com is always so practical and accessible, this just adds to the charm. :-)
Awesome project!
DIY is great! would love to see more on here! :]
Oh, I love them! They’re so adorable. I would love to have fun shoes when I get married but I don’t want to spend 300 dollars on said fun shoes. I see things about being a DIY bride all the time, but I so rarely see how-to’s that make sense, so I’d definitely love to see more here. Thanks!
Thank you so much everyone for your sweet comments! I have lots of other DIY ideas, so I’m planning to start making this a more regular type of post :) I think it will be so fun! Please feel free to email me or leave a comment if there is something in particular you would like to see and I’ll try to help out.
I have the best readers :) xoxo Jen
I think this is adorable, but would love to know who well the chiffon stays in place during an evening of dancing- especially sine you don’t actually sew it onto the shoe?!
Hey Jen! Long time reader here, lady planning a wedding, blushing bride-to-be. I would love to see a DIY project for creating your own breathtaking, fun, funky and rustic wedding bouquet. If you’re looking for another project, I know this is something that would appeal to a lot of brides, especially those of us who want personal touches or planning on a budget (or both!).
Thanks!
what a great idea! such an easy way to create a new look! thanks!
So cute, I am going to try it! I really want to make my own boutonnieres but my ‘practice runs’ have been terrible! If you have any ideas, love you to share them!
Love the site!
LOVE LOVE LOVE… gorgeous! thanks for this!
Stacey-The nylon fishing line is really strong! With the double knots the fabric is not coming off easily. I wore these out one night and no issues at all. I would wear them as a practice for a bit to make sure the fabric is tight (if it’s loose, tie another piece of the string around tight and double knot), but you should be good to dance the night away! :)
Laura, LeeAnne, and Tara – Thanks for the ideas! I’m already brainstorming ideas for you guys!! :)
So pretty! Thanks for sharing the tutorial!
I love, love, love this!
I just died when I saw these!!!!
I dreaded the choosing-wedding-shoes part of planning, but no longer! :)
I did nearly the same thing with the same exact shoe for my wedding! I ordered two fabric flowers off etsy.com (they were from kbdowry for $9) and safety pinned them to the tops of the shoes. They’re fun, match my wedding colors perfectly and unique!
I would love to see the boutonnieres and anything floral related. What about a diy necklace? I love those big statement necklaces that are so popular, but not a clue how you would get started on something like that, and I’m not willing to throw down 150 on something I won’t wear very often.
Thanks!
I can’t wait to try this with my shoes!
Loved this idea so much, I had to share it on my blog!
http://darlingnotes.blogspot.com/2010/08/lovely-diy-shoes.html
Absolutley flipping stunning! x
Adelle
Peonies and Pearls
Love this! I still need shoes for my wedding and this could be the perfect solution!! Thanks!
I wonder if these would look good with dark red chiffon or are they so cute because of the pastel colors? What do you think?
Love the DIY shoes.
I just bought my bridal shoes from an online store.
http://www.piotrantoni.com.au Thier wedding shoes where cheap and the pair i bought are plain so i can now look at putting a few touches to the shoe to make it look expensive.
Great blog
Great idea!
Zepequeña.
This is lovely! Love the fabric as well, where did you get it?
These are amazing! Dreamy, lovely, fabulous… <3 <3
Not only it is cute, but the fabric – I have tried it on myself – also makes it softer for your toes since you have to wear the shoes all day!
LOVE this – so creative!
OMGosh took a pair of old black satin pumps I never wear anymore and did this to them!!! With black chiffon and added a little dap of icicle stickles to the ends of the bows, dapped on dots!!! Gorgeous! Thank you sooo so much for this idea!! I have a new pair of bling shoes for the holidays!!!