Cheap Beaded Shoe idea

vj found this in rec.crafts.beads, from Kathy N-V :

]I went to a local cheap store and bought a couple of pairs of $0.99 plastic ]flip flops. Then, I strung/wove beaded accents for each pair and glued the ]beads in place with E-6000 glue. I used Czech pressed ladybugs and leaves ]for the red flip flops, a daisy chain for the green ones, and silly ]multi-colored flowers for the white ones. Now DD has three very fashionable ]pairs of flip flops, and I am not out a ton of money.

want to SEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!

----------- @vicki [SnuggleWench] (Books)

A couple summers ago, I bought some cheap flip-flops with fabric straps, and spent about $6 in e-beads and made them very spikey and fringe-y, and they still look great! I had one woman offer to buy a pair, so I told her $40, and she "fell" for it!!

What is there that COULDN'T stand to have a butt-load of beads added?? (well, wardrobe-wise, anyway?)

The Blessed Fiddy, Patroness Saint of the Disorganized LC in Sunny So Cal Personality Development Specialist (Full-Time Mom!)

Kathy -- I used to do this with cotton canvas tennis shoes. Did it one year at a campground and had all the kids in the whole place over at my picnic table, glueing stuff to their tennis shoes. LOLOL. It is fun!

Becki "In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

thongs. (squirming, just thinking about it)

Becki "In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

I've been thinking about beading some black canvas Chinese slippers. I only wear Chinese slippers (spring/summer) or my Docs (fall/winter). I did buy a lovely pair for Easter that were already beaded and I keep telling myself I have got to try doing my own.

Any ideas as to a good thread to use?

Paula

Paula -- I can't help because I used glue on the tennis shoes. However, Kathy N-V is our thread expert, so let's see what she thinks?

Becki "In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

On Thu, 29 Apr 2004 10:17:01 -0400, PaulaGarlic wrote (in message ):

I wouldn't sew directly onto the canvas shoes at all. The agony of trying to get a beading needle through all those layers of canvas would be horrible.

I'd either glue the beads in place, or make a pattern out of heavy interfacing and cover it in bead embroidery. (Use a black sharpie to color in any little missed spots, unless you can get black interfacing somewhere) Then glue the embroidered part onto the shoe.

If you absolutely had to embroider directly into the shoe, I'd suggest using an awl to poke the holes in the fabric, rather than trying to stitch the fabric directly with a needle. A needle fine enough to go through a bead would be far too fragile to go through all that canvas.

As for thread, I wouldn't use anything less than Fireline or PowerPro. A nylon or cotton thread wouldn't stand up to the abuse of being on a shoe.

Kathy N-V

wow - you took that "butt-load of beads" to heart with that didn't you? :)

what? you mean you wouldn't wear a string of bumpy beads down your backside? like...35mm bumpies?

~Candace~ your local hemp goddess :)

Yup. Didn't have to go far to find that one.

Becki "In between the moon and you, the angels have a better view of the crumbling difference between wrong and right." -- Counting Crows

I saw a thong the other day that had three thin metal chains serving as the side straps and part of the butt strap. the chains were actually adorned with little round dangly beads..I kinda blinked at it for a moment and thought "good god, who would wear something like that? I love beads, but not THAT much".