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Sunday, September 2, 2012

TOMS Refashion // DIY

Hello, friends! I hope you had a lovely week.

**NEW: This post was featured on U-Create! See it here**

If you're here from U-Create, welcome! I'm so glad you have decided to stop by. I hope you'll stay a while and look around!

Two summers ago, I bought a pair of TOMS. Loved them. Loooooved them. Until I wore them too much and got holes on the heels. I was quite sad. They lasted me a while and they were incredibly comfortable, but I wasn't ready to part with them quite yet.

I let them sit in the back of my shoe closet for quite some time. I even used them as my "nasty lab shoes" for chem lab last year, but they deserve more than that, don't you think?

So I revived them.


I made these coral skinny jeans, too! Learn how I made them here.

Nifty, huh? I'm quite pleased with the improvement. This is what they looked like before:

Sad little hole-y shoes :(

With a little fabric, fabric glue, and (optional) needle and thread, you can fix your TOMS, too!



(Thanks to my friend/roommate Melody for being my foot model!)


Want to learn how? Click the "Read More" button below!



Here's what you'll need:
-an old pair of TOMS
-fabric glue
-pretty fabric!
-(optional) needle and thread
-pins
-(optional) sewing machine
-seam ripper
-Xacto knife


Here's what you do:

1. Remove the TOMS flag/tag at the back heel of the shoe with a seam ripper. 

2. This first step is optional, but makes them look more finished. Take a long chunk of your fabric, fold over the edge about 1/4", then fold over another 1/4." Sew in a straight line along the edge.


3. You're going to start in the middle, then go around the back/heel of the shoe and then finish up with the toe. The easiest way to explain it is just to follow the way the TOMS fabric goes.

Spread fabric glue evenly on the middle part of the shoe. Start by folding under an edge of the fabric. Stick it down where the pieces of fabric meet (see picture below) and stick a pin through the fabric and shoe to keep it in place while it dries.


When you come across the little sticky out-y TOMS tag on the other side, put the fabric underneath that.

Make your way around the back edge/heel of the shoe, gluing and pinning as you go.


4. When you are done with the sides and back of the shoe, take the piece of fabric that you sewed on and put that on the toe of the shoe. When you get to the very tip of the toe, you will have to fold the fabric under a bit like the TOMS fabric does.



 5. Make a "V" cut where the elastic is and then a small slit in the very center of that.


Fold under the pieces of fabric, then glue and pin in place.


4. Once the fabric is all glued down, allow to dry for a while. Then, take an Xacto knife and trim the fabric along the sole of the shoe as close as you can get without letting the original fabric show through. You can also use fray check here if your fabric frays easily.

5. This last step is optional as well, but I think it adds a very nice touch! I went along all the edges - along the soles, along the top edges by the ankle, and the "V" of elastic - and made small X stitches.



And there you have it! Cute remade TOMS for much less than the cost of a new pair!


 I also stitched on the little blue and white TOMS flags/tags to the back of the heel so that they kept the authenticity.


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______________________________________________________________________

"If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!"
-Ecclesiastes 4:10

Have a great Labor Day weekend and week!


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14 comments:

  1. That's very clever, I might try that on my husbands :)

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  2. I was so happy to see this tutorial here! I am Argentinian and over there, we use shoes like Toms all the time! It is called Alpargatas... I probably throw away two/three pairs of alpargatas a year! I already have a pair that was going to the block in a couple of weeks to try this out! Will share your link on facebook for all my Argentinian friends. :)

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    Replies
    1. Thank you so much for sharing it! I'm glad you liked the tutorial :)

      Alyssa

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  3. How did you keep them from being too small afterward? I did this exact same thing to my TOMS (used fabric glue all over to attach a new fabric) and now they are too tight!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Sara!

      To answer your question, mine weren't "small" afterwards, but they don't have as much "give" or stretch as they used to. Maybe using less fabric glue or not using fabric glue at all and using the stitching to hold the fabric in place might help? Unfortunately, I don't have a bunch of spare Toms to try it out on. Let me know if you find a solution, though!

      Thanks for dropping by!

      Alyssa

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  4. I love the fabric. :) Great redo!

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  5. Really love this! I left my TOMS outside and forgot about them for a bit too long and they ended up sun bleached. I can't justify spending $50 on another pair, even if they do give a pair to kids as well, seeing as I have a child myself so this is a great idea~

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  6. I'm all for patching, repairing, and making do, but in this case, Pretty please, just buy new Toms, then someone in a third world country will get a pair of shoes too!!

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    Replies
    1. I understand your desire for charitable contributions, but repurposing old things that were headed to the landfill does way more good than providing one pair of shoes to someone overseas...it's a lifestyle designed to decrease waste and consumerism.

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  7. That is really nice, I have a pair of Bob's which I could do the same thing to.

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  8. This is so cute and such a wonderful idea!

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  9. Oh I am totally doing this with my old purple corduroy toms! Thanks for the tutorial! And thanks for stopping by my blog!

    <3 Danielle

    Goodwillista.blogspot.com

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  10. I did this and they were so stiff afterwards they rubbed against the back of my heel. and they were a little tighter than before. Did I use the wrong glue?

    ReplyDelete

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