SHOEMAKING WITH SPARKLEBUTT

As the Christmas holiday season approaches, it's time to infuse every aspect of your life with festive cheer, and that includes your wardrobe 🌟

Instead of settling for ordinary footwear, why not create your very own pair of sequin trainers that will dazzle with every step?

That’s exactly what we did in this upcycle project with Sparklebutt.

Using our ICMS sneaker pattern we upcycled a gorgeous purple Sparklebutt scrunchie to create this stand out pair of festive-sneakers, and, if I do say so myself, they look pretty incredible!!

In this blog, we'll guide you through the delightful process of making your own sequin trainers just in time for Christmas.

WHAT DO YOU NEED TO MAKE A PAIR OF SNEAKERS LIKE THESE?

Overall, these took approximately 10 hours to make (spread out over a few days), and if you are feeling inspired to make a pair for yourself, here’s a list of the all of components that we used 😉:

WHY DID WE COLLABORATE WITH SPARKLEBUTT?

We wanted to show how easy it is to re-use materials around your home - existing things that perhaps you haven't worn in a while for example - to upcycle into something absolutely fabulous!

Sparklebutts designs bring total joy and all of that glitz and glam that is perfect for the Christmas season, so we knew that this collaboration would be something special 💖

Inspired by the 1970s disco scene, Sparklebutt is all about showing off, being the centre of attention and a little bit of cheeky on the side. They believe everyone should have the chance to feel fabulous and sparkly, and we were inspired to bring this energy into our coveted sneaker pattern.

Founded by New Zealander Ashlee Ackland in 2017, Sparklebutt can be seen popping up at parties and festivals around London, Sydney and Auckland. You can also catch them on BBC’s Dragons Den. Sequin world takeover? YES PLEASE!

THE MAKING OF THE SNEAKERS

We wanted to showcase as much of Sparkle Butt’s pzazz as possible, so we placed the sequins over the entire upper and paired it with a matching purple Valencia leather.

Inspired by how the sequins changed colour in different lights, we chose a sky blue lining and this combo unintentionally bought total Mermaid vibes to the Christmas party 😅🧜‍♀️🎄 Happy accident right?!

Here’s the breakdown of how we made the sneakers:

1. First, we picked the scrunchy that we wanted to upcycle. We decided for this gorgeous purple that changed into blue when the light hit 💜💙

2. Then, we unpicked the scrunchy.

3. We then traced the upper pattern onto the unraveled scrunchy material.

4. After this, we traced the lining pattern onto blue leather.

5. From here, we stitched the upper and lining together.

6. Next, we added wadding inside the tongue to give it that padded sneaker effect.

7. After this, we attached the tongue to the rest of the upper.

8. Then, we punched holes for the laces. We decided to chose purple eyelets that matched the colour of the leather perfectly! 🤩

9. We then lasted the lining and added a toe puff.

10. From here, we lasted the upper.

11. Finally, we hand stitched the sneaker soles on using our speedy stitcher.

12. Voila! This was the final result! 🌟

You can watch the making process in our video below:

We LOVE how these turned out - who knew that this was once a scrunchie?! We hope this project inspires you to think outside the box when thinking about what materials you can upcycle to create something truly unique for yourself.

If you want to find out more about SparkleButt you can find them on Instagram here.

LEARN SHOEMAKING FOR YOURSELF

You can create your own unique designs like these sneakers by joining our online footwear masterclass.

I created a free 40-minute online course called 'Introduction to Shoemaking' to show how easy home shoemaking can be and to give you a little taste of what I Can Make Shoes is all about.

If you are wanting to dive a little deeper into the world of home shoemaking, my online Footwear Masterclass is one of the most popular shoemaking courses in the world!! 🌍 (Casual brag! lol) The course covers how to make shoes from scratch including heels, flats, boots, sneakers, sandals, and more. The thing that really sets this course apart from others is that it's specifically designed for total beginners and requires very little in the way of tools & equipment, there's even a bonus module on how to start your own shoe brand.

To make getting started even easier, the course comes with a FREE Shoemaking Starter Kit, delivered to your door, anywhere in the world! 🌍

We are a tight community and regularly limit our intake to ensure the best experience for our students - so if our enrolment is closed I would recommend you sign up for our FREE Introduction to Shoemaking course while you wait.

Happy Shoemaking Amanda xx Pssssssst.... If you want to have a look at the shoes our students have been making, give us a follow on Instagram.

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LEARN SHOEMAKING FOR YOURSELF