I Made Shoes!!!

Have you ever made shoes??? I hadn't, but was so excited to give it a try! My friends at Dritz Sewing offered to send me one of their awesome new Espadrilles kits to try out and share my thoughts with you, and I'm thrilled to get to do so!

Aside from sewing baby booties, this was my first attempt at creating an actual wearable shoe. The packaging suggested planning 2 hours to complete the project, and I'd say that is reasonable. I finished in a bit over that, but I was sewing at a very casual pace while playing about the internet as well. :)

The instructions provided with the kit include step by step directions and illustrations that made the whole process very easy. The Espadrilles collection also includes a variety of notions designed specifically to assist in "shoemaking made easy".  While it isn't necessary that you purchase all the extra notions to create your own pair of Espadrilles, I'll share some of the ones that I thought made the process easier.
These glass head pins are one of the extra notions that I loved! They are a much sturdier pin which made pinning the fabric to the shoe sole easier and the strength of the pins kept them from bending.

Dritz Point Turners are one of my favorite sewing notions of all time, and it was a perfect tool for turning and smoothing the fabric before attaching to the jute sole. 

These handy Needle Pullers were GREAT for the blanket stitch process along the outer edge of the shoes. They provide a grip on the needle that makes pulling in through the thick jute and fabric easier. Prevents sore fingers too!

These shoes are so comfortable to wear! I was really pleasantly surprised at just how comfortable the jute was. And, there is a vast variety of sizes and color options to choose from.

Take a look at the selection on the Dritz website HERE. I'm kind of drooling over a bunch of them right now! All the kids have requested a pair of their own, so who knows, there may be a bit more Espadrilles sewing in my future!

 And one of my favorite things.....the bobbin tread! Isn't that great!?!?!?!

Pleased with the results and proud to say I have now made shoes!!! Too cool!

What about you? Have you made shoes? What did you think?

**Materials provided by Dritz in exchange for honest feedback. All opinions are my own.**