Witch Shoes TUTORIAL

i made these witch shoes last year as part of my church's craft day and taught others how to make them. they were a huge hit then and they seem to be again this year! {if the mass amounts of emails i've received lately are any indicator....} so i put together a tutorial on how i made them. this is a fun piece that ALWAYS gets comments from visitors and friends!


note: this project is based on a similar mass-produced decoration purchased years ago. .

***this is tutorial is for PERSONAL USE ONLY. ***

 Supplies

• 3/4" wood board. 5" wide for the base and 7" wide for the shoes
• black paint
• white vinyl lettering (1" letters)
• 3/16" eyelets (8/pair)
• leather lacing
• red and white striped soccer socks (i got mine from Skater Socks for about $5/pair.)
• black fabric paint
• white fabric paint
• toothbrush
• foam paint brush
• brown fabric dye
• sand paper
• wood pegs (2/pair) i think we used 5/16" wood pegs
• wire (needs to be fairly thick and hold its shape well. i borrowed from my hubby's stash)
• fabric stiffener (i used Stiffen Stuff)
• staple gun or upholstery gun
• hot glue gun
• sealer

first off, you'll need to find someone with the right wood cutting equipment that can cut out the shoe template for you. to get the witch shoe template, click here. 

for tips on Storing the Witch Shoes as well as Tips for Making with a group, scroll to the bottom.

1. dye socks as per package instructions. i dyed the socks in my kitchen sink. *note: the "foot" part of the soccer socks may dye differently due to a different combination of fibers in that part of the sock. the "foot" part of my soccer socks dyed a little lighter than the "leg" part of the soccer socks. just be aware of this.* allow to thoroughly dry.
   
2.  cut the base with 5.5" board to be 5.5" wide by 14" long.  
3. cut two shoes using the witch shoe template {see link above}the shoes roughly measure 9" long by 7" high.for now, don't worry about a right and left foot as you can flip the wood over.
4.  drill four 3/16" holes on each shoe, as shown in the template, for lacings.

  

5. drill a hole in the bottom of the heel of each shoe.

 6. drill two holes on the wood base. offset them a little. you will be putting wood pegs in these holes to attach the shoes, like shown above. **DO NOT PUT THE WOOD PEGS IN YET.** the photo above is to help you see where to drill the two holes.

7. after cutting all 3 wood pieces, sand all edges. i used an electric hand sander and it went pretty quick.
8. paint all sides of the shoes black.paint all but the bottom of the base black. allow to dry.
9. sand edges and distress, if desired. wipe off dust and debris when finished.
10. use a jewelry drill to engrave the lines into the shoes. **i did try to use a wood engraver to do the lines, but i was not able to get clean, straight lines and it took hours to do.** you do not have to engrave the lines in the shoes, but i think the shoes look better with them. *in my opinion, based on my experience, it would be better to not have the lines if it meant using a wood engraver to create them. it was just too big of a pain and the lines did not turn out well.*
11. spray all pieces with sealer.
12. take socks and using the black and white fabric paint, make the socks look dirty or distressed. *apply with a toothbrush for the best effect.*  allow to dry.
13. cut off the toes of the socks (about 4" or so from the toe)
14. spray with fabric stiffener. *be sure to use plenty of stiffener. you'll want to basically soak the sock with the stuff because you want the sock to hold its shape.*

15. using your thumb, push eyelets into the 4 lacing holes.

16. lace shoes with leather lacing as shown.

17. using wire cutters, cut two pieces of wire to measure 18" long. bend each piece in half and then bend a small "z" shape a couple inches from the bottom as shown. this wire will go in your socks to help them stand up. *the z in the wire helps it bend around the shoe so that it appears to come out of the shoe, not behind the shoe.*

18. thread the sock over the wire and fit wire over the top of the shoe.
19. use your staple gun to staple the wire and sock in place.*don't be shy, use plenty of staples!!*
20. if needed, hot glue any part of the sock that is peeking out from the back of the shoe. you want to hide the sock well behind the shoe.

Assembly
21. put wood pegs in the holes on the base.
22. place the shoes on the pegs using the hole in the heel to secure. arrange shoes as desired.
23. apply vinyl lettering with popsicle stick.

You're done!!way to go!

Storage Tips
using the wooden pegs makes it a cinch to store these witch shoes. simply pull the shoes off the pegs and lay flat to store. easy, huh?

Tips for Making Witch Shoes with a Group
if you're making the witch shoes with a group of people, like i did, you'll want to:

• dye the socks ahead of time. probably the day before so that they have plenty of time to dry. when dyeing that many items, i recommend having a helper. 
• have all the pieces pre-cut and holes drilled and assembled into packets for each group member.
• allow 2-2.5 hours to make these with a group to allow for dry times and crafting skill levels.
• i HIGHLY recommend making a pair of these on your own before you teach others.

if you have any questions, feel free to email me. happy crafting!
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