newbie

[princesskill.livejournal.com]

hi, im new and i though id share something i did/made today. i dunno if its crafty per se but its practical and DIY.



so i have an extreemly old pair of black converse high tops. they are probably 3 years old and i wear them every single day, even in winter in toronto. they had some pretty bad rippage and stains but im too stuborn and poor to buy new ones so heres how i fixed them.

1) i took out the laces and washed the shoes in the bath tub with a bit of liquid laundry detergent and hot water. i scrubed with my hands inside out and rinsed thoughly. then i dried them off as much as possible and then put them to dry.

2) while they were drying i knitted myself some new shoe laces because my old ones were broken and too short to begin with. to knit shoe laces you just cast on a lot of stitches (like 200 at least) on circuar or really long needles. then bind off. mine are hott pink :)

3) i went to the store and got some contact cement super glue. i just got the one that said it worked best for fabric and rubber. it cost around $5

4) i put the glue on the ripped pieces and the rubber as well as sealing any other gaping areas between the rubber/fabric do yourself a favour and open a window. i got pretty dizzy :P

5) there is a hole on the back of each heal that i patched with some pleather i had laying around and good old needle and thread

the glue is still drying but so far they look awsome. the rubber is all gleemy white and the rips have been secured and are water proof and the patching is hardly noticable. i feel like i have brand new shoes and i will no longer have constantly soaking wet feet and it only cost $5!