How to Make Handmade Ballet Slippers

Although you can use any color fabric for your slippers, most ballet shoes are soft pink, nude or black

Ballet shoes are often expensive and can be made at home with a few materials. Although you should not substitute well-made ballet shoes with homemade ones for performances or recitals, homemade ballet slippers can be fun to dance in at home or to use for a costume.

Things You'll Need

• Tape measure
• Leather
• Fabric
• Chalk
• Sewing machine
• Elastic

Instructions

Making the shoes

1. Create the bottoms of the slippers first. Place the pieces of leather on the ground and trace the outline of both your feet with the chalk. Leave about ¼ inch extra room around the heel and toe area. The overall shape should be an oval.

2. Use the fabric to create the top portion of the slipper. The shape of the top should be the same as the bottom and approximately 2 to 3 inches longer in the toe area to ensure room for sewing the halves together. Drape this piece of fabric over your foot, so it hangs over and just hits the floor. Measure about ½ inch above your ankle, marking where the foot hole will be. Measure the circumference of the area right above your heel and top of your foot. Take this measurement and add 1 ½ inches. Cut out the hole, repeating this process for the second slipper

3. Take the measurement used for the foot hole and subtract 1 to 2 inches. This will be the proper measurement for the elastic. Cut two strips of elastic this length. Sew the ends of the elastic together, creating two circles -- one for each slipper. Carefully sew the elastic circles into the top holes of the slippers.

4. Carefully sew the top and bottom pieces of the slippers together, starting at the toe area and working your way back to the heel area. This will help you be able to discretely remove any excess fabric.

References

• Make your own ballet slippers
• Best Ballet Shoes