Janome Skyline S9: Embroidered Shoes and Cactus Lou Box Top Hack
Since I've gotten the honor of keeping the Skyline S9 Embroidery machine for the year, I've done a little more experimenting with the capabilities of this machine. I've been loving the built in embroidery designs, but was ready to test out the USB feature and open myself up to the world of online embroidery designs. When I was thinking about a Spring project, I was trying to think of what my wardrobe needed and how I could use the Skyline to elevate my closet addition.
When the seasons start changing, the first thing I realize I'm missing is a proper pair of shoes to transition to warmer weather. I go from a closet full of boots and heavy socks, right into sandals. I usually need a pair of footwear that will cover my toes but are fun and light to walk around in.
Footwear is not something I can make. As much as I wish I could, shoes are not yet in my handmade wheelhouse. That's when I thought a simple pair of white sneakers could become something so much more.
I love cacti (and the many varieties that exist), and I thought they would make a cute design on a shoe! These shoes are super simple, and very customizable! Here's a little tutorial on how to make you own!
What you will need:
Embroidery Machine, Hoop, Threads and Stabilizer
Plain Canvas Shoes (mine came from Payless)
Embroidery Designs (small enough to fit on the shoe)
USB
Fabri Tab (or similar fabric glue)
The first step is to find the embroidery designs you want to use. The two designs I used were from embroiderydesigns.com - Cactus and Geometric Circle. (I skipped embroidering the pots on the cacti for the design to fit on the shoe). Janome also offers some amazing embroidery designs on their website! When downloading designs from a website, use JEF to get Janome compatibility. Copy the files onto your USB, plug the USB into your machine and open the files! It's so easy to get the designs onto your machine from your computer!
For my designs, I used the tear away stabilizer with muslin to embroider. Depending on your design, you should be able to use two layers of tear away stabilizer and no fabric, but some designs might need a more stable base.
After embroidering, cut out your designs. Next, fray check all your edges. This will keep any pieces of fabric or thread from unraveling during wear.
Once you figure out where on the shoe your embroidery will go, cover the back of the piece with fabri-tac and apply piece to the shoe. I love using fabri-tac because it is extremely strong and meant for material (a little expensive but well worth the price). After glue dries, stitch some securing stitches around the edges of the designs. Some spots may be hard to hand stitch because of the thickness of material, or tough to get to - like spaces in the toe that become hard to reach. On these sections, be sure the design is secure with extra fabri-tac.
*For the top section, each shoe will be a bit different but mark in chalk or fabric pencil where to cut to piece the top part together.*
And your new shoes are ready to wear!
I also made a fun new top for my wardrobe because you can never have too many cacti to wear. Pattern is Lou Box Top by Sew DIY with a hacked split back! I followed the tutorial by Natty Jane Sews to redraft the back.
The Skyline S9 makes it so easy to switch from embroidery to sewing, I was able to embroider when cutting out my fabric, and switch right over to sewing when the embroidery finished!
Ready to add some embroidery to your shoes? Here's some inspiration! {All shoe details on Pinterest}
Wanna make a pair like these from Anthropologie? Follow fellow Janome Artisan Sew Caroline's tutorial to make espadrilles!
