Check out my new kicks! I am kicking (yes pun!) myself for not making these adorable shoes years ago! I wasn’t 100% sure Heat Transfer Vinyl would work on these shoes but they do and I can’t wait to share with you the step-by-step tutorial so you can make yourself a pair!
I have an adorable Halloween-themed pillow that I got from Target’s Bullseye a couple years ago and the print on the back features a black and white ghost pattern that is also very cute. These shoes are inspired by that pattern.
Supplies needed:
- Canvas shoes (link to the exact pair I got from Target. FYI, these are pretty comfy and run slightly large but unfortunately doesn’t come in half sizes. Here’s a link to a similar style pair on Amazon)
- Glow-in-the-dark heat transfer vinyl (link to similar)
- Silhouette CAMEO (link)
- Cutting mat (link)
- Scissors
- Weeding tool (link)
- Iron
- Thin piece of fabric (something to be placed between HTV and iron)
- Design cut file (I recommend a fairly simple outlined shape, like a bat or a pumpkin. I drew three ghosts designs in Procreate and turned them into SVGs)
Step 1:
Measure what size you want your design cut file to be on your shoes. For my size 8 shoe, the ghost shapes ranged from 0.55″ to 0.75″ that I resized in Silhouette Studio. I duplicated the shape several times as well as created a mirror-imaged set of the shapes. This variety gave the shoe a more natural look vs too planned. For my project, I needed about 10-15 shapes per shoe. This quantity will depend on the size of your shapes.
Step 2:
Load your heat transfer vinyl onto your cutting mat and send it to cut with the proper cut settings. Once done diecutting, unload and weed away unwanted HTV pieces with your weeding tool. Using scissors, I cut out and separated each shape, and set them aside for Step 4.
Step 3:
Stuff your shoes tightly with socks so that you can iron against something firm. Turn on your iron to the cotton setting.
Step 4:
Take a diecut piece and place it down on your shoe (carrier sheet up). Place your thin fabric over it. Press firmly for 10-15 seconds (the duration depends on the type/brand of HTV you’re using). For my project, I would insert my hand into the shoe bed and push against the sock to create a very firm surface. For clarity, the sock was layered between the shoe canvas and my hand so that it protected my hand from the iron’s heat.
Step 5:
Carefully peel away the clear carrier sheet while it’s warm (this is called a warm peel). If the vinyl is still sticking to the carrier sheet, press all of it back down and iron again for 5-10 seconds. If the vinyl is not sticking, completely peel away the carrier sheet, place down the thin layer of fabric, and iron for another 5-8 seconds to secure the HTV to the canvas.
Step 6:
Repeat steps 5 and 6 as you place your shapes on your shoe. I recommend rotating shapes and even cutting off parts of the shapes so that it hits flush with the bottom edge. This makes it look more natural like patterned fabric. Keep an eye on the distance between each shape so that’s pretty even. Once you’v filled the space, you have just leveled up your shoe! Enjoy your one-of-a-kind kicks!!
It was definitely a no-brainer to use glow-in-the-dark HTV for this project. I love how brightly they glow in the dark! So fun, right??
Now that I know I can apply HTV to shoes fairly easily, I am wondering what other designs/patterns I can try! Ooh, or I could make a Mommy & Me pair for me and my daughter! So many ideas!