by Kate Ankeny | Mar 16, 2023
Quilted shoes from Fiona Johnstone of Spunstraw.
A fun trend has been popping up on Instagram with quilters taking the base and pattern from the SneakerKit, but instead of cutting and sewing in leather pieces, they are adding quilting pieces instead. The end result is vibrant, colorful and truly unique.
We’ve rounded up some of our favorite quilted shoes in this installment of our trends series called What’s New in Craft.
Most quilted shoes have been built starting with this sneaker kit. There are three colors available in the sole/shoelace combo: white, black and natural. You’ll need MultiPliers and eyelets to complete your shoes, so purchase those in the full kit with leather or separately without the leather since you won’t need it. Once you’ve ordered your materials, head over to their pattern section to download the style of shoe you’d like to make. There are many options available, including a classic sneaker design, a hightop option and even a Mary Jane. You’ll use your pattern to make quilted pieces to sew together instead of the leather it calls for. SneakerKit is a dutch company, but kits are available in the US from Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts and Tandy Leather.
Fiona Johnstone of spunstraw creates quilts, patterns and pouches, so quilted shoes seem to be a natural extension of her skill set. There are several renditions of quilted shoes on Fiona’s Instagram page, including really fun Halloween inspired shoes.
The first, in-process image shows quilt panels before they are sewn into the sneaker. Fiona was able to adapt the SneakerKit pattern to her quilt panel. Watch a shoe come together as she sews her panels onto the shoe base.
The second photo of a completed pair of shoes uses shoelaces from Clementine Fabric with some aglets off Amazon to finish off panels made using the curvelets templates from @bettycrockerass. The pairing of shoelaces with the fabric make the end product a true fashion statement.
Samantha of KrebsbachhuberCrafts used tiny sashing to create a high top style sneaker. Watch the highlight on her Instagram page to get a detailed look at the often arduous process of making her shoes. She provides some great tips on putting shoes together, especially around reinforcements so the eyelets don’t tear your beautiful work. The end result is vibrant and fun and reportedly very comfortable!
Mary Burroughs-Mayer of Ember Craft Company used the pattern from Sneakerkit but added a seam allowance and made a few other adjustments to get her sneakers to work with a quilted panel. She used Soft and Stable since the panel was originally for a zipper bag. Upon consideration she decided the beautiful fabric needed to be made into something a little more grand and so they became sneakers.
Find details of her process in making two pairs of quilted shoes on her Instagram page, including tips on materials and tools used. One tip of note was the use of Fray Check around the holes in hopes that it keeps them together for longer.
If you’re looking for a more comfortable and cozy house shoe, learn how to make these cute quilted slippers in a free tutorial on Suzy Quilts. Kymona TraceyofKreative Kymona contributes to this easy-to-follow and beginner-friendly tutorial. Make fashionable shoes to wear at home or make as a quick cool weather gift for friends and family! No need to purchase the SneakerKit for these slippers, but there is a built in anti-skid gripper fabric on the bottom.
Are you interested in making quilted shoes or have you already made some? We’d love to see them! Share below.
Liberty Worthon March 22, 2023 at 10:24 am
Yes! I recently was commissioned to make a pot of quilted UGGS for a luxury brand and I loved them so much I quilted my own pair of UGGS. So much fun.
Couldn’t figure how to show the pics here, but they’re in my Instagram @libertyworthartReply
Anne Boundyon March 22, 2023 at 7:22 pm
@grapesodastudio has done a few pairs using Ruby Star Society fabrics and they are just fab
https://www.instagram.com/p/CeoT40Zqk-l/
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpB7FIxO3K6/
It makes me wonder how expensive it would be to ship the sneaker kits here to Australia… 😀Reply
Masaon April 11, 2023 at 4:36 pm
Love these ideas! I was planning to make some using mocassin-type directions with quilted uppers and another pair using an older costume pattern with several sift-sided shoes (similar to medival or frontier styles).
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Jackie Kaufmanon April 12, 2023 at 10:20 am
Love these so much! I wish I sewed…
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Julie Stadelmanon October 24, 2023 at 1:02 pm
Might be a good reason to learn!
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Mary Berryon April 12, 2023 at 12:42 pm
I can see how you might worry about the eyelets pulling out of quilted fabric. I’d be tempted to embroider the holes instead. Or see a round buttonhole if your machine has that capability.
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