Best way to dye/paint pointe shoes black?

[Peanut68]

Befuddled by options....some say use Sharpie Pens but then some say these wear off....

Has to be able to be done by DD at voc school as no chance to get shoes home for me to do.....

Seen all sorts of items online eg. a spray fabric paint but it needs heat to fix....guessing a hairdryer could do that but would it compromise the integrity of the pointe shoe box strength & performance?

Any advice greatly received - thank you!

[Nicola H]

for black there is a Sharpie  that is sold as a fabric Specific marker ( presumably for writing  on name labels etc )  the   shoes  in my avatar are a pari of a  freed demis which  were  sharpie-coloured-in primarily as an experiment ... 

the sharpie option is  'cold'  and relatively mess free , and unlikely to impact on the  function of the shoe. I 'd suspect that ribbons are best  put on as black and  if it;s new pair of shoes  darning / toe patches best  done in  black  from the outset

[drdance]

You could brush/dab on black liquid dye in the same way people brush/dab on calamine BUT make sure that the shoe doesn’t get wet otherwise the shoe is compromised 

[Bluebird22]

My mum sprayed my Bloch suprimas with plasti-cote. She stuffed the shoe with newspaper. They actually outlasted my non sprayed pair, maybe we just got lucky. Everyone else in my class used a marker pen. 

 

I was looking recently for red ones and we found pointe shoe covers in a variety of colours online might be a better option? 

 

[Emilie]

We’ve just spray painted some pink satin ones gold and used standard car paint spray. I’m sure your daughter would manage this -just cover the area with newspaper and work outside to avoid the fumes. It’s a really good finish. Maybe attach black ribbons. Have fun! 

[Peanut68]

Thanks all for replies - wish I had time to do a control test!  I ordered black ribbon but.what arrived was far too narrow... so pink pointe ribbon already sewn on will need to get either the sharpie or dye treatment! I e orders on amazon the following as was about all that could get delivered by tomorrow..... it’s a spray so hopefully will get even cover.... I reckon a little hairdryer blast will set it without too much trauma to shoe..... fingers crissed! Will let you know DD’s. verdict.... wish me luck!

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Marabu-100-Fashion-Spray-Black/dp/B00K1FIDSU

[Fiz]

I do, Peanut and dd. 

[dancemom2]

Anyone using Sharpie, be careful.  Regular Sharpie black pens can go a bit purple.  I had better luck with a brush tip fabric paint pen from Marvy Uchida.  The black was true with no hint of purple, and the brush tip was easy to slide under the casing and around the leather sole to ensure no pink peeked through.  I found black pointe shoe ribbon by calling local dance stores until I found one that had some left over from a bulk purchase they had made for another area school performance.

[Anon2]

No advice on original question but just chuckling at what I assume is the sudden need for a vocational student to have ‘such and such’ for show next week! Never anything easy to source and forget notice. I don’t think we did a year without a frantic call of ‘Miss X says we need .... for the shows’ 

[Pixiewoo]

😂 i too was laughing at the 'need' for next week ... although knowing a week in advance is a luxury! i suspect my DD KNOWS a week before what she needs, but doesn't tell me until a day or 2 before ( if i'm lucky! ) 

 

good luck colouring ballet shoes, i too was going to recommend sharpies! x

[trog]

I used shoe dye on mine (yep I've danced en pointe)

[ParentTaxi]

Artistic DD needed to dye a pair black for a group dance quite recently, and tried out a variety of her existing Art / Textiles supplies on a completely dead pair before finding the best soluton.

 

I can recommend India Ink, applied with a thick soft brush. Very, very black, very quick and easy to apply, didn't really 'wet' the shoes at all, was also good at dying the darning, and the satin stayed shiny.

 

It would probably also work on the ribbons, but in DD's case they needed to stay pink.

 

You need this one, with the picture of the spider on: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winsor-Newton-Drawing-Black-Indian/dp/B00N2XMG5E/ref=sr_1_10?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1530894836&sr=1-10&keywords=black+india+ink

 

NOT 'Liquid india Ink'/ Drawing Ink, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Winsor-Newton-Drawing-Ink-Bottle/dp/B0041EC02W/ref=sr_1_3?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1530894836&sr=1-3&keywords=black+india+ink which is matte and rather weird!

 

[Peanut68]

Can report back that the spray worked very well on shoes & ribbons and probably did another pair for another dancer too. Was very easy apparently (I notice with some trepidation) that DD sprayed them inside & out so do worry about her getting black feet & ankles when using! She did ‘set’ the dye by blasting with hairdryer so fingers crossed it won’t happen .....teacher says they look good so that’s a tick! Still awaiting to hear how they work once danced in! 

 

[Peanut68]

Well, phone call this morning with the oft heard words I bet by many parents in show week:-

"I need X, can you Amazon Prime it to me?"

 

[Peanut68]

Well, having watched the as ever  amazing Hammond Show yesterday,  pleased to report back DD’s black dyed pointe shoes looked fabulous!!! In fact, all those in numbers with black pointe shoes looked great from audience view  so seems whatever different mediums they all used on their shoes worked just fine!!

Oh the agony we DP’s go through trying to make sure we provide the very best things!!! The hours trawling online stores/google searching & of course Ballertcoforum posting!!!

the community on the latter provides much appreciated support & sanity checks 🤪

Thank you all & hope all have a great Summer! 🌞

 

[Boogalou]

7 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

Well, having watched the as ever  amazing Hammond Show yesterday,  pleased to report back DD’s black dyed pointe shoes looked fabulous!!! In fact, all those in numbers with black pointe shoes looked great from audience view  so seems whatever different mediums they all used on their shoes worked just fine!!

Oh the agony we DP’s go through trying to make sure we provide the very best things!!! The hours trawling online stores/google searching & of course Ballertcoforum posting!!!

the community on the latter provides much appreciated support & sanity checks 🤪

Thank you all & hope all have a great Summer! 🌞

 

I too had the emergency phone call last week and thanks to Amazon prime sent sharpies  to dd. They did the trick and as you say they all looked black on stage,  I also got a text to say the black lipstick was no longer needed!  The show was amazing and as always everyone looked fabulous,  now time for a well earned rest. 

[Karen]

7 hours ago, Peanut68 said:

Well, having watched the as ever  amazing Hammond Show yesterday,  pleased to report back DD’s black dyed pointe shoes looked fabulous!!! In fact, all those in numbers with black pointe shoes looked great from audience view  so seems whatever different mediums they all used on their shoes worked just fine!!

Oh the agony we DP’s go through trying to make sure we provide the very best things!!! The hours trawling online stores/google searching & of course Ballertcoforum posting!!!

the community on the latter provides much appreciated support & sanity checks 🤪

Thank you all & hope all have a great Summer! 🌞

 

The black shoes looked great - I smiled to myself about your posts as I watched the show. We had the fun of buying the requested costume items, after which the teacher changed her mind and we had to get something else! It was a great show, but we’re looking forward to the holiday now. Shame there’s not going to be a dvd on sale; hopefully the photos will be good. 

[Picturesinthefirelight]

I have to admit the first thing I thought when I saw the shoes was wince at the cost implications of potentially ruining a pair of pointes & what would happen if a pair broke during the run. 

 

Do the kids really ask you to Amazon Prime stuff (I don’t have it so I wouldn’t know really?)  

 

I have to say the senior ballet was the best I’ve ever seen them do. 

 

 

[sarahw]

Senior ballet was fabulous - as were all Mr Needham's.......

 

I thought the show was super all round - the better of the 2 years I've seen.

 

Well done Dance Mums

Edited July 15, 2018 by sarahw

[Karen]

18 hours ago, Picturesinthefirelight said:

I have to admit the first thing I thought when I saw the shoes was wince at the cost implications of potentially ruining a pair of pointes & what would happen if a pair broke during the run. 

 

Do the kids really ask you to Amazon Prime stuff (I don’t have it so I wouldn’t know really?)  

 

I have to say the senior ballet was the best I’ve ever seen them do. 

 

 

Dd was in the senior ballet and tap (I agree it was fab!) and said how hard they worked to get them like that. David Needham has been amazing as a teacher for her this year and she has loved his classes - he has expected and achieved a high standard from those he selected to be in his pieces. Just how it should be! 

[Viv]

For our end of year concert, our teacher also wants black pointe shoes, and all of the students are excited about it except for one. Her parents don't seem to understand how quickly dancers go through pointe shoes, they get upset every time she asks them for a new pair, so she ends up dancing on shoes that are far too dead to be safe... Her current pair were given as an early Christmas present. This particular student is concerned that if she tells her mum that she has to paint her new pointe shoes black, her mum will refuse. Because of the 'dancing until the poor shoes should be dead and buried' aspect, she has no old shoes that she can dye and dance in safely for the show. I have tried to convince the student that since she got these shoes in September, by the time we do the show in December, after 3 lessons a week of concert rehearsals done entirely en pointe, she'll be lucky if her shoes will even survive to concert time and she'll be able to paint these and buy new ones for next year...but she refuses to hear it  

 

So my question is - has anyone tried the pointe shoe covers raised by @Bluebird22? To actually dance in, not just for wearing while breaking in to protect the shoe? Or can anyone think of a non-permanent way to make pointe shoes look black? Tough ask I know 😕 

Edited October 14, 2018 by Viv

[Peanut68]

Crikes, that is a dilemma....

Niw this is absolutely just a punt in the dark & have absolutely no idea if could work & please please only try this with extreme care & caution & take advice from teacher..  

looking at a photo on Elmhurst website of a dancer en pointe in striking complete blue outfit it almost looks as if rather than shoes dyed the costume itself stretches over shoes.... like a full footed body stocking.... could wearing black tights (if these are part of costume?) work being worn over shoes I wonder? With maybe roisin spray to give anti slip?

I would of course recommend that any shoe either too small or too worn is dangerous to the dancers saftely & long term health so stress guest & foremost that the dancers parents are gently educated about this....

If finance is the issue perhaps you could look into seeing if there are any local sponsorship/Bursary opportunities. In my area we have a local arts club charity which assists amongst others with small bursaries towards dance kit for individuals & also bursaries to organisations that could include potentially  a dance school with money towards costumes... so helping all involved! Also many supermarkets/banks have community funds...timing might be too tight for this production but dirty bearing in mind for future...although this may require some element of charity not for profit etc aim to the productions? Worth looking into though!

Orger option, hold a one off or weekly raffles with donated prizes to raise money for shoes for show...  then you might all benefit whilst also ensuring this young dancer had the required shoes 

 

Good luck! 

[dancefanatic]

Re the Elmhurst dancer in blue body stocking, I watched the summer show this year a couple of times and it was definitely the costume that was pulled down over the shoes (during the course of the piece some costumes rose up over the shoes a little so you could see the normal pink pointe shoe underneath). Was effective though. 

[Peanut68]

Thanks for the confirmation! Be interesting to get feedback from a dancer involved as to their thoughts! 

[Viv]

Yes the tights over shoes idea is one of the options I considered, but I was concerned it would be too slippery and not safe? We're not allowed to use rosin on our practice surface floor but I could explore other options to make it stickier I suppose.

 

I have emailed Pebble Dance, a UK company making pointe shoe covers. They say that their covers are designed for photoshoots and performances on stage and not just for warming up in, and they have a hole in the bottom so the sole of the pointe shoe pokes out to provide more grip when running around stage. They do say though that they are not for beginners and dancers should be 'very confident' en pointe before using them...hopefully 2 years and intermediate level is sufficient! I have sent these to the student so she can at least have the conversation with her mum, discuss a number of researched options and they can come up with a solution together. I find sometimes that these girls are so worried about putting extra stress on their parents by asking for something that they refuse to ask at all, so the parents never have a chance to come up with alternatives! Being able to go to them with the request of the teacher and cost effective ways of doing it might be the right way just to open up the conversation.

 

If she does end up getting the covers, I will report back! Hopefully the next time someone is struck with this dilemma they'll be able to know there's a product out there that works, before reaching for the sharpie  

[Peanut68]

Viv, you sound a wonderful supportive member of your school & production! Hope all goes well & congrats on recent exams etc x

[Sheila Beelam]

Thought I’d chip in about covers! We have the pebbles covers, Sansha covers and so Danca covers. The best I’ve found are the so Danca ones. The pebbles ones are a nylon fabric with a gap to expose a section of the sole, but the platform is covered with the nylon, which makes it similarly slippy to the satin of a pointe shoe. Available in different colours and lace.

 

The sansha ones are cotton on top on top with a full sole in a thin suede running along the sole and on to the platform. We’ve found these are good for short term wear, but the cotton does tend to rio away from the suede after some hard work. Good for a couple of shows or for protecting shoes whilst breaking in. Available in pink or white. 

 

the So Danca ones are the most durable (in our experience!) they are made of a microfibre fabric, with suede running along the full length of the base and platform. Available in a pale pink or black.

 

hope this helps! Feel free to message me with any questions or if you want me to send photos x

[Encroix]

I've just tried the Indian ink method--they look great and still so shiny! Thanks for the tip x