Darning pointe shoes

[Ninjamom]

I’m hoping someone can help me!  I’ve been darning pointe shoes for a while but have recently been given a pair of Bloch Lisse to darn. 
They have the toughest satin which makes it near impossible to get a needle through. Does anyone here have any tips that can help me? Is there a method of temporarily softening the satin maybe? I’ve searched through the forums but can’t find anything. 😞

[Pointeshoesarethedream]

Can the dancer dance in them first? That sometimes loosens the satin! 
 

The last pair of Bloch I darned a month or so ago were horrendous as the satin was so good tight it kept splitting. I had to go under the satin (what was left of it) at an angle to get it to hold. One side was much worse than the other.
 

I’ve got a pair of Bloch Lisse to darn this week but they’re going back to the dancer this eve as they are needed for class and I’m hoping that will help a bit.  

[Ninjamom]

I have read dancing on them helps but unfortunately this isn’t possible. I don’t think it’s the glue though, I think it’s the actual satin. It’s like it’s double the thickness! 

[Kerfuffle]

You can buy little suede patches to glue on the ends of the shoes - this is what my DD uses. I think they are made by Grishko. 

[Ninjamom]

I think suede patches are quite popular, but this particular school insist on pointe shoes being darned. 

[Anon2]

If the satin was really difficult I’d sometimes put a needle in at an angle so it was flat to to platform and wriggle it about to loosen the satin. I’d also use a rubber needle grip and if desperate a piece of wood to bang needle through material. 
I do not miss darning pointe shoes at all 

[Jan McNulty]

Hello Ninjamom and welcome to the Forum!

 

If you click on the darning tag I have added to the top of the thread you will find older threads with advice that may help.

[BalletMumOfOne]

Hi, my DD wears Bloch Lisse, and I darn them from new (not softened) but would agree they are extremely tough! I’m fairly new to darning so definitely no expert, and have only ever darned this style so can only advise what I use which is a strong straight needle, a thimble to push through at an angle and pliers to bring/wiggle through the other side.  I only darn the edges though but have to say it does take my hands a while to recover after,  just enough time for a new pair to be started xx

[Ninjamom]

Thank you all for your advice. I’ve managed to darn one shoe, just very slowly!! 

[taxi4ballet]

It's a long time since I darned pointe shoes, but I do seem to remember using a flat-bladed screwdriver or the end of a teaspoon, scraping it back and forth over the satin (for ages and ages) until it worked loose enough to darn. What a palaver. Some shoes are far worse than others, even of the same make - I think it must be down to the over-enthusiastic application of glue by some makers!