Pointe shoe sewing help!!!!!!

[DanceMamma]

Hi all, my DD usually wears Bloch pointe shoes with a canvas type lining which are easy to sew ribbons onto. She’s recently switched to capezio pointe shoes which have faux suede type lining. They’re really tricky to sew through. Does anyone have any tips or experience of sewing ribbons into these shoes? I feel defeated and like I might just have to sew through to the satin! Any help??? 

[Pointeshoesarethedream]

They are really really tough to sew. I feel your pain. I’ve just done 3 pairs this last month. The best thing is to get a very sharp thin needle. I usually like using curved needles but they just don’t cut it with capezio. 

[DanceMamma]

I regret letting her get them now! We’ll be going back to Bloch! I’ve got a very talented friend doing them for her. Fingers crossed she manages it! 

[StillSewingShoes]

@DanceMamma - Do you mean that you're only sewing the ribbon into the lining of the shoe? My daughter goes through a pair a week and I've always gone straight through to the satin. 

[DanceMamma]

1 minute ago, StillSewingShoes said:

@DanceMamma - Do you mean that you're only sewing the ribbon into the lining of the shoe? My daughter goes through a pair a week and I've always gone straight through to the satin. 

Yes, just sewing into the lining. It’s impossible with these shoes! She doesn’t go through them that quickly, usually 4 months wear, I’d definitely go through to the satin if I was doing it every week! 
 

LOVE your forum name! Very appropriate! 😂

[WhereToNow]

Maybe try a thimble too.  I’d never used one before, but it saved my thumb/finger from bleeding trying to push thread through.

[Pointeshoesarethedream]

17 hours ago, StillSewingShoes said:

@DanceMamma - Do you mean that you're only sewing the ribbon into the lining of the shoe? My daughter goes through a pair a week and I've always gone straight through to the satin. 

I only ever sew through the lining but I sew for girls at our local dance school so the shoes are preserved a bit more as something special. My daughters don’t get quite the same care and attention 😂 

 

They are a lovely shoe though and reasonably ok to darn. 
 

Yes a thimble definitely helps with grip. I used silicone ones from Amazon. 

[Ruby Foo]

4dance.co.uk do a pointe shoe sewing service but the downside is that you have to purchase your shoes through them. No idea how big the selection of shoes or what they can order. It's £3.00.

I haven't used them personally but I sometimes wish I had, especially at times when she was busy revising for academics yet getting through 4 pairs a week!

[Ruby Foo]

I have also heard of people using a sewing machine if that's something you have and feel comfortable with? Obviously you would go through to the satin but I don't think it matters if it's just for class.

[DanceMamma]

Thanks everyone! I’ve got a friend doing them for me but I’m reluctant to buy them again! 

[Peanut68]

Nice friend!!! Lucky! 
Hope they are still friends after the sewing of shoes as troublesome as you say 😂

Edited April 28 by Peanut68

[Neverdancedjustamum]

17 hours ago, DanceMamma said:

Thanks everyone! I’ve got a friend doing them for me but I’m reluctant to buy them again! 

Also stay clear of Gaynor Minden and Bloch Etu. Very similar situation 🤣

[Birdy]

Would it be easier to just sew all the way through the lining and the satin? My DD’s teachers always made the students sew their own shoes (is this just an American thing? I’ve never sewn shoes for my daughter). As someone who is great at sewing, I was horrified that my DD sewed through both layers and wasn’t neat about it (due to inexperience). I had to let it go. Unless they are doing a photo shoot, no one looks that closely and it’s a valuable skill for them to learn.

[Peanut68]

I actually think sewing through to satin actually creates a better line & gives more support as the whole shoe material hugs to the foot better…. I only ever sewed my own shoes back in the day through lining & now realise that’s why they kind of ‘bagged’ around my arch when up on pointe….

[Colman]

11 hours ago, Birdy said:

satin? My DD’s teachers always made the students sew their own shoes (is this just an American thing? I’ve never sewn shoes for my daughter).

We’ve always made our son sew his own pointe shoes.

[Neverdancedjustamum]

Not an American thing as I know lots of young dancers here who sew their own shoes. In fact, as soon as someone is about to go to full time vocational school it’s almost guaranteed that a “learning how to sew own shoes” will soon appear on their social media feed. I still sew my DD’s pointe shoes and she’s a teenager, so I can totally relate with the pain 😂 This is coming from someone who hates sewing and used to use badge glue when my DCs did Beavers and Cubs. My DD therefore knows full well how much of a labour of love it is for me to do this for her (albeit with a lot of violent thoughts and swearing in my head whilst doing it). I have had many parents ask me why I still do this for her as she’s old enough to do it herself. I think it’s a very personal choice and this is something I can actually do for her when I have the spare time (normally when waiting for her). Just as a disclaimer, my DD isn’t in full time vocational school and we’ve never planned for her to board at 11. I don’t believe she wants to go full time and only dances for fun and the love of it. Therefore there is no urgent need for her to do this for herself. Even when she attends week-long residentials, I can have several shoes prepared for her. She can do it for herself, though she’s not the best at sewing herself, but I don’t mind doing it for her. I also personally know mums whose kids go to some of the top vocational (upper/sixth form) schools who would still often sew their DCs shoes for them. 

[StillSewingShoes]

@Neverdancedjustamum - I still sew my daughter's shoes and she is 17 and at an international vocational school. Apparently it's my love language - with, as you said, violent thoughts and swearing built right in with the love. 

[Neverdancedjustamum]

51 minutes ago, StillSewingShoes said:

@Neverdancedjustamum - I still sew my daughter's shoes and she is 17 and at an international vocational school. Apparently it's my love language - with, as you said, violent thoughts and swearing built right in with the love. 

Absolutely this and I will do it for as long as I can or until I’m told to quit 😁  There are less and less things I can do for my children these days so it’s the little things like this that I cling on to.

[Birdy]

Funny, only slightly related story, so bear with me… 

when my DD was little we got a puppy and crate trained him. I told DD she was not allowed to go inside the crate because it was the puppy’s private space. The next year she was performing in a production of Nutcracker and the company was looking for parents to chaperone the kids. I asked her if she would like me to volunteer. She said, “you know how the crate is the dog’s private space? Well this is my crate.” I think she liked being in a place where she was responsible for herself. If I had been there I’d probably have been reminding her where to go and what to do when she really didn’t need it. Over the years I’ve done a lot of the research about training, summer programs and schools, but for the most part there was kind of an invisible line that I didn’t cross. I learned to knit and made her cute leg warmers and things like that, but sewing shoes would have crossed that line for her. It has been very hard to honor her independent streak so I have to find other, perhaps sneakier ways to do things for her. 

[sunrise81]

I would sew right through to the outside through all layers tbh. Much easier. That's what my DD does on her shoes......I did slightly cry inside when she did it to her £100+ Gaynors 😭😭😭 

 

Btw I have never sewn her shoes and I never will 😅

[Peanut68]

My dancer took one look at my pitiful attempts at sewing their first pair of pointe shoes & with rolling eyes just snatched the shoe from me & took over!! Sometimes it pays to be useless at something 😉