The big secret of how to darn your pointe shoes.
I was struggling with slipping in my pointe shoes a lot so I figured I had to do something about it: First I tried suede tips (did NOT like them) then I saw this girl's pointe shoes with stitching all around the platform.
I googled and searched on youtube for ages but did not know that darning was called darning which made it a lot more difficult.
This is my 2nd pair of pointe shoes that I darned and I want to explain how it works step by step:
That's what you will need:
 |
| Pointe shoes, strong thread, needle (and if you haven't already done the rest of the "pointe-shoe-sewing": ribbons, elastics) |
1) Step one:
Cutting off the satin on the platform (some people don't, but i prefer to cut it off).
I usually burn the edges of the satin to make it stay that way for longer.
2) Step two:
Make a little knot on your thread and start on the inside. Come back in an out again BUT leave the little loop you see on the picture.
3) Step three:
Come back to the inside and go THROUGH the loop.
Doing this, try to make a tiny stitch through the pointe shoe which is pretty hard.
Now you can pull the loop tight.
4) Step four:
Repeat this over and over until you reach the beginning.
5) Step five:
I usually make a second, or even a third row - just doing the same thing again.
That's it.
Not only does darning make your pointe shoes less slippery, it also helps you to find the right placement of the foot when you're on point.
I hope this helped :)
xx
