- Hi guys, welcome to my craft table.
Today, we're going to be sewing our Pointe shoes.
And I'm gonna let you in on a little secret.
I don't actually know how to sew.
So, if you're like me, this is the perfect video for you.
I'm gonna teach you how to sew these little babies
without needing to know how to actually sew.
We're gonna do it in a really easy way,
really simple to follow.
They're gonna be good enough at the end,
and that's our motto here, good enough.
So let's get started.
All right, guys, so here's what you need.
Your choice of ribbon, but you obviously need four of them.
So, I have enough to sew one shoe to show you today,
but you'll need four of these guys.
You'll need either four elastics,
if you wanna do a criss cross,
or just two if you wanna do a straight across.
You'll need a lighter.
Don't worry, this is just to burn
the edges of the ribbon and elastic.
You'll need some thick thread, girl.
You don't wanna get some, like,
janky thread because it'll break.
You wanna get a little bit thicker,
and this should be available at any craft store.
You'll need a little needle like this.
I have one that has a kind of a large opening
because it's really hard to thread it through.
You'll need some scissors.
You'll need an aesthetic notebook.
This is just to make your crafts look cute.
There's nothing actually valuable in here.
Then you'll need your Pointe shoes, obviously.
And you just need some hands.
(laughs)
Okay, so take your thread.
Get a good amount, I think I have like, maybe a foot.
I'm terrible at that kind of judgment, so don't quote me.
Even though you're watching a tutorial.
Then you're gonna thread it through.
Duh-dun, dun, dun dun...
Oh, my god.
I had a feeling...
Hey, I got it, yes.
I was worried this vlog was gonna
be 20 minutes of me trying to thread a needle through.
Then, you're gonna stick it through something.
I'm sticking it through my pants.
Not a big deal.
And you're gonna tie a little knot at the end, like this.
(clicks tongue)
Good enough.
Now you have a hole in your pants,
(laughs)
and you have thread, okay?
Then, we're gonna take our little guy.
Let's do our, let's do our elastic first.
So for this first shoe, guys, I'm gonna do one across.
Okay?
For the second one, I'll show you how to do a criss cross.
So, take your shoe...
Oh, my gosh.
FYI, these have already been sewn.
These are my old shoes.
I just cut them so they look a little, a little whoa.
That's why, they're not brand new.
This little seam in the back will be your marker, okay?
So, take your little fingers and measure out
one inch away from that inseam, and you're gonna
place the end of the elastic there.
You're gonna take the other end,
make sure there's no weird twists or anything,
and place it one inch away from that seam.
This is a great way to measure that.
Really quick side note.
This shoe has a higher heel, so there's more fabric there.
Some shoes have a lower heel
and it has a little baby fabric.
If it has a higher heel, you can use the one inch rule.
If it has less fabric at the heel, come a little bit closer
than one inch to that big seam, okay?
So, I'm using my one inch rule.
I'm gonna grab my little needle guy.
Make sure it's straight.
Remember, good enough.
(laughs)
Okay, we're gonna thread this guy through
from the inside, from the inside of the shoe,
that way the knot and the ugliness stays on the inside.
Then, just in a straight line,
you're gonna thread it through
the outside, through the elastic.
Pull it in.
Ouch, I just poked myself, but that's okay.
So now, guys, you can just see
that I'm just threading it through
and I'm making as straight of a line as possible.
I'm sure there are people out there
who are actually really good at sewing,
and they're probably cringing at how I'm doing this,
but you know what?
- [Camera Person] Who needs 'em?
- Who needs 'em?
So we keep going all the way through.
This is why you have a thick thread, guys.
This way, it stays on the shoe.
A thin thread would be breaking right now
with how thick the Pointe shoe fabric
and the elastic fabric are.
So now, I've gotten pretty much
all the way to the other side.
I'm gonna cut this guy.
I'm gonna make a little knot on the inside of the shoe.
I like to double knot it, just to be safe.
Voila.
Then you cut this guy so you don't have a long thread.
And you're done with one side, yo.
Remember, one inch.
This guy's already on there.
Take one inch away from that big seam in the back.
And you're gonna do the exact same thing on that side.
Hey.
(laughs)
We're gonna do our criss cross ones now.
So, be proud of yourself.
If you are the person that likes
to have just the one across, you're already done.
It's a lot easier, I would just do this one.
But if you wanna be extra fancy,
or maybe you're new to Pointe
and you want a really secure shoe,
a criss cross is a better idea.
Same thing as the very first shoe that we did.
Use that inseam, one inch rule,
and we're gonna sew this side.
So, this is the same thing as that very first shoe.
You're just using your one inch,
putting it through.
Pretty soon you'll be as, you know,
fast and as confident as me, but it takes time.
It takes time to be a master, right, Brae?
- [Brae] Oh, yeah.
- Oh, yeah.
Oh, yeaaaah.
Shout out to the Kool-Aid Man.
- [Kool-Aid Man] Oh, yeaaah.
- Voila.
So once you have a secure, one straight line,
I didn't do too many stitches,
you could do as many as you want to feel secure.
Don't forget to make your little knot,
just like this...
(clicks tongue)
Double-knot, to be double cool.
(laughs)
Cut it.
Uhh, cut it.
Okay, now there's another seam in your shoe, peeps.
You're gonna take your elastic that's sewn on the back,
you're gonna pull it across.
This time, I would use maybe like,
what is that, a centimeter?
Also, I should have painted my nails before this,
but that's fine.
I think that's like a centimeter.
That's how far you want it from this seam.
Don't pull it to the other side.
Keep it towards the back, okay?
So now you have this kind of an elastic.
That's where you're gonna want to sew that baby on.
So let's thread our needle again.
I am now on the back side of this side inseam.
And I'm gonna sew this little baby through.
(clicks tongue)
Pull it out.
Honestly, it's pretty straight forward, guys.
You're just making a straight line with the needle.
The only thing you want to make sure
is that you're pulling it tight enough
so that nothing bubbles out here.
Sometimes, the thread doesn't go all the way through,
and it creates these really terrible bubbles on the outside,
or things get tangled and then you'll
have to start all over again,
and if you're like me, who has zero patience,
this kind of stuff, starting over, is absolute torture.
All right, and then cut this little guy,
make a little knot.
La, la-la, la, la, la-la...
Thanksgiving's coming up, people.
Actually, will this be out already?
(gasps)
It's the day before Thanksgiving, people,
if I did the calculations.
Okay, do not put scissors by your face.
- [Brae] Very dangerous.
- Do not do that.
Yay.
Now, you have a criss cross.
So you're gonna do the exact same thing with the other side.
Now, let me show you something really fast.
Some people are a little bit
stringent with how they sew this,
and they don't want that gap.
I don't mind if it's there.
It doesn't make a difference,
but what you could do is another row of thread
so that these two pieces are together.
You would just put another row right there.
You don't have to, though.
Remember, good enough.
Okay, so now we're gonna criss cross, applesauce,
the other elastic.
Same thing, start out at the back.
It might get a little hectic here
because you already have an elastic.
If you're feeling stressed, just take a deep breath.
I am with you.
Okay, let's put one thing down.
Let's go an inch away again.
And we're gonna sew this other side.
There's a lot happening here.
That's why criss cross gets a little cray-cray.
La-la-la, beautiful.
Cut that baby.
Make a little knot.
Gorgeous.
Cut that, and then redo your thread again.
I'm sure there's a simpler way to do this
where you can just have a really long thread
and you keep cutting it.
But you know, I haven't figured out how to do that.
So we're gonna go the lazy sewer's way,
and we're gonna cut a new thread every time.
All right guys, so I've now threaded this one.
We're gonna cross this elastic
either over or under, it doesn't matter which one's on top.
Remember, about a centimeter away from that inside seam.
So I've now crossed it over,
and I'm just gonna sew it on the inside of that seam.
I'm just making a straight line
all the way across this little shoe.
And I'm sorry for my people who like straight lines.
I'm making it as straight as I can.
Hopefully you're just watching this
'cause you just got your Pointe shoes.
That is very exciting, my loves.
Side note, though.
This is the dance teacher in me coming out.
Make sure you get your shoe
approved by your teacher before sewing them
because you might get fitted
and take your shoe to class
and your teacher doesn't like
the way that it fits your foot,
and you might have to go get different shoes.
But, guess what?
If you've already sewn them, you can't return them.
And your parents are not going to be very happy
that you just ruined, ruined expensive shoes.
So, just make sure you get them
checked with your teacher before you sew them.
But I know you're excited,
and I know that you're probably impatient like me
and you wanna get them done,
but do it the right way so that you don't waste money.
And guess what, we have a criss cross Pointe shoe.
Voila.
Okay, we're on the second to last step, kind of.
Take whatever ribbon that you chose.
Now, some ribbons, I don't know if you can see it on camera,
but there is matte side, and there is a shiny side.
You want the shiny side to be the side
that is facing out of the shoe,
the side that everybody else
will see when you tie them, okay?
So...
(clicks tongue)
Take your ribbon, matte side towards you,
put it on like a sash.
I'm just kidding.
Here's the inside inseam again, okay?
You're gonna take, make sure the matte side is facing you.
It's gonna go a little bit away,
I would say about an inch from that inseam.
So I'm sewing my shoe that has the one across,
but I'll show you really fast
if you did the criss cross.
Here's your elastic.
Just sew your ribbon right on the other side of it,
the side towards your heel.
Okay?
So, whichever way you sewed them,
either way it's about an inch away from that inside inseam.
I'm gonna take this guy, put it an inch away
from that inside inseam with the matte,
so not shiny, side facing in.
Again, always thread it from the inside
so that the knot is on the inside of the shoe.
Pull it all the way through so that
there's no weird thread bubbles.
And you don't wanna have a crooked line,
so keep it as straight as you can all the way across.
Oops.
Dun, duh, beautiful, you're almost there.
Keep on cruisin'.
Now, before you cut the inside,
you wanna make sure that the knot will be on the inside.
So, put your last thread through towards you.
That rhymed.
Cut it...
Whoa, whoa, whoa...
Cut it, make your little knot again.
That was a terrible knot.
That did not work.
(clicks tongue)
(crowd booing)
Braedan, I'm sorry that you have to film with me.
- [Brae] You should be.
- Yeah.
And we're done with that ribbon.
Cut it.
Then we'll do the other side, guys.
My face is itchy.
So, we're gonna thread our needle again.
(laughs)
What's everyone doing for, for Thanksgiving?
Not that any of you can answer.
Maybe let me know in the comments.
What are you doing on Thanksgiving,
what are you thankful for, what's your favorite dish?
I, thank you for asking, like...
Well, I like a lot of things.
I like bread rolls.
(laughs)
Which, I know can be really at any meal,
but there's a lot in my family.
Take the other side, shiny side away from you.
One inch away from the inseam, towards the back,
and then you're gonna sew, oops,
you're gonna sew.
And you can kind of make sure it's mirrored.
So check out where you put the other one
and just make sure it's the same on the other side.
Thread that baby through.
Thread, baby thread.
Anyways, I like bread rolls, I like potatoes,
mashed potatoes to be particular,
um, and pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin pie's my fave.
So you guys, once you have either
your straight across elastic or your criss cross elastic,
then you have your little beautiful ribbons on
and all of your knots are tied,
what you're gonna do is grab your lighter
and we're gonna burn the edges.
So basically, what the lighter does is
it seals the edges that
the elastic and the ribbon don't fray, okay?
You guys, if you're younger,
please don't use a lighter by yourself.
Don't even use the needle and the scissors by yourself.
I don't want you to get hurt, okay?
So ask a parent, or someone who's older
that can help you do this, okay?
Keep your fingers away from the light.
And you're just gonna quickly burn the edges.
You don't want it to catch aflame,
just a quick burn.
Then we'll try the other side.
Again, fingers away, just a quick burn,
(clicks tongue)
and it just seals it.
Seals the deal, baby.
Then, again, be careful.
You should be fine on the inside,
but if you really, really want to,
flip it, careful of the thread,
again, don't do this by yourself.
Burn the edges.
Do you see that happening, Brae?
- [Brae] Mm-hmm.
- It's pretty cool.
It's science.
Eww, it does not smell very good, though,
I'll tell you that.
Careful of the edges, sorry, of the thread.
Burn, and that's it.
You guys, you just sewed your Pointe shoes.
Maybe it's your first pair,
or you just wanted help with your second, third, millionth.
I have so many pairs of Pointe shoes,
so this method has always worked for me.
Like I said, I'm not a professional seamstress,
but this is my easy, how to sew your Pointe shoes
if you don't know how to sew guide.
So, I'm excited for you to take these into class,
and good luck dancing on 'em.
If they do come undone, which they shouldn't,
but if they do, just add a quick little stich in there
and just remedy it really quickly.
I do wanna remind you that we have a new dance vlog
every single Wednesday and new choreography video
the last Friday of each month.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving, and happy holidays,
but first of all...
Not first of all.
First and...
First and foremost, I feel like I always say that.
I'm like an old president.
First and foremost, people,
I do want to give a shout out to my home studio,
Capital Dance Company, thanks for the cool hat.
If you guys are in the Bay area
in California check them out.
This is where I danced when I was younger
and in high school before I went to college
and where I taught.
They are incredible.
The most amazing teachers, and beautiful facility,
and they're not paying me to say this,
I just really, really love them,
and I would love for some of you guys to go dance there too.
Love you guys, happy Thanksgiving.
(blows kisses)
(jazzy beat playing)
So, one inch away...
(laughs)
Should we do it again?
- [Brae] No, we'll just keep going.
- My bad, I had no idea you were there, so don't worry.
(laughs)
(jaunty tune playing)
(flutes playing)