Turn that ugly duckling into a swan princess

Is your story looking a bit Grimm? Is your prince charming flocking the other way? Maybe wardrobe is honking unhappily ever after! Why not brighten it up with a new pair of shoes. Who knows they may help you pirouette your way to the perfect destiny.

Materials:

Gravity wedges

Colored pencil

Permanent marker

Puff paint (black)

Fabric paint (black, purple)
or
Acrylic paint mixed with textile medium

Parachute cording (black)

E6000 adhesive

1 yd. purple chiffon
1/8 yd. purple tulle
Rubber bands (optional)
Large pot
Stove top
Oven mitts
Tongs
Water

Velcro

Scissors

Needle

Thread

Sewing machine

Start with a pair of gravity wedges, sometimes called anti gravity wedges. If you can find a pair in black it will cut down on time, but usually less desirable colours are easier on your wallet.  Any future princess knows saving money where you can is the first step to good kingdom management~

Do these mustard heels look familiar? Check out Briar's tea party wedges to see another fableous possibility!

Using a coloured pencil sketch out your pattern on the upper of the shoe.  The pattern on my shoes doesn't match Duchess's perfectly. My feet are a totally different shape, and as much as I would love to have princess perfect proportions, its not going to happen.   You'll probably need to make a few adjustments too, but as long as you keep the overall flow and feel of the design, your promenade will be perfect.

Coloured pencil lines in the back, marker lines in the front

Once the pattern in sketched in, refine it by using a permanent marker. These are your final lines, make sure they are crystal pond clear.

Next trace along the lines with a coat of puff paint.  Try to make your lines as even and fluid as possible.  Stop to shake the paint down every now and then to avoid having air bubbles escape from the bottle.  Practice makes perfect! You might try only painting one side of the shoe at a time.  You don't want to slip and stick your finger in the wet paint.  Should you make a mistake don't wipe the paint away.  Allow it to dry and peel the paint off later.

Back shoe puff paint w/ acrylic top coat. Front shoe puff paint only

After the whole design is finished, coat it one more time. Your pattern will look more raised and you'll be able to fill in any lines that might not be the same height.

Once your shoes have finished drying, it's time to paint.  I chose a chalkboard acrylic paint.  It works on fabric when mixed with a textile medium, and I love the subtle sheen, just like the feathers of a black swan.  Paint the entire shoe, design and all.  Doing so helps to make the decorations appear as if they were always part of the shoe. 
I also chose to paint the straps that came with the shoes and their attachment points purple.  I will leave them on under the thicker fabric straps.  There is no reason to remove the straps, and I don't like to compromise anything that helps a heel stay on my foot if I don't have to.

Once the paint is all dry, tie the parachute cord into two small bows, cut four separate side streamer lengths and glue them with E-6000 to the toes of the shoes.

 While the shoes are drying its time to prep the fabric for the purple strapping.  I wanted an organic looking wrinkled pleat pattern to my fabric, so I used a heat setting technique to get some messy pleats and gathers.  Usually I use this process with silk fabrics and twist tightly, to get very fine tight pleats.  It was taught to me as primitive pleating, though I have heard this referred to as faux Fortuny pleating.
I'm using a synthetic fabric and twisting not as tights to get wider pleats.
First start by hand basting 3/4 yd of your fabric along the selvedge edge and pulling the gathers tightly.  The stitches should be irregular in length and spacing.  Stitch this gathered end together and repeat on the opposite side.  Next grab your future Prince /Princess Charming.  Have him/her hold tight to one end of your fabric while you twist.  Twist it fairy tight until it starts to wrap on itself.  Then fold the twist in half and twist it in the opposite direction until you have something that looks like the picture below.
  Either stitch or rubber band the ends to hold the fabric together. Be aware that the rubber bands make dents along the fabric, so you want to make sure the length of your twist is still long enough to make a whole strap before your rubber band the end. I used about 3/4 yd. of 45" fabric.  (The other 1/4 yard I set aside to make the body of the bow.)  The tighter you make the twists, the more pleats you will have, and the more fabric you will need.
Next fill a pot of with enough water to cover the twist completely. Place the pot on the stove and bring the water to a low boil. (Any fairytale royalty knows to be careful around fire breathing dragons and hot stove tops! So use caution and oven mitts) Add the fabric to the boiling water and let it sit for about 10-15 min. stirring occasionally. Use tongs to remove the fabric from the water and hang over a bucket or sink to drip dry. Don't touch your fabric with your hands it will be hot!

Once your fabric is dry untwist it to see all your pretty pleats.  If you aren't happy with them press your fabric, re-twist and try again. Do not iron your fabric after you are happy with the pleats, it will ruin the look.
I had enough fabric that I could pick and choose the pleated sections that I would be using.  It is nice to have hextra since this process is very random.
Now cut 6 rectangles.  Four are for the X in the front of the shoe and two are for around your ankles. Adjust the length and width based on your proportions.  Measure your pieces with your foot inside the shoe. It makes a big difference in length!

Tip:
Sometimes it can be a royal pain to get straight cut lines in thin silky materials. If you are having trouble try to sandwich your fabric between two pieces of paper.  It can be a bit hard on your scissors, but you'll get a nice straight line.  This fabric was a scrap and needed to be ironed, but the edges are cut straight!

Overlock or use a tight zig-zag stitch on the unfinished edges of the fabric, making sure to sew the ends of the pleats in place. In the picture below the top and bottom edge of the fabric have been finished folded over and have the ends caught in the stitching that runs perpendicular.







Sew the rough side of the Velcro to one end of each of the four X straps. The soft side of the Velcro will be placed on the inside of the shoe at the top attachment point.  Glue (or purchase self adhesive Velcro) the fuzzy side to the shoe.  The end of the strap without the Velcro can be glued directly to the inside of the shoe. Allow to dry.

 Personally, I like nice perfectly tied fluffy bows; a sloppy bow can be a major misstep! So my ankle straps Velcro together, and have a fake bow sewn on top to hide the attachment point. The body of my bow is made from non pleated fabric while the tails are made from the fabric that was pleated. For how to make a fake bow please see Apple's fairest of them all shoes.  The only changes are sewing some tulle to the inside of the body of the bow (so its not too floppy), and attaching streamers before the mid section is placed.
Stitch the bow on to the ankle strap so it covers and hides the Velcro opening.

 With that you are ready to dance your way to a new destiny.