How to Make Your Own Pair of Wizard of Oz Ruby Slippers

Intro: How to Make Your Own Pair of Wizard of Oz Ruby Slippers

Fancy living a childhood dream? Like so many other children, I dreamed of wearing a beautiful pair of ruby slippers just like Dorothy’s from the Wizard of Oz. The very sight of them conjures feelings of magic and wonder. At age 22, I had a sudden yearning to finally bring this dream to fruition, and went searching for a pair to buy. Sadly, all I could find were cheap glittered shoes that lacked sparkle, or hand crafted shoes costing hundreds of dollars. So instead, I set out on a magical quest of my own, to create these amazing shoes myself. I was amazed at how easy and satisfying the process was, as well as how well they turned out! Every time I walk out of the house in them, they attract endless comments and stares. Live the dream for yourself with these easy steps!

For more arts and crafts, visit my website: Renaissance Woman

STEP 1: Materials

One pair of comfortable pumps without embellishments
20m of red strung sequins (also called sequin chain)
Hot glue gun with plenty of spare glue
Ribbons and gems of your choice for extra decoration (I chose glittered ribbon and large red plastic gemstones)

STEP 2: Method

Get yourself comfortable and find some movies to marathon, because this is going to take hours .

Step one – Starting from the back seam, draw a short line of hot glue along the base of your shoe (as shown in the picture by green arrows. Only draw a line about as long as one arrow)

STEP 3: Method - Cont

Step two – Carefully press the end of the string of sequins onto the glue, minding your fingers because it’s hot! Leave it to set for a few seconds before continuing.

Step three – Continue gluing and pressing sequins in small segments, all around the shoe, until you reach the back seam again.

STEP 4: Method - Cont

Step four – Without cutting the sequin chain, continue gluing and pressing another line of sequins above the one you just placed, ensuring that they overlap slightly so that none of the shoe leather shows through.

Step five – Continue with as many rounds as it takes to completely cover your shoe. Be prepared to spend many hours on this. You can also do the heels if you wish.

(Hint: once you’re done, the top edge of the shoe might have a rough and unfinished look. To fix this, I glued another strand of sequins over it to neatly line the shoe edge.)

STEP 5: Method - Cont

Step six – Assemble embellishments with a hot glue gun. Here I’ve created bows with glitter ribbon and plastic gemstones.

STEP 6: Method - Cont

Step seven – Glue the embellishments in place on your sequinned shoe.

Step eight – Do it all over again with the other shoe!

STEP 7: Finished!

Step nine – Leave to completely dry before trying them on, then enjoy your wonderful creations!

The end result are very wearable. Hot glue is flexible, so you’ll never lose your sequins or embellishments when your shoe bends while walking. They’re also very comfortable, although you wouldn’t want to wear them without socks or stockings, as the sequins around the edge can rub against your skin. They should be treated as delicate and formal shoes. After prolonged wear, the colour begins to come off the sequins in areas where your shoes get scuffed, but they honestly hold up much better than I ever expected them to.

Comments

[Erndor12]

Hi, I have to do a pair for my granddaughter in the eistedfod, can someone please tell me what size sequins were used please

[sariluss]

Great tutorial! Awesome idea & awesome outcome! thank you!

[bevins.playball]

Thank you.

[Costumer]

I might suggest using another type of glue only because in my experience (I've done theater costuming for 10 years, we use hot glue for almost everything!) hot glue does not adhere well to smooth surfaces. It adheres initially, but without a "grain" or surface texture to hold onto it tends to pull off of the object quite easily. Obviously hot glue is perfect in that it sets almost immediately and I don't know of another adhesive that works like that. If you have the time (as in days, like a week or more) I would suggest using something like 527 glue and do just a few wraps or strands at a time and let set to dry in between wraps.

[RenaissanceWoman]

Thanks for the suggestion! Strangely enough, this isn't my experience with hot glue at all. I've had these shoes for over a year, and the glue is still holding very strong with no sign of any loosening, even in the areas of the shoe that bend when I walk. However, I'm sure your comment is very useful to those who can't get hot glue to do the job properly!

[PattyP17]

The problem with hot glue is that it can release in summer temperatures in warm parts of the world, especially if one leaves them in the car accidentally. here is a link to a tutorial on glues you may find useful:

http://www.lemonjitters.com/2012/02/craft-adhesives-basics.html

[ValerieR1]

I think it depends on the type of shoe you start with. If it is matte, as this one appears, it should bond ok. If it is slick and shiny, you might want to use some sandpaper to roughen it up a bit. I don't think it would be necessary to resort to a different glue though.

[sunshiine]

Very clever! Thanks for sharing.

[propellerheadgeek]

Very cute! Lots of fun - my daughter will love this!