Crocheted Shoe Tutorial

Recently I was walking through the city right after it rained and noticed that my feet felt wet. I looked down to find that I had worn giant holes in the bottom of my shoes! Of course they were the oxfords that I wore to work all the time. As I began my search for a replacement pair I remembered the weeks of pain I had to endure with the old pair before I broke them in. Not looking forward to that experience again I considered my alternatives and came to the same conclusion that I usually do in these situations…I can make something better!

I started by buying a pair of cheap loafers (I found a pair on Amazon for about $11) and cutting the fabric tops off, leaving a little less than 1/2″ of fabric attached to the sole. I used the fabric that that I cut off as a template when I crocheted my own top to get the shape right. I went with a lace stitch so that I could make work-appropriate closed toe shoes that would be nice and airy for summer. I chose Vanna’s Glamour yarn to add some femininity to my project since loafers can have a tendency to look a bit masculine.

I’ve worn my shoes three times so far and can’t believe the reactions that I got! The first time I wore them, a woman stopped me in the street as soon as I got off the bus in Manhattan. She was so enthralled that took pictures with her phone so she could tweet them and insisted that I give her my business card. The best part is that I don’t have to be uncomfortable to be so stylish! They feel just like wearing slippers! The stretchy crochet fabric forms to my feet so that at the end of the day I don’t have a single blister.

So I’m going to share the pattern with you so that you can make a pair too. If you do don’t forget to share your project with me on Ravelry or tag @devinjcole on Instagram!

Instructions

Please note: This project was originally made to fit me (I am between a size 8 and 8.5). If you are between sizes ALWAYS go with the smaller size. Your crocheted top will be much stretchier than the original fabric top of the shoes. If there is extra space in the shoes they will end up being too loose.
Materials:
1 skein of Vanna’s Glamour yarn in Gold (above a size 8 you will need an additional skein)
1 size F (3.75mm) crochet hook
1 tapestry needle
Two 3/4″ buttons
1 awl (this is tool used for puncturing leather which you will need to sew the crocheted top to the sole)
1 pair of cheap shoes in your size with the fabric top cut off, leaving 3/8″ of fabric still attached to the sole.
1/4″ elastic
sewing thread
sewing needle

Top and Tongue of the Shoe:
Ch2, 12sc in first chain, sl st to join.
Ch1, sc, ch3, turn, dc in the sc you just made. *Ch3, turn, dc in 3 chain, 2dc in dc. Ch3, turn, 2dc in each dc.
Sl st in next sc from the previous row. Ch1, sc in same sc.* Repeat from * around ending with a sl st in the first sc. Break off yarn.
(At the end of this row you should have 12 three-dimensional petals which will make up the flower that you
see at the toe of the shoes).
Sl st in the tip of a petal, *ch3 sl st in the tip of next petal. Repeat from * around.
Sc in each sl st, 2 sc in each 3 chain.
Ch8 skip 4 sc, (sc, Ch1, skip next sc) 6 times, ch 8, skip 4 sc, sl st in next sc.
Sc in first 4 chains, 3sc in next chain, sc in last 3 chains, sc in each sc and 1 chain, sc in first 3 chains, 3 sc in next chain, sc in remaining 4 chains. Turn.
Sl st in first 5 sc, ch 3, dc in next 2 sc, (ch1, skip 1 sc, dc) 9 times, ch1, skip 1 sc, dc in last 3 sc. Ch1, turn.
Sc2tog twice, sc to last 4 sc, sc2tog twice. Ch1, turn.
Sc across. Break off yarn.

Sides of Shoe:
Ch14. Dc in 4th chain from hook, Skip 2 chain, dc in next 2 chains, ch2, dc in next 2 chains, skip 2 chains, dc in last 2 chains.
Ch 3, dc in in second dc from hook, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain, dc in last two dc.
Repeat this row two more times.
Ch 3, skip dc, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain, dc in last two dc.
Ch 3, dc in in second dc from hook, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain, dc in 3 chain.
Ch3, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain, dc in last two dec.
Repeat las two rows twice.
Ch 3, dc in in second dc from hook, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain.
Ch 3, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain, dc last two in dc.
Repeat last two rows 6 times (if you are making a size other than an 8, this is were you will want to
add or subtract rows in order to get the right length for your shoe)
Ch 3, dc in in second dc from hook, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain.
Ch 3, (1dc, ch2, 1dc) in 2 chain, dc in second dc from hook.
Ch 3, dc in second dc from hook, (1dc, ch2, 1dc,) in 2 chain.
Ch 3, (1dc, ch2, 1dc) in 2 chain, dc in second dc from hook.
Ch 3, dc in second dc from hook, (1dc, ch2, 1dc,) in 2 chain.
Ch1 (2sc, ch2, 2sc) in 2 chain, trc2tog.
Ch4 (2sc, ch2, 2sc) in 2 chain.
Ch 3, (1dc, ch2, 1dc) in 2 chain, 2 dc in 4 chain.
Ch 3, dc in second dc from hook, (1dc, ch2, 1dc,) in 2 chain.
Ch 3, (1dc, ch2, 1dc) in 2 chain, dc in last two dc.
Ch 3, dc in second dc from hook, (1dc, ch2, 1dc,) in 2 chain.
Ch 3, (2dc, ch2, 1dc) in 2 chain, dc in last two dc.
Ch 3, dc in second dc from hook, (1dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain.
Repeat last two rows.
Ch 3, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in 2 chain, dc in last two dc.
Ch 3, dc in in second dc from hook, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain.
Repeat last two rows 5 times.
Ch 3, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in 2 chain, dc in last two dc.
Ch 3, dc in in second dc from hook, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain, dc in 3 chain.
Ch 3, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in 2 chain, last two dc.
Repeat last two rows three times.
Ch 3, dc in in second dc from hook, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in 2 chain, 2dc in 3 chain.
Ch 3, dc in in second dc from hook, (2dc, ch2, 2dc,) in last two dc.
Repeat the last row 2 more times.
Ch4 sl st in 2 chain, ch2, slt st in 2 chain, ch4 sl st in last dc. Break off yarn. Sew this piece into a circle.

Finishing for the top:

(Ch4, sl st in side of next dc) across.
3 sc in each 4 chain.
Break off yarn

Finishing for the bottom:
(3 dc in the side of dc, 2 dc in side of next dc) across.
Break off yarn.

Strap:
Ch7. (2d, ch2, 2dc) in fifth chain from hook, dc in last chain.
Ch 3, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in 2 chain, dc in 7 chain
Ch 3, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in 2 chain, dc in last dc.
Ch 3, (2dc, ch2, 2dc) in 2 chain, dc 3 chain.
Ch 3, (2dc, ch6, 2dc) in 2 chain, dc in last dc.
(ch2, 2dc) three times in 6 chain, ch2, sl st in beginning 3 chain of previous row. Break off yarn
This is the side of the strap with the buttonhole

Ch7, dc in 4th chain from hook, dc in last 3 chains.
dc across for two more rows.
7 dc in 3rd dc, sl st i nthe beginning of the previous row. Break off yarn.

Finishing:
Attach the top of the shoe to the sides by crocheting them together. Attach your straps and finish with the buttons of your choice.Use your awl to poke holes in the strip of the fabric attached to your shoe soles (make them about 1/2″ apart).With a tapestry needle and matching yarn, sew your crocheted piece to the soles through the holes that you just made. Try on your shoes to see how much they will need to be gathered by the elastic. Sew the appropriate amount of elastic around the top of the shoes and under the straps (I used 11.25″ of elastic per shoe).