Take me to the Steps

A friend once teased me about my addiction to knitting. He pointed out that I had knit practically an entire wardrobe for myself: sweaters, skirts, hats, mitts, gloves, scarves, bikinis, socks, and slippers. The one item he said I was missing was a pair of shoes. Rather than get offended, I took that as a personal challenge.

Though I wasn’t brave enough to knit a pair of shoes from scratch, I dug through my closet for a pair of old shoes I could modify, and found a ratty pair of Converse sneaks. I copied the shape of the high-tops, and ended up with a shoe strong enough to wear while playing a game of baseball!

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Project Steps

Prepare the shoes and start knitting.

Except for the strip of fabric that runs along the heel of the shoe, which provides stability to the framework, cut away the fabric uppers, leaving only 1⁄4” still attached to the soles.

Each shoe is made from 3 separate pieces of knit- ting; 2 pieces that form the sides of the shoe, and 1 tongue.

Piece A: Left side (make 2). Cast on 28 stitches.

Row 1: K.

Row 2: P.

Row 3: K12, YO, K2tog, K1, YO, K2tog, K (28 sts).

Row 4: P2tog, P (27 sts).

Row 5: K23, YO, K2tog, K2tog (26 sts).

Add knitted pieces.

With the tapestry needle, weave in all yarn ends. Thread a sewing needle, with the thread doubled for extra strength. Begin to sew each piece to its spot on the shoe.

Start with the heel, and sew for- ward to the toe. You will need to stretch the knitting slightly to make it fit the entire length of the shoe so it won’t be baggy. It’s helpful to use a thimble, since the canvas on the shoes is reinforced in the heel and toe with plastic, and it’s harder to push the needle through in those places.

Sew on the logos.

Cut the circular Converse logos off the shoe fabric you removed. Using the sewing needle, punch holes around the edges of the patches. This makes it much easier to sew them onto your new shoes. Thread the needle, and sew the patches onto the ankles of the shoes, going through the holes you’ve already punched into the patches.

Lace ’em!

Remove the shoelaces from the canvas shoes, and lace them into the eyelets made from yarn-overs. Try them on, and take them for a run!

Piece A: Left side (make 2). Cast on 28 stitches.

Row 1: K.

Row 2: P.

Row 3: K12, YO, K2tog, K1, YO, K2tog, K (28 sts).

Row 4: P2tog, P (27 sts).

Row 5: K23, YO, K2tog, K2tog (26 sts).

Row 6: P

Row 7: K20, YO, K2tog, K2, K2tog (25 sts).

Row 8: P.

Conclusion

This project first appeared in CRAFT Volume 07, pages 52-54.