Self-Finishing Tutorial
Step-by-Step
Self-Finshing Process
Keep 2-3 rows unstitched on the inside of your insert’s border.
Whether you are designing/painting your own -or- tracing the insert stencil onto a canvas with a pattern from your LNS... a little wiggle room will go a long way with this self-finishing project.
The less bulky the fiber choices, the better the finish.
Whether you are designing/painting your own -or- tracing the insert stencil onto a canvas with a pattern from your LNS…. The back of the canvas should absolutely be your business on this project! The tidier and less bulky you keep the back of the canvas, the better the finish you will have.
Essentials, Cards with flatter threads (like Firewerks, Neon Rays, etc), and Strandable DMC have worked beautifully in all the pairs of shoes I have stitched.
If the back is too bulky, it makes the finishing process far less seamless. For example, I used Planet Earth Wool on 18 mesh. The finished piece was much thicker than prior samples and made for a much slower and more difficult self-finish.
CAPTIAL-F Finish BEFORE HEAVY WEAR
Take care not to wear the shoes too much until you have inserted your needlepoint piece. An intact sticker protecting the 3M produces the best results.
step 3:
Lay on top of you shoe for a check-in.
You want it to be covering most of the shoe window’s frame extending well past each of the four borders. A little sliver of leather should be showing on top and on bottom:
Before You Begin
Tools:
- Scissors
- Trace-friendly surface like:
-> NDLPT canvas, parchment
paper, or tissue paper - Sharp knife
- Dull knife
-> Think butter knife - Tweezers
- Sharp sewing needle
- Sewing pins
- Shoe insert stencil
- Sewing clips (optional!)
step 2:
Cut out your needlepoint.
Just like bangs gals… you can always trim more if need be (hence the 2 rows), but you can’t take it back once you make the chop.
- Scissors
- Trace-friendly material like:
-> NDLPT canvas, parchment paper, tissue paper - Sharp knife
-> Something that could open an Amazon box - Dull knife
-> Think butter spread knife - Tweezers
- Sharp sewing needle
- Sewing pins
- Insert stencil that came with your shoes
- Sewing clips (optional!)
step 1:
Take the insert’s stencil and trace it onto a piece of see-through paper (gift wrap tissue is my go-to) -or- a piece of scrap canvas.
It will serve as a guide for when you are placing your needlepoint onto the 3M. Being able to see where the outer border, the inner window, and the center stitch of the canvas will help you get the best alignment possible.
step 4:
If everything checked out, take your sharp knife and score the 3M.
It’s best to cut it like a pizza into 8 slices. Stick the knife under the lip of the leather window and make one good clean slice from the edge of the 3M sticker to the center point.
step 5:
Take your tweezers and pick off the sticker’s slice by slice.
Make sure to really get in there and remove the whole sticker. If big chunks are left behind, not only will there be nothing for the needlepoint to stick onto, but its space will be occupied by bunches of sticker debris.
Leave the sticker under the lip alone and in place. Don’t be afraid to get a littel Cirque du Soleil and really manhandle the shoe and leather frame. It can withstand it!
step 6:
Take your see-through stencil and line it up with the leather window’s edge so it’s placed accurately.
Lightly lay it atop the window. Take care it doesn’t get stuck to the 3M (scrap canvas won’t stick much, but be very careful if using tissue paper).
step 7:
Mark the 3M area of the shoe with a dot using an acrylic marker or Micron pen. The goal is to have a dot on both that is in the same exact place as the other.
It’s like a little North Star – that will help you make certain you are applying your canvas onto the 3M perfectly aligned in the window.
Just like a puzzle piece, the canvas needs to be aligned just right so that it may slide into it's slot.
step 8:
Take your needlepoint canvas and put it below your see-through stencil. It should line up perfectly like two sides of an Oreo.
step 9:
With a sewing needle (no plastic pin topper), pierce through both at the point of the dot.
step 10:
Lay it atop the shoe and carefully pierce through the shoe right on the shoe’s dot.
Then you can slide the see-through stencil right off the needle and set aside.
step 11:
Add another sewing needle to one side.
This is to stabilize the canvas so it doesn’t jack knife around while you get its edges tucked into bed under the leather window.
step 12:
Lift up the leather window lip and tuck the long edges in.
It’ll make the canvas bow up like a taco shell. Leave the 3M sticker still there on the bottom of the lip (it may need some tugging back up and redirection with your tweezers.)
step 13:
On the side with no pin, tuck the short edge of your needlepoint into place using your dull knife or the back of the tweezers.
step 14:
Take your tweezers and remove the 3M sticker on the bottom of the lip of the frame.
step 15:
Applying pressure and warmth will help the 3M settle in. You can also use sewing clips very briefly to really seal it in too. However, do not leave them on for more than a few minutes as the Italian pebble leather will become indented.
If you don't plan to wear them immediately, stuff the shoes with their tissue paper shoe trees.
For Wear
Shuffle your feet on the concrete
The handmade shoes you’re holding were created by generational boot makers in West Texas. Just like a traditional cowboy boot – they are made entirely of leather, including the bottoms of the soles!
To make sure you have appropriate traction right from the start, do it like the cowboys do when they are “new boot goofin” – put on your shoes and scrape your feet on concrete as if you have mud on your soles that you don’t want tracked into the house.
Last but not least, store with shoe trees or stuffed with tissue paper for most long lasting use.
before their first whirl around town!
Step-by-step do's to give you the best finish
