Congratulations!

You got your pointe shoes!

Now its time to sew them…

Things you will need

  • Your pointe shoes

  • Thick thread or Floss (regular thread doubled up will do if you don’t have a thicker option)

  • Needle (make sure the eye is big enough to hold your thread of choice)

  • Scissors 

  • Lighter (Please take care when using a lighter and an ask adult for help if needed!)

  • Ribbons

  • Elastic

A step by step guide

Sew the elastics

There are 2 options when it comes to sewing your elastic:

  1. Criss Cross

  2. Loop/Straight Across

Prepare and sew your ribbons

  1. Cut each ribbon to at least 18” long

  2. Melt the edges of the ribbons with the lighter, enough to prevent them from fraying (TAKE CARE ON THIS STEP AND ASK AN ADULT FOR HELP IF YOU ARE AT ALL UNSURE!)

  3. Decide on ribbon placement, there are 2 options:

    1. Middle of the shoe, straight up

    2. Further back on the shoe, on an angle

  4. Sew ribbons in place on the inside of the shoes, sewing in a “box” shape around perimeter of the ribbon. Tip - Try not to sew all the way through the pointe shoe fabric, just through the inner layer.

Tying your ribbons

  1. Tie your ribbons by wrapping them around in opposite directions and knotting them on the inside of the ankle

  2. For comfort, make sure the knot of the ribbons is on the soft part of the ankle (not the bony part)

  3. Once tied, trim the ribbons to the correct length so that you have about 1.5”-2” at the end

  4. Tuck the ribbons in on themselves to hide the loose ends

“Breaking In” your shoes

(Ask for help the first time you do this!)

“Breaking in” your shoes is the process of bending, working and manipulating them to really suit your feet, it is very personal to each individual dancer and takes experience to get right without ruining the shoes. Make sure to bring your shoes and talk to your teacher before attempting to “break them in”.

If you feel like you need to soften/break down the box of the shoe you can spray water on the area that needs softening (usually the bunion and pinky toe areas). Again, please check with your teacher first, especially for your first pair!

Maintaining your shoes and extending their life/usefulness

Pointe shoes can deteriorate very quickly depending on lots of factors. These include your foot flexibility, the materials used to make the shoes, the temperature and the amount you are dancing in the shoes. However, there are ways to extend the life of your pointe shoes:

  • Shellac - Shellac can be applied (with caution) to the center section of the “shank” (the insole) to harden shoes that are starting to soften or ”die”. Shellac can take a while to dry so plan ahead if doing this.

  • Jet/Super Glue - Jet or Super Glue can be used to harden the “Box” (the toe section) of your pointe shoes. The glue should be applied on the inside of the shoe if the box starts to get too soft. Rub the end of the shoe on a flat surface to flatten the end before gluing.

  • Always air out and let your pointe shoes dry out completely after wearing them.

  • Wash your toe pads every day (having more than 1 pair means you can rotate them and always have a pair ready)