Shoelace Scrap Hack

Today's refashion is a quick and easy one.  I bought this pair of shoes for $3 at the Hospice Resale Shop, because I am in love with any shoe that looks remotely like an Oxford.

Not bad, not bad at all.

In fact, I would have left these shoes exactly as they are, if it weren't for one teensy problem.

Is that a safety pin?

Apparently the lace had snapped, and the previous owner of this shoe had decided to safety pin it back together.  I knew there had to be a better solution, so I dug through my "shaped like something useful" scraps and found these.

Sashes!

These sashes came with dresses that I'd previously refashioned, but I've never been a huge fan of the dress-with-matching-sash combo.  I decided to repurpose one of these sashes as a pair of shoelaces!  I removed the undamaged shoelace from the shoe and lay it out alongside the sash, to see if I would have enough length once I cut it in two.

Will it be long enough?

I didn't want the new shoelaces to be as long as the originals, because I dislike big, floppy bows on my feet (it's a tripping hazard I don't need added to my life).  I cut the sash in two, praying that I wasn't misjudging the length.

Then I had a problem, because the end of the sash was too fat to fit through the holes for the laces.  Nothing daunted, I grabbed a needle and thread and bound the end of the new shoelace tightly to make it thinner.  Then, using the needle still attached to it, I threaded the lace through the shoe.

Make the end narrower so it fits!

I finished the ends of the shoelace by tying a knot, so the raw fabric where I'd snipped it wouldn't fray.

Almost done!

Then, of course, I had to repeat the entire procedure on the second shoe.  Here's the result!

Quirky!

Not only did that sash rescue these shoes from a safety-pin mending job, it also made them a heck of a lot more interesting!  Unfortunately, I'll probably have to wait a few months before I can wear these shoes anywhere, since they are neither cold- nor snow-worthy.  But at least I'll have some funky footwear come spring!