Pointe Shoe Sewing Tip for Slipping Heels

Sometimes pointe shoes slip off the heel, even when the shoes seem like a perfect fit. Dancers with narrow heels and longer feet seem particularly prone to slipping heels, especially when shoes are new.

Here are some tips to tame those heels!

• Make sure shoes are not too tight or too loose. When you have a perfect fit, a shoe will feel snug when feet are flat and have a slight pinch of fabric when on pointe. 

• Instead of one loop of elastic, take two pieces of elastic and criss cross them. One end of each piece should be sewn close to the back of the shoe and one end near the center of the foot arch.

• Sometimes a heel gripper can be helpful, but check with your pointe shoe fitter. Even adding even the slightest amount of material can change the fit.

• If you are using stretch ribbon, consider trying satin ribbon for more resistance.

• A customer recently shared this video of how to sew ribbons to prevent slipping heels. She tried it with success and we are going to share this tip with others. Always be open to new ideas!

• Some professional dancers have custom shoes made or customize the heels themselves, but we can probably help you before you need to get to these extremes!

If you decide to criss cross your elastic, use the photo below that we marked up to make it easier to see which pieces are elastic and which are ribbon. This dancer effectively hid the elastic under her ribbon. Very clever!

Pointe Shoe Tips: The Dog Ate My Pointe Shoes

Is today good day? Not if your dog found your pointe shoes. Pictured here is a brand new pointe shoe. With teeth marks. So sad. All that was left of its mate was a small piece of leather from the sole.

Make sure to keep your pointe shoes out of reach of your fur friends. Even a brand new pair that doesn’t smell like your feet can become a nice al dente chew toy in minutes. Imagine the temptation for your pets once the shoes are worn by their girl a few times?

A good habit is to take your mesh shoe bag out of your dance bag every night and hang it out of reach. A good practice to let your shoes dry out safely away from furry helpers.

Pointe Shoe Sewing Tips: Sides Pull Away from Ribbons & Elastic

How to Keep the top edges of your pointe shoes from gapping

🎵🎶🎶 Now whip it. Into shape. Shape it up. Get straight. Go forward. Move ahead. Try to detect it. It’s not to late. To whip it. Whip it good. 🎵🎶 ~ Devo

Do the top sides of your pointe shoe pull away from your foot and anchored ribbons, particularly as you are rolling through demi-pointe? Consider adding a whip stitch that is stitched around the drawstring channel (so you don’t inhibit the drawstring function). The whip stitch will create a bond between your ribbons/elastic and the top of the drawstring channel, keeping everything neatly together.

Some dancers may not need to add a whip stitch to every elastic connection. The pointe shoe is this photo only had a gapping problem on the front elastic connection, so that is where we added an extra whip stitch. Do what works for your feet!

As always, your sewing doesn’t have to be perfect. No one will see your uneven stitching, but they might notice gapping sides!

Adding a whip stitch can bond your ribbons and elastics to the top edge of your pointe shoe.

Pointe Shoe Sewing Tips: Sore Fingers

How to prevent your fingers from getting sore from sewing pointe shoes.

The fabric on some pointe shoes is a bit more challenging to sew than others. If your fingers are getting sore, consider these options.

1. Buy a thimble to keep in your sewing kit
2. Use an old pointe shoe to help push the needle through the fabric. 💡
3. Get someone else to sew your shoes (actually, no.)

We are a huge advocate for dancers learning to sew their own pointe shoes. It’s the best way for dancers to learn to fine tune their pointe shoes and take responsibility for their dance equipment. If something goes wrong backstage, a dancer needs some sewing skills.

As a clumsy sewer, my own personal finger-saving sewing hack is to use an old pointe shoe. I place the old pointe shoe on my lap or table, leather side up. After I get the needle in the right spot, I press the back end of the needle on the old pointe shoe and push the fabric down on top of the needle tip. The old pointe shoe takes a beating (see all the small holes in the photo?), but my fingers can live another day.

Happy sewing!

Pointe Shoe Sewing Tip for Slipping Heels

Sometimes pointe shoes slip off the heel, even when the shoes seem like a perfect fit. Dancers with narrow heels and longer feet seem particularly prone to slipping heels, especially when shoes are new.

Here are some tips to tame those heels!

• Make sure shoes are not too tight or too loose. When you have a perfect fit, a shoe will feel snug when feet are flat and have a slight pinch of fabric when on pointe. 

• Instead of one loop of elastic, take two pieces of elastic and criss cross them. One end of each piece should be sewn close to the back of the shoe and one end near the center of the foot arch.

• Sometimes a heel gripper can be helpful, but check with your pointe shoe fitter. Even adding even the slightest amount of material can change the fit.

• Some professional dancers have custom shoes made or customize the heels themselves, but we can probably help you before you need to get to these extremes!

If you decide to criss cross your elastic, use the photo below that we marked up to make it easier to see which pieces are elastic and which are ribbon. This dancer effectively hid the elastic under her ribbon. Very clever!