How do I sew on ballet shoe elastics or pointe shoe ribbons?

I’ve created a short video on how to sew on ballet shoe elastics, which I did for a little girl’s ballet shoes. So, how do I sew on my ballet shoe elastics or pointe shoe ribbons?

By age 10 I knew how to do this for myself – even if a little messy. As I grew older I used the technique to sew on ribbons for my pointe shoes.

I even learnt to darn my pointe shoes – which I don’t think they do any more. I’m not sure. You work through pointe shoes very fast and often, it might not be worth the hassle.

The technique is the same – you bend the back forward to mark where the ribbon should stick, and slant the ribbon or elastic slightly forward. With elastics, you need to measure how much you need, as otherwise the shoe will fit wide.

Here is the video – created by me. Enjoy watching and make sure to leave your comments below!