How to transform your old jeans into a custom sneaker

Do you have items that you no longer wear but don't want to throw away?

In this article we will show you how to reinvent them with creative ideas and advice on how to give them a new life, starting from sneakers.

CUSTOM & UPCYCLING

The goal of this tutorial is to create something unique, fun and sustainable, using materials that you may already have at home (in fact, who doesn't have a pair of old sneakers and jeans at home?). You'll be able to create a custom sneaker that not only expresses your style, but also your commitment to a more sustainable future. The project was born from attention to one of the trends that has been taking over the world of fashion in the last few years, but is not yet so rooted in the sneakers and custom industry: upcycling, or the creative reuse of waste materials and fabrics, leftovers destined to be thrown away.

There is a not a casual choice behind the use of denim, fabric selected to create not only the first Premium product by SEDDYS, but also a full custom capsule-collection that includes different Nike and Adidas models. In fact, jeans are a common, everyday product - literally everyone has a pair of jeans or a denim jacket at home - which makes it perfect for creative reuse. It is also a material that has made the history of fashion, a cultural symbol, a true icon.

Starting from a classic Nike Air Force 1, we experimented and gave life - reworking an entire pair of jeans - to a new product, adding also few accessories that interact with each other and with the sneaker and can be used in many different ways.

CUSTOM "DO-IT-YOURSELF"

To amplify the concept of upcycling, we decided to give the opportunity not only to simply purchase our AF1 Premium Denim, but also to make your own "do-it-yourself" prototype thanks to our tutorial.

Materials:

Let's discover the materials you will need for this upcycling project

Tutorial

We started from the assumption that everyone has old jeans and a pair of sneakers at home. The goal of this tutorial is to show you how to give them a new life through creative ideas and involve you in a custom experience by creating something unique, fun and sustainable, using materials you may already have at home.

Follow our step-by-step guide to find out how to create a custom sneaker with a unique design using only denim scraps.

STEP 1. Select the parts of the sneaker you want to customize and write them down on a piece of paper so that you always have your starting idea in mind throughout the tutorial.

STEP 2. Use the paper tape to cover, one by one, the parts you choose  to customize, in order to recreate their exact shape. This step will allow you to create a real paper pattern, i.e. the "guide" that will help you cut the fabric later in the process.

STEP 3. Apply the tape to the seams of the shoe with your fingers to trace a perimeter.

STEP 4. To be sure before cutting, take a pencil and with a light stroke trace the shape, just as if you were tracing a drawing.

STEP 5. Peel off your paper tape pattern and cut with scissors following the line you drew.

STEP 6. Write with a marker or pencil which part of the shoe the pattern corresponds to (right/left) and glue it directly onto the fabric you selected.

STEP 7. Repeat this process for all the parts of the shoe you intend to cover with your fabric.

STEP 8. Before cutting the fabric following the paper pattern, cover the bottom part of the jeans entirely with double-sided tape. This will be useful to apply the fabric to the sneaker areas precisely.

STEP 9. Cut out following the shape of the paper tape pattern, leaving a few millimeters extra.

STEP 10. Remove the double-sided tape and glue the fabric parts directly to your shoe, taking care to adhere each part precisely.

AFTER COMPLETING THE TUTORIAL...

Once the tutorial is completed, the sneaker with the fabric positioned will be ready to be sewn and finished by SEDDYS. In fact, once you are satisfied with the design, SEDDYS steps in to complete the project by finishing and sewing your creation.

This below is our custom Air Force 1 made for this tutorial according to our creativity and with our recycled materials: now it's your turn, unleash your creativity and design your unique and personal custom!