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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Sandals for Miss Piggy

The straps on these shoes are made of narrow card woven band. I used cotton yarn for that, so it is a bit thick, but as Piggy isn't as realistic as fashion dolls, deviation from the correct scale doesn't matter.

I used modeling clay for the outer soles, because the straps were so thick that this was the best way to deal with them. This clay is the sort that dries on its own and doesn't need to be baked. The reason for using that kind of clay is that the other parts of the shoes probably wouldn't like the heat and the soles need to be in place while drying to keep the correct shape.

The clay soles won't stick to the inner soles as you can see. Still, it is important to have them in place while shaping and drying them, so you get the indentations for the straps in correct places.

When the clay soles are entirely dry, you just glue them in place (PVA glue works well) and maybe sand them a little, if the surface isn't smooth enough. In this picture, you can also see the purpose of those flowers in the back straps. They cover the ends of the straps which have been glued together.

Finally, I painted the clay parts and the sides of the inner soles and applied a coat of sealer. The heels are made of polymer clay and I mixed the color myself. It's a bit lighter than the soles, but close enough.


Sunday, February 7, 2010

First pair of shoes for Miss Piggy

I have been making shoes for Miss Piggy for the whole weekend, but some of them need time for the paint or glue to dry, so this simple pair was the first one I could finish.

Usually I don't glue the back seam this way, but the sealer made the fabric really stiff and this was the only way to apply enough pressure to the seam.


The sole is made of one layer of cardboard and the leather inner sole. When the upper is glued in place, the sole will hold its shape without any additional strengthening.

The heel is made of polymer clay and the outer sole is made of leather. Red decorative trim is glued in place on the edge and on the seam between leather sole and polymer clay heel.