Tutorial! Afternoon Project: Bunny Sneakers

I've been seeing cute bunny ear shoes all around and thought they were a really great piece to have. I'm trying to find more comfy and casual shoes which are cute enough to fit loosely into a himekaji style. These might not scream princess, but they're definitely extremely cute and unique, and for a whimsical summer wardrobe I think it ties in.

I decided to make my own using some crochet sneakers, but I think this tutorial can be applied to any kind of shoe. I love the result, and I'm looking forward to wearing these all the time, and making different coordinates involving them. Well then, are you ready?

Tutorial: Start!!

Step one is to gather your materials. You will need:

• Shoes.
• Fabric which matches your shoe material. In my case my tennis shoes are made of cream canvas, and it was easy to find some canvas that matched.
• Pink fabric for the inner ears.
• The pattern (click to download). Print this out on regular printer paper and make sure you've chosen "Fit to Page" when printing.
• Pencil, scissors, thread, and other sewing supplies (I used a sewing machine but you could probably hand sew these with a bit of patience.)

Once you've gathered your supplies, it's time to lay out the pattern and cut out all the pieces. You'll need:

• 4 full ear pieces in pink
• 4 full ear pieces in the matching shoe color
• 8 half ear pieces in the matching shoe color- trace 4 with the pattern facing printed side up and 4 with the pattern facing printed side down. Don't leave any seam allowance on the straight edge.

You should have 4 sets of what I've pictured above. Don't forget your seam allowances!

Now take one full ear in pink and your shoe color and one half-ear facing either direction, and stack them up in the order pictured above along the curve. I like to use a pin to make sure the top and bottom edge are properly lined up.

Sew along that curve!

Now take a half-ear in the opposite direction from the one you just used and line it up so that the curved edge of the two shoe-colored pieces match up and the two flat edges of the half ear pieces bump into each other. It's really important that the two half-pieces remain open in the middle like that, and that you don't sew either of the open flaps down.

Carefully squish the excess fabric towards the seam you've already sewn so that it's out of the way and you're at less of a risk of accidentally sewing over it, then carefully pin the pink piece over along the curve. Try to keep everything as flat, neat, and even as possible. Then sew along the second curve.

Now that your ear is all sewn, clip the very top edge to avoid bulk when you turn it inside out. Then... turn it inside out! Depending on how thick your fabric is, this might be a challenge. Just stick with it! Don't be afraid to poke the top edge with a pencil or chopstick, and you can also pull at the two open edges of the half-ear pieces to try and pry it out as well. Good luck!

Once your ears are finally inside-out, you should have something that looks like what's pictured left. Simply take the shoe-colored flaps hanging out the side like that and fold each flap under itself, creating a cute and neat ear-shape with no raw edges!

Finally, I hand-sewed the very top of the ears shut, so that it would have a nice and even edge at the top.
With this, your bunny ears are complete! Just pin your ears in place on your shoes and secure them down, and your new bunny ear shoes are complete!

The End Result:

I had some leftover pink fabric, so I decided to add some bows to the back of the shoe to balance it out. I'm so excited about these shoes, and I hope you can enjoy them too!
If you try out my tutorial, I'd love to see your results! I think this can work with many different kinds of shoes, both casual and dressy.
Thanks for reading,

PS: I'm visiting home right now, so thanks to my mom for helping me take such lovely photos of the finished product!