How to Embellish Clothes and Shoes Instructions

We’ve all done it—the disdainful glare at a closet full of ‘nothing to wear.’ Don’t spend your hard earned dollars buying a new wardrobe! With embellishments like fabric paint, old dress shirts and other used fabric, we’ll show you how to embellish clothes—making them new again!

Whether your clothes are a smidge out of date or just worn to the bone, we’ve got ideas for revamping shoes, pants and shorts. It’s an easy afternoon DIY—especially with items you want to upcycle using fabric paint and glitter spray.

If you have a sewing machine (and know how to use it), you can add just about any kind of fabric flair using a basic zigzag stitch. If sewing is not your thing—no sweat! Oftentimes your local dry cleaner can also tailor your duds on the cheap, or you can try your hand at fabric glue.

For this particular project, we doctored up an old pair of shoes, a pair of pants and a pair of shorts. But get creative, you can put your own personal touch on any clothing item you own to make it one-of-a-kind!

We want to see how you’re revamping your clothes! Join the conversation on Twitter using #EverydayDishes!

How to Embellish Clothes and Shoes Instructions

what you'll need

clothing or shoes
old dress shirt and other fabric scraps with neat textures, colors and adornments
fabric paint
foam paint brush(es)
scissors
sewing machine or fabric glue

let's do it

Revive old shoes

Squeeze fabric paint (we used gold) onto a paper plate and lightly apply to the tip of the shoes using a foam brush. This trick eliminated the visibility of scuff marks and since metallic everything is so chic right now, we fit right into the trend!

Embellish pants pockets

We used an old embroidered tablecloth for our scraps with a fun design, but you can use any scrap material of your choice. Start by cutting out 2 pieces and lay them out on top of the back pockets. Trim them to the desired size and shape and pin them into place.
Use the zigzag setting on your sewing machine and carefully sew them into place.
Once you finish sewing, throw the pants in the wash so the edges of of your patches achieve nice, frayed edges. These babies are one-of-a-kind!

Restyle an old pair of shorts

We used the cuff from an old shirt, but you could use any scrap fabric you have. Simply cut the cuff off of the shirt sleeve using fabric cutting scissors.
Next fold it over the back pocket of your shorts, trimming it to the correct size and pin it in place.
Once you have it where you want it, sew it into place using the zigzag stitch on the sewing machine! If you’re not fond of sewing projects, you can always use fabric glue!

Cheryl Says

The key to making your creations look one-of-a-kind vs homemade is not overdoing it! A little bit of any embellishment goes a long way!