How to sew ribbons on ballet shoes????!!

Sewing!! Did someone say sewing?  Don’t panic!  You can do this.  If you can make a circular motion with your hand, you can do some basic hand sewing which is all that is needed to sew ribbons on a pair of ballet shoes. Curiously most brands of ballet shoes don’t come with ribbons sewn on.  There are some exceptions such as MDM but as a general rule, they come with nothing or more commonly these days, with elastics pre-sewn.  If your daughter studies ballet, the day will come when you will be informed that she needs ribbons on her ballet shoes.  Like the tights, these are often referred to as pink ribbons but they are anything but pink.  They are designed to match the tights and shoes.  Beware of the shiny ribbon.  You must purchase ballet shoe ribbon from a ballet shop and make sure it looks like this, not shiny.

Then you can get to work sewing. The good news is that you don’t need much. Some cotton, a needle, scissors, a cigarette lighter or match, and if you need to remove the elastics, a seam ripper.  Your teacher may prefer you to have ribbons and elastics at the same time.  Some people double up by having both sewn on and standing on the part you don’t need.  For example, if you just want ribbons you can stand on top of the elastics or if you just want elastics you stuff them in your shoe.  The only problem with this is that if you dance with your ribbons stuffed into your shoe a lot, they will get very dirty.  Also, I am not personally a fan of the line of the shoe when the elastics are underneath the foot.  However, depending on the circumstance, these may work for you.

https://youtu.be/_AX4ryo3Ex0

Here is a little video I put together to help you in your sewing quest.  Some dance shops offer a paid service to sew ribbons on. However, you are in this for the long haul.  There may be times when you have to sew ribbons on unexpectedly.  Might as well learn now.