How To Renew Your Old Converse in 6 Simple Steps

THAT ONE PAIR OF OLD CONVERSE.

Article by Eleonora Mezzo

In the last post I talked about different ways you can get rid of your old clothes, as well as how to give a new life to things you have never worn or bought for absolutely no reason. Since I am trying to make the content of this blog as much about sustainable choices and lifestyles as possible, I will use this pair of Converse as an example to show that you can always switch up the style of something you own. Story time: I bought these shoes in Montreal 4 years ago in a very cool store which sold any kind of sneakers you can think of, of any colour, shape or brand. Up to this moment I still do not know what interesting factor led me to choose to buy a pair of Converse in such a bright shade of pink. However, I realise this is not what you are here for, so let’s move on.

Since I was tired of seeing them in my closet and never use them, I decided to renew them by changing the colour and show you the process. After reading this post you will be able to turn a pair of Converse into a completely different colour in just 6 steps. This DIY is definitely not difficult so don’t worry if Art is not your strongest subject in school. As long as you know what a paint brush is, you are good. Lastly, this post only shows the basics of how to paint on your shoes but, obviously, if you have a Picasso moment and you get a sudden inspiration to paint the next Monalisa on your old pair of Converse, feel free to do so. It goes without saying.

SHOP THE POST AT THE END OF THE PAGE

WHAT YOU WILL NEED

Converse All-Star
Fabric paint
Thick paint brush
Small paint brush (for details)
Tape
Water
Newspaper/towel or anything else that can be used to protect the suface
Cotton swab
Nail polish remover
Iron

STEP 1.

Shoe laces and tape.

Carefully remove the shoe laces and begin appling tape on every section of the shoe that you do not want the paint to stain. I started off by covering the white midsole on each side of the shoe and then moved onto the Converse tag on the tongue in the front. Pay attention to where you apply the tape making sure not to go beyond the black line circling the whole shoe. If the tape covers part of the actual fabric, it will take longer to fix it after removing the tape. On the other hand, if you paint a little bit on the black line, it won’t be difficult to remove the excess paint with nail poilish remover afterwards and the finish will be much more clean.

STEP 2.

Start painting.

Use the thicker paint brush to paint the sides of the shoe. Start by taking a little bit of fabric paint and adding just a few drops of water. If the colour is too liquid (you add too much water), the paint is likely to drip and the colour won’t be fully covering.

PRETTY
IN PINK.

BUT EVEN PRETTIER
IN BLACK.

STEP 3.

Check for any part you left out.

Once you have painted most of the surface with a thick paint brush, you can fill in the remaining little sections of fabric with a smaller paint brush. Make sure to pay particular attention to the front area where the eyelets are placed. Do not worry if you end up staining the eyelets, as you can remove the paint later on in the process.

STEP 4.

Remove the tape.

Once the paint is completely dry, remove the tape. The edges of the white sole might look a little messy and there’s probably paint dripped everywhere, so move to the next step to fix it.

STEP 5.

Remove any excess paint.

At this point the shoe will probably look a little messy but don’t worry. Just use a cotton swab dipped into nail polish remover to clean the eyelets and any part of the shoe which is not made of fabric. As you keep removing the excess paint, you will start to see the final result.

STEP 6.

Iron.

In order to fix the paint and make sure it lasts longer, iron the fabric of the shoe from the side where you have not applied any paint.

You are done!

Put the laces back into place et voilà! You now have brand new shoes that you will actually wear and not just look at in your wardrobe once in a while.

How To Renew Your Old Converse in 6 Simple Steps