For the Love of SHOES!

I LOVE SHOES!!!  All kinds - especially cute ones - so when I married a man that could care less about shoes (and quite frankly has some pretty ugly ones - he knows - we joke about it) it nearly broke my heart.  Also, because he's a little shorter then I am it makes me uncomfortable to wear heels any more (but I LOVE heels).  I'm sure I'll get over it at some point like when I finally decided to embrace being tall when I was in college.  These things have not stopped me from owning a lot of shoes though.  In Texas we have a large walk-in closet.  It's probably the size of the entire "master" bedroom in Maine.  Because of this I have room to do this...

Yes, those are photos on the front.  How else are you going to know what's in the box?  Since I don't have the room to do this in Maine I decided to make shoe bags instead.  I'm frantically sewing them since we're heading to Maine at the end of this week.  Here's how you can make your own shoe bags.

Supplies:
Fabric
Eyelets
Sewing Machine
Cord Stops
Clear plastic (like see-through shower curtain liner)
String or rope (I used the left over cord from the kitchen curtains)

Fold the fabric in half and cut a 15" x 10.25" rectangle.  Fold it so you don't have to sew one of the sides.  Cut a piece of the clear plastic into a 4.25" x 6.25" rectangle.  Sew the clear plastic to the right side of the fabric, sewing only three of the sides and about 1" in on each side of the fourth side (preferably the top side).  Trick:  Use the paper backing from the clear plastic to sew it on otherwise your presser foot gets stuck.

With right sides together fold in half and sew two of the sides.

Using the tool in the package apply the eyelets on each side of one of the seams.

Finish the final edge by making a one inch casing.  Trick:  I put the string in before I sewed the top casing.  I liked the contrast of the white against the black.  If you're not into that then use coordinating thread.

Turn right side out and finish off by attaching the cord stops and tie a knot in the end of the rope (tying both ends of the rope together).  Take a photo of your shoes and print it off in a 4" x 6" size and slip it into the clear plastic.  Insert your favorite shoes and you're ready to go.

After trying the first one I decided it didn't make sense to put the photo at the top so I made a slight adjustment to the others I made.  I've finished 8 bags so far.  I just wish I could remember how many pairs of shoes I had up in Maine so I knew if I needed to make more.

These are also great if you travel because you can just toss the bag into your suitcase.  It protects your shoes and keeps your clothes clean.  I also use shoe bags when I'm out of town for work.  When you have to walk to the office it saves your shoes (the heels) if you wear flip flops instead during the commute.  So I throw my "real" shoes into my computer bag and change them out once I get to the office. 

If you make some for yourself I'd love to hear about it and see what adjustments you make.