Shoe-Inspired Jeans

I have been lusting after a pair of shoes for months. I had a coupon, and it was available to use today, finally.

[Cue angel choir]

Rock & Candy "Jackrabbit" in black

They come with cotton lace shoelaces... which are adorable... and fragile... so I replaced them. 

Woven laces tutorial here: http://www.fieggen.com/shoelace/angledcheckerlacing.htm

I've been wanting to do a pair of embellished jeans for a while, and this pair of shoes has inspired me. After I bought my shoes (and the new shoelaces), I headed to the nearest Goodwill. There I found a pair of black jeans that fit well and were in good condition, and also found a floral print knit shirt that has a pattern than nearly matches the floral pattern on the shoes. From there, I went to Joann's, and bought some fabric spray paint, dimensional paint, heat-set rhinestones, paisley-print felt, ribbon roses and lace trims. After I got home, I laced up the shoes (tricky, but it sure looks nifty), then went down to my stash of fabric to gather anything purple that looked like it might work. I also grabbed a couple of sequin appliqués that I really want to use somewhere. Gathered all together, this is what I have:

Now I'm not sure how I'm going to use all of that stuff, IF I will use it all, but this way I can play with the pieces together and see how they might work. I'm kind of kicking around the idea of making my own paisley appliqués. One thing I know I want to do is to lay the jeans flat and cover them with an old lace curtain, then use the spray paint to paint through the lace. I thought I'd freehand paisleys with the metallic black paint writer... but now I'm not sure I want to do something so simple. If I make my own appliqués, I can sew them on the machine, maybe do some embroidery and beading.

Brainstorming on paper: The sketch on the left shows the side seam of the leg opened up and a
lace insert added, with the sequin appliqué at the top of the split.

So many options!

In addition to the jeans, I want to make a Metropolitan Hat (from Folkwear patterns) to match. It's a very similar style to a velvet hat I had years ago that I loved, then donated to Goodwill because I never wore it. The Folkwear hat has a wider brim than the one I had, but that's an easy thing to alter.



And maybe if this goes well, I can make another pair of jeans to go with these...

"Jackrabbit" in mint green (looks aqua to me)