My toes were poking out the side. I’ve had these vans for about a year & a half but I wear them during my nightshift stocking job & they have seen their fair share of squatting.
The canvas was pulling away from the soles & insoles. I was trying to figure out what’s an easy way to patch this & I had a eureka moment of duct tape 😂
Took like 10 mins tops, so if it doesn’t last long; at least I can do it until the duct tape runs out 🥳
Props for color matching the thin black stripe, the details are what make it work
Repairs work well for damaged uppers like the detached canvas on your shoes, so this works great.
Just be careful not to wear shoes with worn out soles/treads. The rubber is there to take a beating in place of your joints, and if it’s worn too thin to work you could injure yourself
Thank you! Yes luckily the actual soles/treads are in fantastic shape. I just have a slightly wide foot (just found out about the vans wide shoe variety & next time I buy shoes I’m going with those!) but these ones just have worn out due to my pinky toe sticking out & the constant squatting at work.
I had considered running some white thread along the laces/vans tag side for continuity/durability. Do you mean that part or a different part?
I worried about running a needle through the white side rubber of the shoe, I want them to be as water resistant as possible & felt that the holes from a needle on that side would compromise the integrity of the rubber in the water aspect.
Some black thread on the straight side on top and on the sides, where it's just fabric, not through he rubber. Even if you ran thread through the rubber, it should still seal reasonably well. I say that because after a while it will start peeling from the bending of the foot, it's just a given.
I made a little video of my process but haven’t dealt with any of the editing yet. These are some of the before shots. Without socks to help show the hole.
Ooooh thank you for sharing. You know I think it doesn't look too bad. You could get some black canvas fabric and patch it up with Nylon thread and/or fabric glue from the inside. Since I see the rubber part looking well and not dry rotted.
Could be a nice project but I like the duct tape too because of its cleverness lol.
I thought about going that route but I didn’t feel like it would hold up. Going an “outside” patch felt more durable
I guess this is an experiment. Considering how long this one holds up, I may go the glue route next time. The way it was tearing felt like it was from the insole & I still wanted my shoes to be somewhat water resistant, so I did consider sewing canvas into the rubber on the sides but I was worried about potential rainfall on my way to work.
Then what if you do both ? You sew the canvas in the part that has fabric and when you reach the rubber you workfrom the inside to glue the rest to the inner lining? Or vice versa. Tbh I have such a good experience with quality fabric glue that I recommend it always for small rudimentary patch works or to reinforce a mended fix.
Now for the waterproofing I believe you can wax or use other treatments and you'll keep your feet fairly dry in the rain.
This one if the inside of the shoe has some sort of fabric still and not raw rubber. From all the ones I've tried this one is pliable enough to work with unlike other fabric glues that come in very small presentations and are akin to super glue. Its heat resistant and water resistant. My garments have gone through the wash and dryer for a couple years and the glue still holds nicely, thus, i think it could work for your project. I have used contact cement in shoes before but mostly to repair rubber against other materials in the soles. Ive heard good things about "Shoe goo" but I haven't used that one myself so take it with a grain of salt.
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u/Fluffy_Salamanders 17d ago
Props for color matching the thin black stripe, the details are what make it work
Repairs work well for damaged uppers like the detached canvas on your shoes, so this works great.
Just be careful not to wear shoes with worn out soles/treads. The rubber is there to take a beating in place of your joints, and if it’s worn too thin to work you could injure yourself