How to sew ribbons on Pointe shoes

After being professionally fitted at our store and purchasing your new pointe shoes, it’s time to attach the ribbons and elastic. Sewing your own pair of pointe shoes is a ritual prized by dancers for decades, and is even the preferred way for professionals too, who go through new pointe shoes weekly. Beginners, however, might wear the same pair for up to a year.

Luckily, the technique required to stitch them properly is easy to learn. Sewing the ribbons and elastic yourself by hand, compared to with a sewing machine, is also much less likely to damage the shoe. If you’re sewing for the first time, our step-by-step guide offers clear instructions for sewing ribbons and elastic onto ballet pointe shoes.