Do It Gorgeously: How to Make Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Products (31 page)

2.
Sew seams 1 inch from the edge, along one end of the rectangle and the long open side. Make sure you backstitch at the beginning and end.

3.
Turn the tube right side out and stuff with either the kapok filling or grocery bags. Make sure you push enough stuffing into the tube so that it will be firm, not floppy. You may need to push it down with a wooden spoon.

4.
Time to sew up the open end of the tube. Fold the edges over ¼ inch and pin the open end closed. If you are machine sewing it closed, use a zigzag stitch. Since the stitch will show, you may want to pick out a thread that contrasts in color.

Little Sock Shoe Trees

Don’t throw out any socks that have lost their partners, as you can easily turn them into useful little shoe trees to keep your shoes in shape.

HOW TO

1.
Lay your odd sock out flat and cut the top of the sock off just above the heel.

2.
Push the filling into the sock. Make sure you push enough in so that the finished “tree” will be really firm.

3.
Turn the raw edges under ¼ inch to prevent fraying, then hand stitch the opening to close it.

LONG LIVE THE SHOES

It’s worth taking a few steps to make sure a new pair of shoes will stay looking new for as long as possible. Here are a few tips to keep them shoe-store new.

• Never pile shoes on top of each other. Let each pair have its own space.
  
• Keep them in their original shoeboxes and take a photo of each pair to put on the front of the box to find them easily.
  
• Stuff the toes with the original plug of tissue paper that came with them.
  
• Use homemade boot trees (Frugalista).
  
• Take your shoes to the cobbler for new heel tips the moment you see them wear down (even a little).
  
• If your shoes have leather soles, take them to the cobbler and have an extra leather or rubber sole applied. This will considerably lengthen the shoe’s life.
  
• Polish leather shoes regularly (see below).
  

Homemade Shoe Polish

Although olive oil is a great shoe polish on its own, you may have shoes that have bad scuffs on them and so require a little more help. In this recipe you will be using a natural colored pigment to help cover scratches and scuff marks.

HOW TO

1.
Combine the oil and beeswax in a double boiler over medium heat until the beeswax is melted.

2.
Remove from the heat and stir in the pigment, adding more for a darker color.

3.
Store in an old jelly jar.

Darning a Sock (or a Hole In a Sweater)

I looked through my husband’s drawer and found two pairs of socks that had holes in the heels. Then I found a sports sock of mine, which had been hidden (I couldn’t bear to look at it or throw it away, as it was a favorite) in the laundry room, with a massive hole in the toe. Time to get out my darning needle. Darning a sock might seem a bizarrely old-fashioned thing to want to do, but it’s a deeply satisfying activity—treat it as your daily meditation. You can also use this same method for darning a hole in a woolen sweater.