How to Dye Suede Shoes

I bought a pair of cream suede oxford shoes similar to these thinking they would look cute with jeans but didn’t wear them very often because of the color. Changing the color is easy as dying the shoe. Since these are basically an extra I have and don’t’ wear I decided to go with something fun and dye my suede shoes blue with this exact suede shoe dye. *Cue Elvis joke here* (Disclosure: I am including affiliate links in this post for your convenience)

I was very nervous about messing up this project and put it aside for quite awhile after I bought the dye. Once I got up the nerve to do it I learned dying shoes a new color isn’t hard, just a little messy so make sure you protect your work surface and you’ll be fine.

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How to Dye Shoes a New Color

1. Remove the shoe laces and clean the shoes with a suede brush like this one.

2. Tape of the shoe soles with painter’s tape (painter’s tape looks like this.) I also taped over the brand tag because I didn’t want to accidentally dye it.

We who are about to dye salute you!

3. Stuff the shoes with old newspaper if you like.

4. Wearing gloves like these (I can’t stress this enough unless you like walking around with Smurf blue hands until the dye wears off) dip the dauber into the dye and use it to apply dye to your shoes.

It was helpful to move the dauber back and forth over each area of the shoe I dyed to make sure I covered both sides of the nap with dye.

I used a toothbrush to dye the areas I couldn’t get the dauber to cover well like around the stitching. If there was an area of suede nap I couldn’t dye completely with the dauber I used a back and forth motion with the dye covered toothbrush.

I applied one light coat of dye, allowed it to dry overnight, and applied a second coat the next day to get nice, even, and dark blue colored shoes.

5. Remove the painter’s tape from the shoes, if applicable.

6. Once the shoe dye has dried use a suede brush to brush the nap of the shoes into place if needed.

7. Lace them up and don’t step on my upcycled blue suede shoes!

New to me shoes!

If you'd rather buy than DIY check out these suede shoe options - and more! - below!

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