We bought a fairly expensive pair of moccasins for my son from L.L. Bean. The moment he put them on his feet, one foot burst open. I returned it
immediately claiming it was defective. They
were very good about it and exchanged it without hassle. The next pair arrived and didn’t burst
immediately; however, a couple of weeks later, they burst, too. I was really disappointed. We never had issues with the quality of their
products before. Even
though shipping was free, after paying duty, taxes, and with the exchange rate,
what began as a fairly expensive pair of moccasins became a very expensive pair
of moccasins. I was therefore very
determined to get my money’s worth out of them and repair them myself.
Never underestimate
the power of crochet. With one 4mm hook
and a bit of yarn (and needle and thread), the moccasins have been saved.
I began by doing an initial row of single crochet in the existing lacing. I worked back and forth for a few rows. I did fewer rows in the toe area for shaping purposes. Then, I crocheted a few rows along the side of the work to extend the length that meet the leather thong that tied up the top of the moccasin.
When I got to the thong, I incorporated it into a row of single crochet. Therefore, the thong could still be adjusted while my crochet work had an anchor. Finally, I sewed my crochet work to the top of the moccasin. Success!
