Humorous Shoe Deodorizer Sachets for Father’s Day
Not every dad can take a joke about their stinky shoes but the ones that can are great fun! Here’s a special Father’s Day gift idea for those dads.
Or, just make these handy shoe deodorizer sachets on any given day for the rest of us. But, no matter your motives, we think these sachets are super cool and we know they will make your whole house smell amazing!
Supplies for Shoe Deodorizer Sachets:
- Muslin or cotton fabric cut into four (or more) 4 x 8 inch rectangles
- iron-on transfer paper
- photos of your kids making “ew” faces (or anything you like really)
- hot dry iron
- a sewing machine
- deodorizer mix (see recipe below)
- needle and thread
Supplies for No-Sew Shoe Deodorizer Sachets:
- pre-made 3×4 muslin bags
- iron-on transfer paper (see above)
- hot dry iron
- photos of your kids
- deodorizer mix (see recipe below)
I used an old sheet to make my shoe sachets but any white fabric will do. I prefer cotton or muslin myself.
First make sure your fabric rectangles are clean and ironed smoothly so that there are no wrinkles where you are going to place your photos. Next print out 2×3 inch photos on a piece of transfer paper using an inkjet printer. Cut them out and place them upside down on one of your rectangles (each sachet needs a photo rectangle and a blank rectangle for the back). Iron your photos on where you would like them to go (follow the directions on your transfer paper). Let them cool and then peel the photo transfer paper off leaving your photo on your fabric like so:
Now match each photo fabric rectangle to a blank rectangle and sew three sides leaving one side open for your deodorizer “stuffing.” I left a quarter inch seam allowance but you can do more or less depending on your sewing skills. Cut the corners (not too close) and turn inside out.
Now you are ready to fill your shoe sachets.
First, make your deodorizer mix!
Shoe Deodorizer Mix Recipe
There are a lot of recipes for this on the internet but we basically followed this recipe:
- 1 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup baking soda
- 2 cups dry uncooked rice for filler
- 1-5 drops drops of essential oils. Go easy on the drops though. A little goes a long way.
Mix it well in a bowl. You can use other sources for scents too if you don’t have essential oils on hand, ie: dried lavender or a cinnamon stick or vanilla bean. Even a dryer sheet will work for quite a while. The cornstarch and baking soda are for moisture absorption and breaking down the acid in sweat which causes bacteria and that stinky smell. The added essential oils/scents are just for your nose’s pleasure. Be mindful of smells Dad might like or dislike. For example, if your dad can’t stand the smell of peppermint or eucalyptus or tea tree oil, steer clear of those smells and go for something else like cinnamon or vanilla.
Spoon your mix into each sachet, being careful not to let go of your sachet and spill everything onto the floor mid-process. Not like that happened to us or anything. (Our house just happens to smell really nice now and the vacuum cleaner, too!)
Once you have your shoe sachet bags filled 3/4 of the way, roll the open end inside itself about a quarter inch and sew it up using a blind stitch. I wouldn’t recommend ironing your sachets at this point though because touching a hot iron to your ironed-on-transfer paper photos could mess them up.
For the No-Sew bags just follow the above steps for the iron-on transfer paper. Then fill with your shoe deodorizer mix and cinch tight. Easy peasy!
Once your bags are sewn shut they are ready to gift! You could stick them in Dad’s shoes and wait for him to find them OR…
Wrap them up in pairs with some twine, a sprig of something that smells good and a cute card saying Happy Father’s Day. We hope you find this as humorous as we did!
Find more ideas for Father’s Day here: