Make Your Own Sandals ~ Tutorial

A friend asked me to make her some sandals and I was inspired by this post on etsy to use flip flops as a base and then cover a cut up yoga mat with fabric as a 'top' and sandwich the straps between. I went on the hunt for supplies and inquired about what glue to use. A very helpful associate at the JoAnn's I visited recommended E 6000. This stuff is industrial strength, waterproof, and flexible, perfect for this project. Now, the directions are clear for use on non-porous surfaces, but there are no recommendations on the packaging as to how to use it on porous surfaces (like fabric). I used the trusty Google search to find how to properly use this stuff with fabric and came across this tutorial by Flamingo Toes, which is very similar to what I was thinking, except she used 'fusible batting' and 'heavyweight interfacing,' which, in my opinion, is better than a yoga mat simply for the cost, so I used that idea. Her sandals look great, and I may make a pair down the road similar to hers - I love the flower embellishment. I ended up using fusible fleece and pellon 926 stabilizer, which I usually always have in my stash. My method is similar to Flamingo Toes' for putting the sole together, but I went about my straps differently than she did.

Materials

Flip Flops

Fusible Fleece - amount depends on the size of the flip flops used

Pellon 926 (or similar weight stabilizer) - amount depends on the size of the flip flops used

Fabric - a fat quarter should be plenty for any sandal size

Material for straps (fabric, cording, leather, bias tape, etc.) - amount depends on design

Liquid Stitch

E 6000 Glue
Scotch Tape
Pins

Optional:

embellishments

elastic (for fitting around ankle/heel)

velcro (closure)

small buckles (closure)

snaps (closure)

Directions

Cut off the straps of your flip flops. Keep the soles and the nubs from the bottom (I didn't think of this until after I threw mine away). At some point you can glue the nubs back onto the bottom of the soles with the E 6000, so they do not poke up through the top, but so that there are no holes in the bottom of the sole.

Using one of the soles, make a pattern by tracing it onto a piece of paper and then cutting it out.

Using your pattern, cut out two pieces of fusible fleece and two pieces of stabilizer, being sure to flip the pattern over for the 2nd piece, so you have opposite or mirrored pieces. Cut two pieces from your fabric, again being sure to mirror them, but make sure cut these larger than the actual pattern. I had a 3/4" - 1" extra on all sides. Hold on to your pattern, you're going to use it again a little later.

Place the fusible side of the fleece (the rough side) on the wrong side of your fabric, and iron it to the fabric according to the package directions.

With the right side of the fabric down, align the stabilizer on top of the fleece and pull the excess fabric to the back, securing it to the stabilizer with the liquid stitch as you go. You could also run a basting stitch around the outside of the fabric and gather it to the back if you prefer.

Place one fabric sole right side DOWN, place a piece of paper on top of it, then place the other fabric sole, right side UP, on to of the paper (the paper will prevent the fabric soles from sticking together while the glue sets). Put some weight on top of them to make sure none of the gathers/folds get wonky while it sets, and allow the glue to set (approximately 30 minutes). 

Note: You don't have to use the liquid stitch, but it will save you the headache of fussing with the folds/gathers as you assemble your sandals.

I probably didn't need all three books, but here's a glimpse at what I wave been reading for the past 4 months (plus two US History books).

While the liquid stitch sets, prepare your straps. For my sandals I cut three strips, 44" long and 1 1/4" wide, folded them in half (lengthwise) and ironed, then opened them up folding the edges to the center and ironing, then refolding in half and ironing again, giving me straps a little thicker than 1/4". You could also use a bias tape maker. Once my strips were folded I stitched down each side and the center and cut each strip into four pieces.

You could do a 3, 5, or 7 strand braid for your straps; buy biased tape and simply stitch it closed; buy some cording or leather strips, which would require no prep work; and I'm sure there are many other options I'm not thinking of at the moment. Your straps can be 1/4" thick or 2" thick or any other thickness you want. If you want to use buckle closures, or elastic around the heel, keep their sizes in mind when determining your strap width. Look at the variety of sandals and the strap styles out there for inspiration if you need to. The whole point is to make them a style that you like.

Once the liquid stitch is set and you have your straps ready to go you can start to assemble your sandals. If you are using elastic or buckles or velcro, this is when you will be planning on their placement as well. For buckles, you should also plan where you are going to place holes (an eyelet stitch would work well for this) and make sure to allow for them as you lay out your straps. If you wanted a 'toe thong' (is that even what it's called?) where the straps go between your toes, you should be able to do this by making a button hole where you want the straps to go through the fabric sandal. Taking one fabric sole, place the appropriate foot on top of it and loosely lay your straps on your foot, to get an idea of how well your initial design is going to work.

When you are happy with the layout (and added a hole for the toe thong if needed), use scotch tape to secure one end of each strap to the underside of the fabric sole (with about 1" of the strap underneath) at the points you want your strap to start. Do this for every strap piece and then lay them over your foot, so that your foot is secure, but not so tight you won't be able to slide your foot in and out. Use a pin to carefully secure the other side of each strap to the fabric sole, then remove your foot and use scotch tape to secure the straps to the bottom of the fabric sole and remove the pins.

Ignore my ancient dingy cutting mat (that thing is about 20 years old now!)

Place you paper pattern in the strapped sandal and using a pen or pencil mark where the straps are, then remove the paper pattern piece and using transfer paper or a permanent marker, make sure the marks show through the backside of the paper. If you did a toe thong, you will need to cut a slit in the top of your paper pattern for it to slip through. Use this to place your straps on the other fabric sole. Attach the straps with scotch tape on one end, using the pattern as a guide, Place straps over your foot, matching with the marks on the pattern, and secure with pins on the second end. Again, use scotch tape to secure the straps to the underside of the fabric sole and remove the pins.

Compare the sandals by placing them bottom to bottom and make sure they are similar (small differences shouldn't matter). Also try both of them on (I didn't and one is a little looser than the other - oops). If they need adjusting do so.

Once you are happy with the straps, place a single dot of liquid stitch between each strap and the underside of the fabric sole, just under the edge of the sole, leaving the scotch tape on for now. This is to secure the straps in place so that they don't move when you attach the fabric sole to the flip flop sole. Allow the liquid stitch to dry.

Once the liquid stitch is set you can remove the scotch tape from the underside of the fabric sole and trim the straps so they are about 1" from the edge. And now your fabric sole is ready to be attached to the flip flop sole!

I applied the E 6000 glue about 1/4" from the outside edge and then criss-crossed the sandal on about 1/4" intervals. Next time I would go a little closer to the outside edge. After applying the E 6000 to one sole, carefully place the fabric sole on top and press over the entire area with your hand. Repeat for the second sole. Once both soles are glued and hand pressed, place them under some weight and allow the glue to set (I waited overnight).

The next day you can add any embellishments you like...Congrats! You just made your very own sandals!!!

I really do like these sandals, I have worn them a few times now and they seem to be holding up just fine.

I did my best to explain everything clearly, but if you have any questions feel free to ask.