Random Acts of Creativity: sandals

Showing posts with label sandals. Show all posts

Friday, June 22, 2012

Weekly Round Up - 6/22

I had a crazy busy week outside of the sewing room. It's the last week of school for the kids and there were 101 things to do.

I did get together with my friend to make her sandals. I didn't take any pictures but she did take one. She loves them, and they don't cover up any of the stars tattooed on her foot.

I started working on View E of Vogue 8772.

source: voguepatterns.mccall.com

I'm hoping to alter it just a little and make it into a dress, but I have to get a little bit further before I know if that will work out the way I plan or not.

Now I must get ready to attend my oldest's 6th grade graduation. He's going to officially be a Middle-Schooler (gasp)!

Projects Completed

Sandals (for a friend) - inspired by an etsy tutorial

Works in Progress

~~Sandals (for a friend) - inspired by an etsy tutorial~~
Blouse - Vogue 8772

Projects To Do

Shirred Dresses (for my friend's niece) - no pattern - shirred fabric (need to buy)
Men's Shirt (for son #1) - no pattern chosen - camo cotton
Men's Shirt (for son #2) - no pattern chosen - red/white/blue cotton
~~Blouse - Vogue 8772 - red cotton print in stash~~
Shirt Dress - McCall's 4769 - camo floral silky in stash
Tee Shirt - Butterick 5215 - blue and grey knit in stash
Maxi Dress - Simplicity 2189 - floral knit in stash
Blouse - Vogue 8772 - grey silky solid in stash
Shirt Dress - McCall's 4769 - purple poly shantung in stash
Dress - Coffee Date Dress, free Burda pattern - black/white silky print in stash
Peasant Top - Simplicity 3956 - teal paisley print in stash
Pants - Vogue 2907 view A - green suiting in stash
Men's Bi-Fold Wallet (requested by a friend) - my own design - no fabric chosen
Purse (for me) - my own design - no fabric chosen yet
Wallet (for me) - my own design - no fabric chosen yet
Dress - Simplicity 3506 view A - black/purple silky print in stash
8 Gore Skirt - self drafted pattern - cream suiting in stash
Top - princess seam bodice - red silky solid in stash
Bolero - Simplicity 3921 view ? - green velvety fabric in stash
Top - Vogue 2987 top - multi-colored knit/jersey/stretchy in stash

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

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.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Some Sandals, A Purse, And Other Random Bits

I did not get much as sewing accomplished this week as I had hoped to, but I did tear apart my sewing room and then (mostly) reorganized and rearranged it. I definitely like the set up now. It felt crowded before, where now I feel like I have room to move.

My serger (pictured below) is behind me in this pic

These pictures don't show the whole room, there is an ironing board to the right of the serger, and to the left of the sewing machine is a pile of empty boxes I need to break down...I did say I got it mostly reorganized.

My sewing 'nook' is behind me in this pic

I did finish my test pair of sandals. They worked out pretty well I think. I will post a tutorial for how I did them sometime next week.

I also (finally) finished the purse I told my sister I would make for her well over a year ago. She's been a sport and has not harassed me about it once, so I think she was definitely deserving of me doing it before I got elbow deep in projects for me. In my own defense, I did start it last summer, but did not manage to finish it before the Fall semester started, and over the winter break, the only sewing I did was Christmas gifts.

The inside...this purse has lots of pockets

I absolutely love the fabric, and wish I had gotten more at the time (it was a Wal-Mart fabric that was available for only one or two seasons about two years ago). It would make a really lovely dress or skirt. Oh well, I do have just enough to make myself a wallet, and a new wallet for me is on my to-do list...

I told you there was a pile of boxes over there - ignore them

Do you see what the purse is hanging on??? I finally got a proper dress form. It was a Mother's Day gift, and I love it. I followed the suggestion of a comment on Amazon and set the bust smaller than my actual size, then added a padded bra to give the bust area a truer to life look and sizing. With the bra, the bust is the proper size and isn't too wide along the back. I also 'dressed' her so that if I need to pin in the gaps from sizing the form I would be able to do so. I will probably get a mock neck specifically for her and fit it with princess seams, but that's a project for another day. She needs a name....not quite sure what I should call her yet...

I did get the fabric I have for my patchwork skirt cut, but I decided I need a little bit more fabric for it to fit comfortably, so it's been put on hold. I also got the main fabric cut out for one pair of pants I am making from Vogue 2907. I want to say the fabric I cut is a grey suiting, it looks grey next to the green suiting I have.

On its own, I think it looks like it has a hint of green, but it could just be the horrid lighting in the sewing room. Either way, I don't have a large enough piece of anything I like in my stash for the lining fabric for this pair, so another project on hold. But, I am making my way to JoAnn's today for this week's pattern sale, so I should be able to get the fabric I need.

Speaking of patterns, I did get to last week's sale and got four patterns -

McCall's 3129

Source: mccallpattern.mccall.com

McCall's 4769

Source: mccallpattern.mccall.com

Vogue 8772

Source: voguepatterns.mccall.com

Vogue 8788

Source: voguepatterns.mccall.com