I have seen flip-flops for sale like the ones that I am posting today. They are rather expensive. After making these, I can understand why they cost so much, but I managed to make these for about $5, instead of $30. The biggest factor was my time. I will say that making the flip-flop base was very time consuming, but the detachable ribbons are much easier and the process goes more quickly. Now that I have my base pair, I can have a ribbon set to match everything!
I learned several things as I made my flip flops, and I will be giving you some tips that I wish I had known before I started. Also, since I want to make sure that the ideas I have are accessible to everyone, I made these without using a sewing machine. If you have a sewing machine, I have some ideas that may make this easier.
To begin, you will need a pair of flip flops, sew-on velcro, ribbon, buttons, a glue gun, measuring tape or ruler, and a very sharp needle and thread. You might try ribbon-by-the-yard, as you can get more choices for less money.
*One of the things that I learned from doing this is that my shoes would have looked better if I had used black velcro instead of beige. I recommend matching the velcro to your shoes, even if it is a little more expensive. The store was out of black when I went, and after seeing my finished product, I wish I had gone somewhere else and found some.
Measure the length of each side of the straps on your flip flop. The sides may not be the same length. Then, measure and cut your velcro strips to the same length as your straps.
*Another thing I learned was that your shoes will be more comfortable if you use the soft fuzzy (loop) side of the velcro for this part of the project.
The kind of velcro that you can buy that is sticky on one side states on the package that it is not good for vinyl and fabric. Because of that, I purchased the sew-on kind. To give myself a guide as I was sewing, I used a glue gun to attach the velcro to the shoe before I sewed on the velcro. The glue will not stick to the shoe for very long, but it works kind of like a temporary suction cup to hold the velcro strip on as you sew. This helped me. I tried one strap without the glue, and I preferred the glue method. You can decide what you prefer.
^^^If you have a sewing machine, you could try a different idea here. You could take a strip of fabric and sew one side to the velcro, then wrap the fabric and velcro around the strap to make a tube, and just sew up the other side by hand. If you don't have a sewing machine, this is what I did:
This is what the underside looks like:
The front of the V gets a little tricky, as you are using two pieces of velcro. I was only able to sew down the edges. Also, as I got to the end of the strip of velcro, I looped my stitches around the divider that goes in between the toes.
When you are finished, your shoe will look like this:
I'm sorry to say that you will have to do these steps twice, as most people have two feet. I do think the end result is worth the perseverance. Keep sewing!
Now for the fun part. The ribbons!
Measure the velcro for your straps. (If you used the soft loops for your shoes, you will want to use the stiff "hooks" for this part.)
Next, cut your ribbon to the correct length. You will want to make sure the end of your ribbon doesn't fray. There are two ways to do this. You can use clear nail polish on the edges, or you can melt them. If you choose to melt your edges, please be very careful. The melted part will burn you, and the ribbon can catch on fire. (If you are a kid trying this project, please let an adult do this part.)
Use a lighter to melt the ribbon edges. Hold the lighter flame NEAR the ribbon. If the flame actually touches the ribbon, it can ignite. The heat will melt the ribbon. It is tricky to melt the edge evenly, so you may want to practice first, or just use the nail polish.
Next, sew the velcro strips together into a V.
^^^If you have a sewing machine, you could machine sew this, and substitute machine sewing for the glue gun section.
Sew the ribbon into a V, as well. I sewed a square that was smaller than the buttons I chose for embellishing. One thing to pay attention to at this point is if you have a ribbon pattern that is not symmetrical, you will want to make sure than you lay it out in the pattern that you want.
After you have your V, sew your button in the middle. You could use beads or some other decoration, instead.
Even though sticky velcro is not recommended for the shoes, I found that the glue gun works quite nicely for this part. I was so happy to be finished with the sewing.
Starting with the point of the V, make two strips of glue on a short section of the of the velcro. Attach the ribbon. Continue gluing small sections of the ribbon until you finish. If there is too much velcro at the end, just trim it off. That is why we started in the middle.
Do these steps twice and you have a custom pair of flip flops!
Making a second set of ribbons is easy. You already have the shoes. You probably will need more velcro, though. Just cut your ribbon and velcro to length, sew your anchoring squares, add your embellishment, and glue!
*Another option for the ribbons is the sticky back velcro. I tried this, and it does work. However, you have to be really careful when you remove the ribbons from your shoes, as the sticky stuff isn't quite as good as the glue gun.
You may notice that this ribbon doesn't hide the velcro quite as well. That is because it is narrower than my first example. That is something you will want to consider when you pick out your supplies. For reference, the pink and brown ribbon was 7/8 in. The blue ribbon is 5/8 in.
The shoes:
We're finished!
very cute!
ReplyDeleteI really like this!
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