How can I make these sandals?

March 1, 2006 1:46 PM

I think these "barefoot sandals" would be quite fetching if done in a dark brown satin-finish cord and attached to a leather sole (something like these), and I’m trying to figure out how to go about it. Making the crochet part is no problem at all, but finding a sole and attaching the two is going to be a challenge. I'm hoping that the accomplished MeFi online shoppers can help me, and also that there's a MeFite or two who know something about cobbling.

Some specs: I don’t want the soles to be flat (I have high arches and they give me some trouble), and they must be leather or some approximation thereof, and brown. I don’t want to put a lot of money into this flip flop project – let’s keep it under $40 or so, as I could buy a nice pair of similar leather flip flops for about that.

Given these specifications, what’s my best option? Should I, could I:

#1 Buy a pair of readymade sandals, take them apart, and attach the crocheted part to them? If so, how would I reattach them? I don’t know if my regular sewing machine would stitch around a leather sole. Also, recommendations on suitable pairs of readymade flip flops available online are welcome.

#2 Buy a pair of readymade sandals, take them apart, and get a cobbler to attach the crocheted part to them? Again in this case, recommendations on a suitable pair of readymade flip flops available online are welcome.

#3 Take the crocheted part to a cobbler and get him to make the sole and attach the two elements? Do cobblers do this sort of thing?

In my state of pre-AskMe-post innocence, option #1 seems like the most cost-effective, option #3 as though it would make the best pair of sandals, and option #2 the most realistic.

posted by orange swan to grab bag (3 comments total)

For some years, I worked for the second largest women's shoe manufacturer in the U.S., and I've made hundreds of pairs of Western boots.

Any footwear upper that has any appreciable stretch will be unsatisfactory in wear, and may constitute a trip hazard. The charming foot ornaments you want to create seem likely to be quite stretchy if crocheted normally, from normal yarns. Perhaps you could make them of some sturdy, inelastic fiber, but if not, I would be wary of this project.

If you do pursue it, either options #2 or #3 will likely cost you more than $40 in cobbler services. Either is more than an hour's work, and calls for materials. Talk with a cobbler before spending time on the project. If I were your cobbler, I'd be pushing #3 as the more satisfactory result.
posted by paulsc at 2:26 PM on March 1, 2006

If I were going to do this, I'd use the soles of a pair of ready made sandals (since you have special needs--I personally would actually just cut a piece of flat leather to my own specs).

You would use an awl to punch through the leather, and/or a leather needle with waxed thread to attach the crocheted piece to the sole.

Alternatively, you can actually crochet the piece directly to the sole through pre-punched holes. Use a very fine crochet hook to feed the fiber through, so that you don't have to make the holes in the sole too big.

There are plenty of fiber options that would suit this, that don't have a lot of give, including thin leather strips or hemp.

This is a pattern and instructions for a knitted boot based on an existing shoe, but it explains what I'm trying to say about drawing fiber through existing holes to attach the upper directly to a sole.
posted by padraigin at 3:05 PM on March 1, 2006

I'd hack up a pair of real sandals, make the "crocheted" part out of leather, and affix the two. But I have no experience.
posted by phrontist at 6:22 PM on March 1, 2006