Candice from Crafty Concoction stumbled across an amazing pair of tie up sandals, and was inspired to make her own version of the sandals with stuff from Dollarama.  You can tie the laces in many different ways – you are only limited by your own imagination. Thus, we bring you the Infinity Sandal tutorial.

Infinity Sandal Tutorial

by Candice, Crafty Concoction

 

I found these sandals at Topshop for $50. Gorgeous, no? I knew I had to at least try to make it. I figured that I would use cheap sandals and some ribbon and go from there.

But, I couldn’t find any nice ribbon in a large enough quantity at Dollarama to make it cost-effective. I decided to use some knit material. You can use old t-shirts, ribbons, jersey yardage from your local fabric store, or pretty much any material you want.

First, gather your supplies:

• Cheap flip flops, $2 at Dollarama
• A length of fabric, or 4 spools of ribbon, $4
• Rubber cement, $1 at Dollarama [other adhesives might look tempting, but rubber cement is the best choice here other than actual cobbler’s glue, as it is flexible when it dries]
• Scissors, on hand
• High-tech prying device (aka butter knife), on hand

Total: $7

**Make sure your sandals are of the variety that have a separate sole & upper with the thong wedged between. If they aren’t thong, that’s ok, just one more step later.

Note about fabric: I bought half a yard of fabric, 45″width ($3.50 at Fabricland) to use as the laces.

Next, start making your awesome new sandals:

1. Pry layers of sandal apart

Insert your knife between the two layers. Usually there is a bit of a gap where the thong is inserted, which is a good spot to stick it in.

Gently & carefully start prying the layers apart, working your way around the entire sandal. Have some patience & take your time, or you could rip some of the foam or fabric.

You can see my first sandal ripped apart here, and notice that it is made of cheap foam for the sole & rubberized foam fabric wrapped around cardboard for the upper. The thong was faux-leather.

Repeat with the other sandal:

Note: If your sandals are of the thong variety (like mine), continue to the next step. If your sandals don’t have the space between the toe, like this, then you will need to place your foot on the upper & mark the space between your big toe & first toe, then carefully cut a slit there on each upper where you marked. Then, move along with the rest of us…

2. Make Straps

You are going to cut your fabric into 3 strips lengthwise in whatever width you desire. I made mine a little under 2 inches wide. Cut one of the 3 strips in half, so you have 2×45″ lengths & 2×22.5″ lengths.

3. Place Straps

And this is where it gets a little more complicated. Find the center of one of the short lengths & place it over the center of the top of the upper where your arch would be. I found it helpful to do this with my foot in place.

Wrap around & criss-cross under the upper, bringing the ends up and between your big toe & second toe. Insert both ends into the thong hole of the upper & pull as snug as you desire. I made mine snug for the thong portion, and looser on the arch portion.

If you are working with knits, keep in mind that the fabric has a good bit of stretch.

If you are working with ribbons, keep in mind that it likely does not have any stretch.

Trim the excess fabric underneath leaving about an inch:

Take the long length of fabric and find the center. Place this underneath where your heel would be on the botttom of the upper. You can practice wrapping & tying if you like, just to get a feel for how this will sit & make any adjustments you feel necessary.

4. Glue Shoe Together

Now, get your rubber cement & tack in place the two ends under the thong, as well as the criss-crossed fabric under your arch & the center of the long piece under your heel. You could, of course, use hot glue or something, but I just stuck to one adhesive. Plus, I didn’t want to risk stiffness & cracking from other adhesives.

Once this has sat for a bit, place the rubber cement around the edges of the upper & a line up the middle for extra hold. Repeat this pattern with the sole. Wait 10 minutes, then stick together. [make sure you follow the directions on your package; mine said 10 minutes, then at least 30 minutes drying time]

5. Clamp Shoe to Let Glue Dry

Firmly & carefully clamp the pieces together for at least 30 minutes:

Hey, the thousands spent on two years of education & all those text books have to be good for something, right?

Repeat the fabric placing with the other flip flop, glue, clamp, dry, etc… Don’t forget to clean up any rubber cement that might have leaked out the side (like mine did)

You’re done! Now start experimenting with all the cool ways you can tie your laces. Take pictures and let us know how you do!