Flip-flop Fantasia

My family and I recently enjoyed a fabulous trip to the beach.

Kitty Hawk, NC, photo credit Jessica Campbell. 

We brought our game-day quilt for a beach blanket, and loaded our supplies into the world's biggest tote bag:

Giant tote bag with happy polka dots

I thought I was beach-ready, right up until the moment when my bare feet hit the hot sand. I had gotten away without flip flops for a few years, but I hadn't been to the beach in a few years, either. This trip convinced me that if I wanted to spend more time in the sun and surf, I would need a pair of summer sandals.

Luckily, Anna Graham's new book Handmade Style included instructions for how to make my own. What!?! Homemade flip-flops? That's crazy. Crazy fun!

Graham's pattern provides a foot-bed template and easy-to-follow instructions. Steps include layering fabric with fusible interfacing (I used Peltex) to make the footbed, attaching straps made from bias tape, and using bias binding to sew the footbed layers together. I traced my own feet to create a custom fit, and added another layer of Peltex and a pair of Dr. Scholl's gel insoles between the layers of interfacing for extra cushioning. I used leftover strips of batting to fill in the space around the edges of the gel insole. I love the freedom of a flip-flop, but I'm not a huge fan of the flopping. Inspired by a pair of Chacos I once had (I could afford new ones if I hadn't spent all my money on fabric), I designed straps that secure the big toe and then criss-cross the foot three times.

Top view of the new kicks. You get to see my feet and my weedy lawn. I'm lettin' it all hang out today.

This part of the design process was pretty exciting, actually. It's so hard to find shoes that fit well. Custom shoes are a fantasy of mine. Being able to make my own: fantasy times three. The straps are surprisingly comfortable. They are snug enough to provide a close fit, stay on my foot, and eliminate flopping. They have enough stretch to slide on and off with ease. Perfecto!

The binding used to be a waistband

The tricky part was stitching the layers together. After I added the gel insoles, batting, and extra layer of Peltex, the shoe-sandwich was pretty thick. Regular bias binding would not quite do the trick. I needed something strong and stretchy. The solution? The waistband from a colorful pair of St. John jeans that looked far better on e-bay than they did on my body. The stitching was a bear. I broke two needles, my thread tension did not respond well to gel inserts, and I had to stitch parts by hand. But by the end of the day, I had a pair of sandals all my own.

Happy feet!

We head back to the beach in a few weeks, and these babies are going with me. If you have ever made your own flip flops, or any other kind of shoe, I would love to see them. Please share!