How to Make Your Own Cork Sandals

Summer calls for cool footwear but it doesn’t call for a spending a bunch of money on assorted sandals. Have you ever seen a roll of craft cork? They sell the thin cork on a roll at most any craft store. These rolls of cork can be used to make fabulous summer sandals that will have all your friends green with envy! You’ll be surprised at how easy it is to make the sandals and how great they look and feel! Purchase the roll of cork, lay it out on a flat surface, then proceed with making your own sandals.

You probably already have lots of patterns for your new sandals. Draw around a pair of flip-flops, slippers, tennis shoes or slip-ons. While drawing around the shoes make sure they’re placed as close to the edge of the cork as possible. Keep the shoes close together but make sure there’s enough room to trace around each of them without the tracings touching. A sliver of cork between the two tracings will suffice.

Cut the cork shapes then draw them again, and again, onto the roll of cork. Cut out two or more sets of shapes depending upon how thick you want the sandals to be. Start the crafting of the sandals by using one set of shapes and setting the others aside momentarily. Set your feet on a right foot shape and a left foot shape. Use a marker or other instrument to mark a dot between the big toe and second toe, and a dot on the outside and instep areas of the cork. These marks will represent where the straps for the sandals will be placed. Don’t put the marks right next to your foot; place them halfway between the edge of your foot and the edge of the cork shape. This will prevent the strap on the finished shoe from rubbing your foot while walking. Use a knife, ice pick, awl or other implement to poke a hole where the three marks are on the cork.

There are several different types of adhesives you can use to hold the cork layers together. These include spray adhesives and other glues – but any adhesive you choose must be waterproof. Many spray adhesives work perfectly on cork and make it easy for you to cover large areas quickly. The spray adhesives generally dry quickly, too.

Use roping, ribbon or similar items to make the straps. Fold the ribbon or other choice in half, then push the fold through the hole at the toe area on the first set of sandal shapes. Glue it into the hole so that the fold is even with the underside of the hole. Allow this glue to dry thoroughly before gluing the straps to the side holes. To glue the side straps in, cut off any excess ribbon or rope, then push the end into the hole on the side of the sandal shape. Glue into place. It’s a good idea to set your foot on the shape while measuring how much ribbon or roping you’ll need to go across your foot and into the holes.

When the strap glue has dried you can continue with the project. Glue the next set of cork shapes to the bottom of the first shape. This set will cover the underside where the ribbon ends can be seen and will give you extra cushioning. It’s up to you how many sets of cork you glue on to the original two sets. Each extra layer will add height to you and thickness to the sandals.

As the bottom of the shoe you can use a final set of cork shapes or cut a sandal shape from rubber. Glue the rubber bottom onto the shoe to prevent slipping and sliding. Make sure the adhesive you are using is suitable for rubber. The rubber you use can be from a car floor mat, a welcome mat, or from a child’s play mat.

That is the basic design of the cork sandals but you can create different ones over the course of time. As you’re creating the straps for the sandals, for example, there are all sorts of designs you can make. Slide on beads, trinkets and other embellishments to create the perfect design. Instead of roping or ribbon you can use braided sinew, rolled cloth or even strips of rubber. You can even use Fun Foam instead of cork to create inexpensive yet colorful summer footwear.

The sandal projects are fun and easy so get the kids involved. Let them make their own footwear before going to the beach this year, or help them make gifts for members of the family. It’s inexpensive and allows you to create the perfect shoes for your summer outfits without spending a fortune.

Reference:

• Purchase cork here: www.michaels.com