Okay, here’s my blog post about making platform sandals, written in a casual, personal style:
So, I’ve been seeing these chunky platform sandals everywhere lately, and I just couldn’t justify dropping a ton of money on a pair. I’m a crafty person, I figured, “Hey, I can probably make these myself!” Spoiler alert: I did, and it was way easier than I thought.
First, I gathered my materials. This was the fun part! Here is the list:
- A pair of cheap flip-flops. The kind you get for like, two dollars.
- Some thick foam sheets. I got mine from a craft store, they’re usually used for like, cosplay or something.
- Strong adhesive. Don’t skimp on this – you want your platforms to stay on. I used an industrial-strength glue.
- Some fabric or ribbon. This is to cover the foam and make it look pretty. I chose a funky patterned fabric.
- Scissors. Obviously.
- A marker or pen, for tracing.
- Optional: Sandpaper, to smooth out any rough edges on the foam.
Getting Started the base
I started by tracing the soles of the flip-flops onto the foam sheets. I did this like, four times per shoe, because I wanted a really thick platform. You can adjust the thickness to your liking, of course.
Then, I carefully cut out all the foam pieces. It took a little while, but it was kind of therapeutic, just snipping away.
The Build-Up
Next up, I glued the foam pieces together, one layer at a time, making sure to line them up as perfectly as possible. This is where that strong adhesive comes in! I pressed them down really hard and let them dry for a bit, just to make sure they were good and stuck.
Once the glue was dry, I used some sandpaper to smooth out any rough edges on the sides of the foam. This is optional, but it made them look a little more polished, I think.
Making them look nice
Now for the fun part: covering the foam! I cut out pieces of my fabric that were slightly larger than the platform base, and I used more glue to attach them, wrapping the fabric around the edges and making sure it was nice and smooth.
Finally, I glued the original flip-flop straps onto the top of the platform base.I was amazed my DIY platform sandal finnally done!
And that’s it! Seriously, it was so much easier than I expected. And now I have a pair of super cool platform sandals that I made myself, for a fraction of the cost of buying them. Plus, I got to customize them exactly how I wanted. Win-win!