Summer is upon us and it is officially time for flip flops!
I just love the nautical trend in clothing and accessories, and I couldn’t help but grab a few pairs of flip flops from my local dollar store (read why we love the dollar store HERE) with this simple nautical makeover in mind.
Chances are, your local dollar store has a nice display of colorful flip flops right now, so go snag some while the picking’s good!
For this project you’ll need:
- flip flops (with the three holes visible on the bottom–you’ll see why later)
- rope (about one yard per pair of flip flops, maybe a little more to be safe)
First, cut off the bottom plastic pieces and pull the entire plastic strap off each flip flop.
Get your rope ready. By the way, this rope is super soft…NOT your itchy, ouchie industrial rope. It’s a decorative rope that you’d find in a craft store, so it’s nice and comfy on the feet.
These are going to be little girl’s flip flops, so I’m using slightly thinner rope. Cut two equal pieces of rope, one for each flip flop. Take one rope and fold it in half, inserting the fold of the rope into the top hole of the flip flop.
Tie a knot on the bottom part of the flip flop so the rope stays secure. Next, thread the remaining rope through the other two flip flop holes, tying knots on the bottom of each.
The top and bottom of each flip flop look something like this. I admit, the flaw in this design is the knots on the bottom. My 5-year-old doesn’t notice them in the slightest. They are not very pretty, but you never see them anyway:).
But if one of you have a BRILLIANT solution, please share!
I love the simple, nautical look you get in about 15 minutes!
Of course, I had to make myself a pair as well. This time, I just used an old pair of flip flops I had in my closet.
Again, remove the plastic straps. I used thicker rope for my flip flops and made a cool knot in the top of them. Follow the same directions as above: thread the rope through each hole and tie knots on the bottom of the shoe.
Again, the knots on the bottom are not ideal, so if you come up with a better idea, let us know! But they don’t bother me to walk on, since the rope is so pliable.
And voila! An easy flip flop makeover!
On a side note, I wore these to run errands and had an older gentleman tell me that I had “very beautiful feet.” I suspect a foot fetish, for even my own sweet mother has never told me I have beautiful feet. So be warned, these flip flops may make your feet look a little too good. I hope you have fun with this project!
Emily says
I love these! So cute! Now I know what to do when my kids break their flip flops:)
Shelley says
Bwahahaha. The last paragraph. 🙂 –Great tutorial!!
Colleen says
I’d hot glue or E6000 those knots into place.
Megan says
These look nice. I made similar ones last summer. I wanted to share some ideas to make them to be a bit fancier. I found some celtic knots that are easy and super cute for this. I got a lot of compliments on mine. There are great video tutorials on fusionKnots.com.The triskelion and spiral knots work perfectly for this. It takes a few tries to get two knots that look just the same, but it is worth the effort. I also used hot glue to secure the knots underneath. And if your rope is sythetic you can use a lighter to keep them from fraying. I hope this helps.:)
sara says
Will the knots make it uncomfortable to walk?
Nicolette says
Kids don’t even notice the knots. I was surprised that I barely noticed them on my pair, but I used American Eagle flip flops that were thicker than the dollar store ones. They don’t bother me to walk on:).
Susan says
As a solution to the knots on the bottom, could u buy a second pair, cut off the straps and then glue it to the bottom of the origina? Then the knots would have a hole to fit in and the soles would be twice as thick. As a fun twist, buy two different colors.