Crocheted grocery bag shoes! (Now with an attempt at a tute!)

[mleak]

MAKE magazine had some cool links about crocheting big tote bags with old grocery bags (check out http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/round%20plastic%20bag%20tote.html), and since I just learned to crochet, and I'm too cheap for yarn a college student, I started two different totes.  Unfortunately, I ran out of the colors I wanted to use, and unwilling to wait for grocery day to get some more, I decided to do something small in one of the other colors I had.  Since today was one of the first warm, *beautiful* days of the year, I figured I needed some sandals, so I whipped these up:





I just improvised the pattern, but I think they came out all right!  I have *no* idea how useful they will actually be as shoes (or more like sandal-slippers, really) but I'll see how they hold up outside.  They seem fairly sturdy, though I'm really wondering if they'll melt on hot pavement.  Guess I'll find out!


Tute!

I really just winged it, but hopefully I can explain the basics well enough.  I made my yarn according to these instructions: http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/bag%20cutting%20instructions.html using strips about 2 inches wide.  Then, for my foot, size 7 1/2, I chained 14 loose stitches on a size K hook.  I started by doing scs in the first half of the stitches, then I did hdcs for the next half.  In the last stitch, I crocheted 5 or 6 hdcs to start making the round toe.  Then, I continued around and stitched into the the backs of the chains, using hdcs in the first half of the stitches, and scs in the second half.  This is to make the front part of the shoe is a bit wider than the heel.  I continued with that general pattern in a spiral, increasing stitches a few times around the curves, enough to make it lie pretty flat.  In the final ring, I used mostly scs, except for hdcs around the heel and around the big toe to make them a bit larger (note: I also tried making these with dcs, which shaped them nicely, but the material ended up a bit too open and floppy.)  I ended my spirals after going around the toes, so I think up toward the top of my foot it was 8 rows wide, and toward the heel only 7 (and I mean rows of crochet, not spirals--so I think it was 3.5 times all the way around?  I have fairly narrow feet, so you may need to adjust that.)  Of course, for the left and right foot, you need to slightly change the positioning of the hdcs and scs, so that the big toe is in the right place.

For the front strap, I finished my spiral in just about the right place, so I began a strip across that was 2 stitches wide, then connected it to the other side when it was the right length to fit my foot.  I did the same for the other straps.  I never actually cut my yarn, I just made flat stitches around the edge of the shoe until I was in the right place.  The rear strap was 7 stitches behind the front strap on the inside of the foot, and 5 stitches behind on the outside (the front strap is at a diagonal to match my toes).  I started the heel strap on the second row up on the rear strap, which let it rest just below my ankle bone.  For my feet, the front strap was 9 rows long, the rear strap was 13 rows, and the heel strap was 10 rows, but you can just fit it to your own feet.  I made the straps a bit tight so that they would fit well after natural stretching.

Oh, and each shoe took between 10 and 15 bags to complete.  I forget exactly how many, but the nice thing about the bag yarn is that you can always easily add more.

So, does that make any sense at all?  If not, I can try to start another pair and write an actual pattern, but I expect it'll require a lot of altering anyway, just because we all have such different feet!  If any (or all?) of that was confusing, feel free to ask questions.  I know basically nill about crochet, so if I can do it, so can you!  Good luck!  I'd love to see them if you make a pair

[urvi]

omg !!!
i cant believe you made those ! 

they're beyond awesome !!! 
urvi
bombay
india

[gypsysoul3]

WOW!!!! 
Those are sooo wonderful! how are they working out? i love that they're so crafty and recycled.
how long did they take to make?


would you mind whipping up a pattern/tutorial?
i'm teaching myself to crochet right now (i'm more of a knitter) and this project is the perfect motivator!

awesome work!

[Jelly.]

Those are so cool
Well the concept of them and the fact that you made them
The actual shoes, they look good on you, but I personally cant stand that style - it reminds me of sandals we had to wear for school, and also of hairy european backpackers who wear them with socks. HAHA

[roxybadoxy]

wow!! those are crazy awesome!

[frolickingmango]

Wow! Those are amazing!!! I am so impressed. They are so very creative and eco-friendly. Nice job!

[Homerof2]

Those look great!

You'll have to tell us how comfortable they are to walk on and if they are slippery (I'm thinking on carpet they may be.)

[dogswife]

Those are great! I would love to see a tut. Thanks

[mleak]

Thanks guys!  I'm glad you like them!

Homerof2--They're pretty comfortable, though they do have a sort of strange texture.  I guess it's sort of like those weird "massaging" sandals you see sometimes?  If the straps slip around at all they can be a little scratchy, but not too bad.  The only problem is that they might get a bit sticky if your feet sweat!  In terms of slipping, they're just fine on carpet.  They're pretty good on wood floors, even.  It's possible that as I wear them more, and they get flattened out, they'll become more slippery, but I don't know.  They might actually get more comfortable too.

Jelly--*rofl* so funny!  Fortunately I don't have those associations with that sort of sandal!  I'm sure it would be even easier to make thong sandals or a sandal with one wide strap over the top of the foot, if you wanted.  I just like this style!  It stays on so well.  I thought it suited itself better to the crochet, too, since the fabric is flexible instead of stiff, and it might stretch a little.

gypsysoul--they're working out pretty well so far.  Unfortunately, the lovely weather went away, so I've only worn them indoors, but I'll hopefully be able to take them out soon and see how they hold up.  They were a very quick crochet.  I think they only took me a few hours to make (minus a bit of time for experimenting and redoing here and there).  Making the "yarn" probably took longer than the actual crocheting!  I could try to do a tute, though this is my first real crochet project (I started with knitting too), and I just altered it as I went along.

[zitrone21]

Those are the best things I've seen made out of grocery bags.  I'd think they'd get kind of sweaty, but if they start to smell, you could always just swish them through some dishwater.  After you finish the dishes, of course. 

They look cute.  Hope they hold up--and don't melt on pavement!