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

[jchinique]

These are so creative and current! I suppose you can toss them in the wash as well. Nice job!

[knittinkitty]

those shoes are too cool! I have crocheted baskets out of grocery bags but would never have thought of this. Amazing! I agree, this totally rawks.

[mleak]

All right!  Finally had a nice day out, so I wore my bag-shoes to class.  I wore them all day, from about 8:15 to 6:15, and I did quite a bit of walking during the day.

The contact points on my shoes are showing a small bit of wear, but pretty minimal.  These shoes definitely won't last forever, but it looks like they'll have a decent life.  They got more comfortable as I wore them, too--softened up a bit.

They're a little slippery on marble and on some other smooth floors, but not too bad, and they're fine on pavement, dirt, carpet, etc.  It feels great to walk on grass with them.  I walked over gravel and rocky areas too, which wasn't too bad.  I have pretty pathetic feet--I can't walk on gravel barefoot, but it was okay in the shoes.  I also walked in wet places and in puddles, but the shoes dried out just fine.  I had no problems with them melting on hot pavement, though the temperature only went up to mid-high seventies, so that could still be an issue.

My feet did get VERY dirty by the end of the day, but they didn't get sweaty or sticky at all.

On the whole, I'm pretty satisfied with the shoes.  It's sort of like wearing thick socks, which is nice--you get a really good sense of the terrain underneath your feet, but the shoe gives enough protection to keep all surfaces comfortable.

I'm thinking, though, maybe I can come up with some sort of sole to sew on.  I could probably crochet the shoe double-thickness, and that would extend the life a fair bit, but there ought to be a better solution.  I think whatever I add really ought to be recycled, too, to keep with the spirit of the shoes.  Any ideas?

[marimbachick]

Perhaps the soles from a pair of worn out/thrift store shoes?  Particularly look for moccasins or slippers with a leather sole.  Seems to me that'd be recycling AND keep the bottoms of the shoes from getting too stiff or thick.

You've inspired me to try something similar with some heavy cotton I bought on clearance that hurts my hands to knit.  Perhaps with crochet I'll have more luck...

[gearhead_70]

I haven't been able to stop by here for awhile, but man am I glad I got to see those sandals!!!!  I love them!  I wear flip flops all the time so now I will have to start cutting bags and start experimenting!

[tigergirl]

I am constantly amazed by the talented, creative people on craftster! These are so awesome! You've got a 'this rocks' from me.

[Amy_UK]

I came here from the whipup site and your sandals are amazing!  I'm about to start learning to crochet (when my book arrives) and I'll definatly be trying these.

[Mimi055]

Totally amazing and definitely something I am going to try!!!!!!!

[yarn freak]

What if you spread some Shoe Goo on  the bottoms to help protect the soles from wear? Shoe Goo if you haven't heard of it is a rubbery glue used to repair tennis shoes.

Also, you can ask a local shoe repair shop for a sheet of rubber crepe. I read that in the Urban Knitter book by Lily Chin. The pattern there said it runs about $24/sheet but you can do several pairs of shoes with it.

Good Luck!

[useratl]

I'm floored . . .  I'm always thinking I want to keep some rainproof shoes in my vehicle in case I get caught with the wrong shoes, and those would be perfect.  Nice to see a completely new idea with the used plastic bags!