Reupholstering Store-Bought Sandals
Here’s a nice post about “reupholstering” some cheaply made store-bought sandals. These sandals were comfortable when we bought them, but the sueded stuff that the manufacturer used lasted something like 2 or 3 months–then it started tearing. So, I decided to glue real leather to the top of the horrible sueded man-made stuff that was already there. It turned out pretty nicely. (You could do this with any sandal, really, even if it didn’t have a suedey feel originally.)
First, you need to make a pattern. For sandals that have nothing between toes, this will be much easier than for those of you, like me, who decide to make life difficult. The toe thing made making a pattern pretty hard, so, what I did was to cut some paper out to a little bigger than I thought I’d need and then cut a slit about where I thought the division between the big toe and the second was. I then slid the prototype into the sandal like a paper foot (I’m going to leave that one alone…) and proceeded to rub the outside of the sandal with a crayon, to get a rubbing of the shape the leather ought to be. It worked pretty well, I have a picture of it below:
Next, tape the pattern to the BACK SIDE of the leather you’ll be to the sandal. MAKE SURE TO PUT IT ON BACKWARDS–OR YOU WILL HAVE THE WRONG SIDE OUT FOR GLUING!!! (It’s sad, but it just makes it a better post, for me, when I get to use caps and italics and bold–all at the same time!
Once the pattern was taped, I used a highlighter to mark where to cut. I just used short strokes, starting on the pattern and moving onto the leather, making the patter exactly where I wanted. Don’t scribble back and forth, pick up the highlighter and move it from the pattern to the leather each time, but with short strokes. It is pretty fast, once you get going.
Once you’ve marked one side, unless you have really strange sandals, you can use the same pattern (JUST REMEMBER TO FLIP IT OVER) to mark for the other sandal.
While cutting, remember to be as exact as possible, because any slip-ups will allow the old material to show through the new, cool material. Also, remember to cut a slit for the strap between the toes (if you are so lucky…yeah, lucky…) or else it will be hard to cut it when you are gluing.
Next for the gluing. I used Perfect Glue to glue the leather onto the sandal, but I have heard good things about Barges Glue (it is supposed to be the glue that shoemakers–or cobblers, if you prefer–use), so you could try that kind as well. Elmer’s glue WON’T WORK.
I put the glue on the leather and it looked like the picture below:
(The shiny glue on top doesn’t show so well here, but look at the sandal in the next picture)
Next, I fitted the glue-side down to the sandal, as per the instructions on the tube of glue, I pressed them together for 30 seconds or so, then pulled them apart for 3-5 minutes. Below is what the sandal looked like after I pulled them apart:
After the 3-5 minutes, I pressed them back together and had my wife put her foot in the sandal to get the leather to press into the glue and the sandal in the right way (they are my wife’s sandals). Then I left them the required 1 hour (and then overnight, just in case) to cure. She says they are more comfortable now, which is a nice bonus!
One more caution, I marked the leather with blue marker, and, as you can see, the suede at the split between big and second toes is blue–so MARK THE BACK OF THE LEATHER!!!
Happy hunting!
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