Beaded Barefoot Sandals Tutorial

We have a fun summer jewelry-making tutorial for you today on how to make a pair of beaded barefoot sandals! If you’re heading off to the beach this summer, these are sure to dress up your bare feet beautifully.

To make these barefoot sandals, you’ll need the following materials:

– a bunch of size 11/0 Toho Round seed beads in gold

– mixed round beads in gold, cream or bronze tones. Czech glass round beads and shell pearls work well!

– 2 x gold tone jump rings and headpins (optional)

– 2 x charms (optional)

– Stretch Magic beading cord (around 1.5m length in total)

– scissors

– jewelry glue such as E6000

To begin, measure out a good length of Stretch Magic™ beading cord (around 0.75m). Thread on between 45 and 60 seed beads and then carefully wrap the cord and beads under your toe where you want your sandals to sit to make sure you have enough beads for this section. (The second toe in from the biggest is the best one to use!)

After making sure that the seed beads you’ve threaded on will sit all the way around your toe, make this section into a fixed loop for the toe part of the sandals by threading both ends of the cord through a round bead. Pull the round bead down the cord so that it sits snugly next to the gold seed beads.

To start making a pretty pattern for your barefoot sandals, thread seed beads onto each strand of cord. We’ve used 10 seed beads for each strand, as shown in step 3.

Secure those seed beads into place with another round bead – thread both ends of the cord through the round bead as shown in step 4.

Carry on adding seed beads and round beads in whatever pattern you like by threading beads onto both cords individually and then slotting both ends through a few round beads. You’re now making the main “bar” part of the sandal.

Keep trying your barefoot sandal on as you work so that you don’t thread on too many beads before you get to the ankle part! Once you’re at the place where you need to make a strap for your ankle, start threading seed beads onto the individual cords again.

To make the ankle strap, you will need to thread on quite a lot of seed beads! Again, keep trying the barefoot sandal on so that you make the perfect size for your foot. Once the seed bead strands meet around the back of your ankle/heel, you’ll have enough.

The great thing about Stretch Magic™ is that it does stretch! So you should be able to make your ankle strap big enough to slide over your foot but snug enough to sit in place without falling off.

When you have enough seed beads threaded on for your ankle strap, make a double knot in the cord to tie the strands together.

Crucial step! Dab some jewelry glue onto the knots as you make them to ensure that the cord won’t come undone later on. It’s also worth adding some glue in between those end seed beads before the knots just in case!

Once your glue is dry, you can trim any excess cord away, taking care not to accidentally cut through the knots you’ve made.

Finally, add a charm to make your barefoot sandal even prettier. You can add a charm using a headpin and jump ring – check out our beading basics section if you’re not sure how to do this. Or use ready made charms like the ones we stock on our website.

.

Subscribe to our newsletter:
  

.

After adding the charm, one sandal is complete and it’s time to make the next one!

We hope you enjoyed our beaded barefoot sandals tutorial and that you have fun making your own for summer! Before you go, why not check out our other free jewelry-making tutorials?

Please take a minute to share this post online!