Step 1: Cut out two rectangular pieces from the card stock paper with length that’s same as the length of the sandal strap across the sandal and with width that’s 1 cm longer than the width of the ankle strap. Taking the embroidery floss in two colors, wrap it around line by line around the rectangular paper. Once the whole rectangular piece of paper is covered with floss, cut off the excess floss.
Step 2: Apply fabric glue in a straight line along the middle (length-wise) on one side of the wrapped floss.
Step 3: Cut off some more floss in two colors that is twice the length of the rectangular paper and a centimeter extra. Folding it in half, place it over the straight line glue from Step 2. Lightly press the four strands of floss into the glue and let it dry. Repeat Steps 2 & 3 on the other side of the wrapped floss. Let all the glue dry completely.
Step 4: Taking the second piece of rectangular paper from Step 1, draw and cutout a feather shape. Only cut off small bits from the sides to give it a feather shape and do not alter the length of the paper piece. Place the feather template over the wrapped floss with glue from Step 3. Cutout that wrapped floss in a feather shape using the paper feather template.
Step 5: You will end up with two pieces of floss feathers with the rectangular paper we wrapped the floss around sandwiched in between the two. Remove the paper and on each of the floss feathers, place glue in a straight line on the side where we did not place the straight line floss in Step 3.
Step 6: With the glue facing the sandal strap, arrange the floss feather over the sandal straps and let them dry completely. Make any adjustments to create a more feathery look with the scissors.
There you have your feather strap heel sandals! You can add more feathers to the ankle strap as well, similar to the inspiration heels from Oscar de la Renta. I wanted to keep mine more minimal so I did not add more to my pair. I also kept the floss color close to the color of my heels. You can play around and make it more fun by color blocking or by using contrasting colors. You can also buy ready-made leather, suede or metallic feathers from Etsy and just attach them to your heels or flat sandals. Have fun and stay HIGH on DIY!
What you’ll need:
- Ankle Strap Heels (Any Thin Strap Sandals)
- Embroidery Floss (Two Colors)
- Card Stock Paper & Pencil
- Fabric Glue & Scissors
