Crochet Barefoot Sandals 

It's June! Are you surprised too? 

I'm also surprised by barefoot sandals. I've been only dimly aware of people crocheting them for…over five years, I think? I feel late to this "foot thong" and "Hawaiian snow shoe" phenomenon (earlier terms). So, I did some research on them for this issue. It's quite the crochet-centric item. More on that below.

I'm testing crochet supplies in a local market stall with my next door neighbor, Ali. When she sent me links to crocheted barefoot sandals, I made her a few simple pairs to test in quick chunky cottons. Emphasis on simple and quick. This is her cute foot.

While crocheting them I tried them on to see how to make them fit. I was delighted. And, they feel great. Soft, weightless. An easy gift to make. 
 

The Simplest Pleasure

You (or someone you know) may be missing out on this simple pleasure. The simplest is:

1. Crochet a pretty cord or strap, 
2. Loop it around a toe, 
3. Add a twist or three over the top of your foot,
4. Tie it behind the ankle. If the ends are too long, wrap them around your ankle before tying.

Examples below are necklaces I've crocheted over the years. Left to right: Sparkle Love Knot Lariat, Puffpearls, Sambuca, Satin Pillows, Puffpearls, and Mermaid Chain. (I love the Mermaid Chain's beaded pendant mount for the toe loop.)




The next simplest would be:

Crochet a lacy motif.

As for how fancy? I can't resist experimenting with some tricky stitches with fussy beads and thinner threads. For this sea green one with bead chips, I tried chains with extra loops on them (a.k.a. bugle cord). They even work alongside tall stitches (not just for the long ties). 

The beads were fussy because chips don't readily slide on crochet thread. I like them in clusters.

My inspiration is beach weddings! I'm seeing beautiful sparkly barefoot sandals out there for brides and as bridesmaid gifts.
 

About the Toe Loop

Although a loop for the toe defines a barefoot sandal, notice that you don't actually need to include one to make it work. Adding a few twists to a necklace works too.

Here's when a built-in toe loop would be needed:

• for appearance only (certain styles)
• as a narrow strip, if the rest is too wide for comfort between the toes
• if you were to sell them or give as gifts.

At first I thought the toe loop needed to be as smooth and thin as a single strand of yarn, so I fastened off my chains, then started up again with a new slip knot loop. You can see this kind of toe loop in the yellow Sun Wheel sandals above. Also the Mod Boho ones at right in a chunky weight Pima.

Crochet stitches feel so soft on my toes! Even some beaded ones are fine.
 

Barefoot sandals don't even require you to be shoeless. What they actually are is foot jewelry, or as Lydia Borin called them in 2002, "extremity embellishments". My neighbor Ali wore hers with ballet flats and a dress when she worked in our booth one day. 

One of my unfortunate attempts was a saggy pair because the bamboo yarn I used is just too limp. No matter! Barefoot sandals are also versatile. I wore them looped over more toes with flip flops to a pool party a few days ago and felt pretty. (Flip flops in Florida are so generic-looking, like jeans are elsewhere.)

It's shown here worn with a ballet flat, but with flip flops and looped over more toes, the flower petals spread out and stay put better.

Barefoot Sandals as a Trend

Ravelry has 436 patterns for barefoot sandals as of yesterday. (There may be a handful more under a different name.) All but 15 of them are crochet patterns! In 2012, 60 barefoot sandal patterns were added to Ravelry, up from 11 the year before. In 2017 it was over 70, and then it dropped to 21 in 2018.

Here's a Google Trends chart I created to compare searches for barefoot sandals (blue line) and for wedding sandals (red line). It spans 2004 to today. 

Every year, searches for barefoot sandals peak in June and drop to their lowest in December. June 2014 was the highest peak. (A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular; 0 means not enough data.) 

Here's another chart comparing barefoot sandals with an older term for them, foot thongs.

                                        Happy crocheting!       ~ Vashti