Water Socks!

So, we're going on a cruise. Yup. Taking our two girls and my mom! Her first cruise!! Exciting! One item you often see recommended to take are water shoes. Many excursions involve water, and although the beaches are usually beautiful sand, you never know what lurks beneath. I also frequently hurt my feet and hate strange things touching my feet in the water LOL. One day on Facebook, there was an ad for these water slippers. They had thin soles, unlike most water shoes that have thick plastic soles. While those do have good traction and protection, they are heavy and we're trying to pack light.

So I looked at the slipper pattern I use and thought maybe I could just make them smaller with swim fabric. But I didn't think the style would be the most secure in the water. I searched and searched online to find something like what was in the ad.

I finally found these Skin Splashy Shoes. Seemed simple enough. I bought the pattern. I had already ordered the Tough Tek from The Fabric Snob (I'm on a new 2-in-1 tablet so linking is still a challenge). I cut out my size. For the bias banding I just cut a strip of the swim fabric to fold over the top.

 For the ankle band, you were to use woven fabric but  I couldn't figure what to use so  I used some interfacing. I didn't stick well and you can kind of see it.

It should have been difficult to put together, but of course I had some issues. And when I tried them on, they were too pointy at the toes and wide around the ankle. The opening wasn't snug either. So I resewed a few spots, took off some of the opening binding and stretched it tighter. I think I ended up making them a bit too small for me though. So I had my mom try them on and she was happy with them.

She does aqua-fit so these will also be good for that.

So I had to make another pair for myself. This time I didn't trim the toes as much. For the opening binding, I made wider trim and stitched down like bias binding, then folded it over and stitched from the right side. The inside wasn't folded in again, so I trimmed it close the stitching. Also on both pairs, I trimmed the front of the band back to the zig zags. I had to shorten the strip quite a bit more than what the pattern said it should be.  For the strap, I used some printed pink canvas. 

At the end of June I sprained my left ankle. You can see the swelling on the top of my foot. And this was seven weeks later.

I didn't make the foam insoles for either pair. I tested them in the hot tub, putting my feet right up to the jets, to see if they would slip off. They stayed on. Yes, it might be odd to be on a beach with my mommy and have matching water slippers, but I don't care. My comfort and safety is more important!   Oh, and Lucy has a bikini in this fabric LOL. Bring on the rocky shores of the Caribbean!