DIY to Make Your Shoes With Ankle Straps From Buckle to Velcro
While I love ankle strap shoes for so many reasons, getting them buckled can be a hassle. So I came up with this idea and even created a YouTube video to showcase these step by step instructions.
This is an easy DIY because you really only need some velcro and scissors.I use this industrial strength velcro because that’s what we use for all of our velcro projects. I’m not sure if the other types would work as well. But you certainly don’t have to get the giant sized box.
Insider tip: If you are unsure about how this will work on any pair of your beloved shoes, why not buy a second hand pair of shoes just to practice on? It may seem like a waste of money, but it would give you more confidence when you work on your “real” shoes.
1-Evaluate whether this will work for your shoe in question.
This may not work as well for a pair of ankle strap shoes where the strap doesn’t overlap much beyond the elastic of the buckle portion. I explain this in more detail on the video, if you are unsure of what I mean. Part of that depends on how much elastic is available. Ideally, I like having at least 1.5 inches of area for the velcro.
2– The elastic portion holding the buckle is doubled. You want to cut the underside part so it’s not connected to the leather. This will give you a longer portion of elastic available. Remove the buckle.
3- Measure how much velcro you will need and cut accordingly both in width and length. The velcro will cover the elastic and go onto the leather also.
Insider tip: Many straps have an angled tip, so you can cut your velcro with that same angle. This makes it so the strap has as much velcro holding property as possible plus it won’t curl up.
4– Attach the velcro to the strap and elastic by removing the plastic covering on the ONE SIDE ONLY of the velcro only.
5-Now remove the clear plastic on the top portion of the velcro and attach it to the underside of the top strap.
Insider tip: Definitely use all of the elastic portion of the strap to hold the velcro. If you accidentally cut it off, you may be able to add some from the store.
TADA!! You now have a much easier way to get your ankle strap shoes on and off. The time is minimal for this project. After the first time, it only takes me 5 minutes to convert a pair of shoes. It takes the longest time to get that darn plastic off the velcro piece, LOL!
Things to Consider
Some material doesn’t hold the velcro as much as others. For all of the shoes I have used this trick for, the velcro sticks fine to the underside of the ankle strap. However, the top of the ankle strap can be a different story. The most usual ones that the velcro doesn’t stick as much is patent leather or a embossed leather. If this happens, I have found that superglue can help the velcro to stick to the material better.
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Some people have money to spend and some compromise
What a wonderful Idea....I have several pairs of shoes that need this upgrade..Thanks for sharing your idea with us ....