Handmade espadrilles with faux leather details | DIY + free pattern

Espadrilles are all the rage this summer and probably next summer, too. Better stock up on a few pairs! But did you know, that classic espadrilles are ridiculously easy to make yourself? All you need to know are basic stitches by hand and with a sewing machine. You can choose your favorite fabric and sew them in an afternoon. For the very easy classic espadrilles, visit my tutorial for the melon espadrilles from last summer. For a bit more advanced version, read on!

I designed these espadrilles myself for a espadrilles design contest by Prym, Farbenmix, Swafing and the Handmade Kultur magazine (read all about that here). They fit me perfectly and I am more than happy to share the pattern with you. The pattern is in size EU 39 but adjusting should be fairly easy and straight forward. If you print the pattern on A4 paper and set the printer on borderless printing, you'll get the correct size.

What you need:

1 pair of espadrilles soles
not too thin cotton fabrics (1 patterned for the front and 1 plain for the heel and the lining)
soft faux leather
bias binding
thick cotton thread
scissors
fabric glue
fabric fixation tape
pins
needle
sewing machine

Espadrilles Pattern

How it works:

Step 1: First, print, cut and transfer the pieces of the pattern to fabric the following way:
2 mirrored pieces of the sole inlay and the upper from the faux leather.
2 mirrored pieces of the front in patterned fabric (add seam allowance).
2 mirrored pieces of the front in plain fabric (add seam allowance).
2 pairs of mirrored pieces of the heel (add seam allowance).

Step 2: Glue the inlays onto the soles like shown in the picture above.

Step 3: Place the fabric pieces for the front right sides together, a patterned and a plain piece each. Sew around with a sewing machine but leave a small stretch open. Notch the curves of the seam allowance and trim the corners diagonally. Turn right sides out, iron flat and sew over the opening. Add an ornamental seam at the base.

Step 4: Now glue the faux leather uppers to the front pieces with textile glue following the instructions on the glue you're using. Let dry. The back side of the straps might be visible when wearing, so you might want to glue some faux leather to the visible areas as well.

Step 5: Place each two pieces of the heel right sides together and sew the two stretches on both sides of the half circle cut-out together. Turn and iron flat. On the right side, drape bias binding around the remaining stretches and then sew it on.

Step 6: Now you pin everything in place. Don't be afraid to use aaaall the pins! It really helps to get the placement right if you place your feet onto the sole and arrange the pieces around them. Fixate with a few pins before you remove your feet again. Then add a lot more pins.

Step 7: Sew everything together. You sew the fabric to the sole with a blanket stitch. Continue the stitch over the open stretches, too, to get a nice  uniform look.

Step 8: If you like, you can add a cap like this. It's basically only blanket stitch again. Work the stitch narrower and from the sole upwards. Interlock the stitches a bit while you're working upwards.

Step 9: Now you have only the straps left to fixate. Put the espadrilles on and pull the left strap very tight, hold, remove your foot and pin the strap in place, just below the bias binding. Repeat for the right strap. Cut the straps shorter. They should overlap for just 1 or 3 cm in the back.
Repeat for the other shoe.

Step 10: First, mark the places where the straps sit and then fixate them to the fabric below using fixating tape. With a thin brown thread sew with a simple step stitch over the stretch where the straps overlap, sewing the straps together and to the heel piece in one go.

All done! Perfect summer espadrilles that don't have to hide behind the shoes you can buy in stores. And for under 100€! I love mine and they fit me perfectly. They will be worn a lot this summer.