DIY: Hooray for Pom Poms!

Hello Saturday!  Have you been hopping on the pom pom trend lately?  I'm going to be honest. I was a little skeptical when I first saw pom pom sandals in early Spring.  My mom brought home pom pom hair ties from her trip home to Thailand and I wasn't sure what I would do with them.  Then, for whatever reason, I tied one on my tote bag and now I'm addicted!

Pom Poms are a great way to add a pop of color and a little fun to your outfit.  I like them in moderation so I prefer to only have them in one part of my outfit at a time.  Some of the pom pom sandals out there are pretty expensive.  So I decided to try and DIY a pair for myself.  See below for my how to and results!

What you'll Need

• pom poms
• tassels
• charms
• friendship bracelets
• fray & fabric glue
• needle
• thread
• scissors
• lace up sandals

I purchased these lace up sandals which were less then $20.  Most of the items above can be purchased online or in your local craft store.

Friendship Bracelets

I reserve friendship bracelet application to the wider parts of the sandal.  Cut the bracelet to size then put some fray glue on the ends to prevent fraying.  Once dry-ish you can glue the friendship bracelet to the shoe using fabric glue.  You will need to clamp the bracelet to the shoe in order for it to stick well.  It should dry 2-4 hours (or even overnight) before you remove the clamps.  Do make sure the clamps do not get glue on them when you put them on or it will be quite difficult to remove them.  I learned that the hard way!

Pom Poms

There really is no wrong way to place the pom poms so I think its up to preference.  As I said above I prefer them in moderation so I only added a few in strategic places.  Hand stitch the pom poms with a thick needle and the same color thread as the sandal.  You can use a thread the color of the pom pom, however, it may show on the back stitching side of the shoe.  I sewed 3-4 stitches per pom pom and secured the stitch with a couple knots to make sure it stayed.

For the pom poms on the heel of the shoe these were glued and them clamped overnight to make sure they stayed.  It was too difficult to sew through the shoe material because that area tends to be pretty thick.  

Tassels & Charms

The tassels and charms can be added last by opening up the clasp with a needle nose plier and placing it on the lace in wherever you want something extra.  You would then just need to close the clasp so that it is wrapped tightly around the lace.  The charms or tassels may move around a bit on the lace and is easily fixated by a couple needle stitches if you prefer.

Please feel free to contact me with questions!  If you would like to place an order instead of DIY'ing yourself I promise the price would be worth it!

Here are a few pom pom sandals and accessories that I used as inspiration: