How to Make Swarovski Crystal Flip Flops Tutorial

Completed Swarovski Crystal Havaianas flip flops

How to Crystallize Havaianas Flip Flops

What you will need:

1. Swarovski flatback rhinestones NON-HOTFIX: size ss16 (4mm) or ss20 (5mm) for this tutorial I have used ss16 rhinestones on UK size 6/7 Havaianas. View Swarovski rhinestones

2. Jewel setter: This is a plastic wand with a wax bud one side and pointed end the other, it makes picking up rhinestones very simple. View Jewel setter

3. Sand Paper / Emery board: You will either require a small piece of medium grit sandpaper an emery board or something similar.

4. e6000 adhesive: This is an industrial strength craft adhesive that’s very strong, flexible, waterproof and clear in colour. It should be used in a well ventilated area with a mask for protection from the harmful fumes. View e6000 glue

5. Piece of cotton cloth / hanky: Cotton is ideal because it doesn’t leave fibers behind when you wipe a surface.

6. Orange stick: Small wooden stick used for pushing back cuticles.

7. Isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol) or Surgical Spirit (without Oil): Used for degreasing a surface by removing any traces of oil and grease and dries very quickly.

8. Havaianas or other flip flops: To add the crystals to.

9. Pair of socks in a plastic bag: I use the bags we send the crystals out in to protect the socks.

 

 

Update 29/09/12 Problems with E6000

View our Havaianas Adhesive test

 SOME CUSTOMERS HAVE ALSO FOUND THAT GEMTAC GOES SOFT But it’s the best solution at present for personal use but NOT recommended for use if you are selling the Havaianas as there is a good chance the glue will go soft.

The problem is outlined at the bottom of this post

Preparation:

1. Place the Swarovski crystals on a clean dry surface faceted (shiny) face up. For the sake of this tutorial size 6/7 Havaianas flip-flops takes 291 x ss16 crystals per flip-flop.

2. The crystals can either be added leaving a gap to show the “Havaianas” logo on the strap or the logo can be removed to completely cover the strap in crystals. The easiest way to do this is with something like a Dremel tool or something similar.

3. For the purpose of this tutorial I used a scalpel to remove the logo. Place the padding (socks in bag) to puff out the strap and with a gentle sawing motion remove the logo, being careful to keep your fingers out of the way. DON’T try and push the scalpel through the logo with force as it may result in you damaging the flip-flops or worse you cutting your fingers just take your time and it comes off easy with a sawing motion with very little force applied. You can use sand paper to remove the logo if you don’t have a Dremel or scalpel it’s also a lot safer.

4. Give the strap surface a good rub with the sand paper / emery board to roughen it up. Once the surface has been prepared it will provide a much better platform for the adhesive to bond with.

5. i. Wipe any rubbery powder from the flip-flops.
ii. With a Clean dust free part of the cotton cloth clean the surface of the strap with some alcohol to remove any grease, oil or dust. Because the fluid is alcohol it will dry very quickly and leave no residue.

6. Pad the straps out with the sock/bag or something similar which keeps the strap from buckling when you start adding adhesive and crystals.

7. Place the Swarovski crystals on a surface faceted (shiny) face up. For the sake of this tutorial size 6/7 Havaianas flip-flops takes 291 x ss16 crystals per flip-flop.

Adding the Crystals

1. Using the opposite end of the jewel setter apply enough adhesive to add the first 10 rhinestones from the strap. If you add too much adhesive it will dry before the crystals are added, so it’s better to add the adhesive in stages, especially if it’s your first time crystallizing flip-flops.

2. Spread the adhesive using the pointed end of the jewel setter.

3. Gently touch the top of a rhinestone with the wax bud of the jewel setter to pick up a crystal (don’t press too hard or the crystal will get embedded in the wax). With the crystal selected place it on the bottom centre point of the prepared / glued surface (again don’t press too hard)

4. Continue adding the first 4 crystals in a straight line as can be seen above.

5. Next add the remaining 6 crystals in the order shown above to form the template for the crystal rows.

6. Continue adding crystals one row or 4 crystals at a time.

7. Follow the strap along adding row after row of crystals.

8. The final row of crystals from the first half of the strap.

9. One half of the strap complete : )

10. When starting the second half of the strap follow a mirror of step 5. Where the first 4 crystals are already present you just need to add the remaining 6 to create the template/pattern for the remaining rows. As you can see from the picture above try and keep the crystals in neat rows as the finished result will look more pleasing.

11. Continue adding the crystal rows.

12. The final 2 rows of crystals for the outer side of the strap as seen above took a row of 3 crystals and then a row of 2 crystals as the strap become narrower.

13. Voila one complete flip flop strap!

 

See Latest Post for a solution Which Glue Works on Havaianas Flip Flops?

Alternative Ideas

1. Alternative pattern using ss20 crystals in alternating blocks of colour.

2. Another alternative showing ss20 above is to change the colour of each row or just alternate row colours for a stripe effect (using complementary colours).

3. With ss20 (5mm) crystals there is enough room on the strap for rows of 3 crystals side by side as seen above, ss16 (4mm) there is just enough room for 4 crystals per row. You can also use ss14 (3.5) crystals which will allow you a very fine clearance each side of the crystals rows (less likely to get knocked off).

 

Hope you find the tutorial useful if you do use it please let us know how you get on and how many/size crystals you use so that I can form a chart advising how many crystals are required for each flip-flop size.

Author: Crystal and Glass Beads

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