How to Make Huarache Sandals

Huarache sandals originated in Mexico thousands of years ago, before the European colonization of Mexico. Traditionally worn in rural communities, huaraches grew in popularity throughout Mexico due to the sturdy nature and easy accessibility of materials used to make them. Today, huarache sandals are worn all over the Americas and not just in Mexico.
Traditional huaraches are handmade and come in many different styles. Yet, the most basic kind is a minimalist sandal made by weaving a single strip of leather through holes in the sole and binding the foot to the sandal with the leather.
You can make DIY huarache sandals even if you have no experience in shoemaking.
Follow the instructions below on how to make huarache sandals.

These instructions were adapted from two tutorials on Instructables.com. The tutorial below is a hybrid of the two, with modifications made for clarity where necessary. To view the original tutorials, visit Minimalist Running Sandals (Huaraches) and Vibram Huarache Running/Hiking Sandals. Photo credit belongs to the authors of the original tutorials.

Materials

To make your own huaraches, you need the following:

• Parachute cord, about 6 feet for each sandal
• Thin rubber material easily cut with scissors or a box cutter
• Paper
• Scissors
• Box cutter
• Hammer
• 4mm hole punch that you can use on leather or other soft materials

Making Huarache Sandals

Create a Template of Your Foot

1. With your foot on a piece of paper, hold a pen or marker perpendicular to the paper and loosely trace along the edges of your foot, creating an outline.
2. Before removing your foot from the tracing, mark the three holes where the string will go.
   • The first hole is on the inside of the foot, just in front of your ankle bone. Make a mark at that spot beside your foot.
   • The second hole is on the outside of the foot, also just in front of the ankle bone, roughly in line with the first hole. Make a mark at that spot beside your foot.
   • The third hole is between your big toe and second toe. Make a mark between those two toes at the start of the gap between them.
3. Remove your foot and transfer the side marks onto the template.
4. Using your pen or marker, round out the contours of the tracing, creating a smoother-looking sandal shape.
5. If you have different-sized feet, repeat these steps for your other foot, creating a template for each foot.

Transfer the Template to the Rubber Material

1. With a piece of chalk, trace your template onto the sheet of rubber on the side that will be touching your foot’s bottom.
2. Cut out the shape using a box cutter or pair of scissors.
3. Before removing the template from the rubber, mark both ankle hole locations on the rubber. Then, use a pen to punch through the paper to denote the hole between the toes with chalk.

Punch-Out the Holes

1. Use a hammer and a 4mm hole punch to punch the holes. If you don’t have a hole punch, you can use a nail or a drill with a small bit. The cleaner the gap is, the less likely the rubber will tear.
2. Punch out the hole between the toes directly on the marking you placed on the sole earlier.
3. Punch out the side holes about 1 cm from the edge of the sandal. This space between the edge of the sole and the hole is important for making sure the lacing doesn’t tear through the rubber. For larger feet, add slightly more than a 1cm buffer.
4. Repeat these steps for the second sandal.

Lace-Up Your Huaraches

1. Tie a knot on one end of the parachute cord.
   
2. Starting with the LEFT SANDAL: With the bottom of the sandal facing up, use a pen or needle-nose pliers to help push the loose end of the cord (without the knot) down through the hole that goes between your big toe and second toe. Pull the line through until the knot is flush with the rubber.
   
3. Flip the sandal over so that the side that will touch your foot is facing you. Then, loop the parachute cord around the outside edge of the sole and pull it up through the bottom of the outer side hole.
   
4. Loop the parachute cord around and back in front of itself.
   
5. Bring the parachute cord around the heel to create the heel strap of the sandal. Then thread the parachute cord down through the inner side hole and loop it back and around to secure the strap (see picture below).
   
6. Below is a photo of a laced left foot sandal. Repeat the same steps for the right foot sandal.
   

Tie Up Your Huaraches
From here, you can customize your own huaraches by trying a variety of tying styles, but the basic way of tying these up is as follows:

1. Slide your foot in with the top strap between your big toe and second toe (like a flip-flop) and slide the heel loop on. Leave the top strap a bit loose. Next, slip the parachute cord under the top strap and back down under the heel strap. Below is a picture of this completed step.
   
2. Make a kind of knot by weaving the parachute cord under the bottom strap of the two inner straps created from step 1 (see photos below) and pulling it through. Next, bring the line around the back, creating a second heel strap.
   
3. Form a knot by slipping the cord under the top outer strap, looping around and up through the bottom of the two heel straps (see photo on the left below), then run it under both of the top inside straps (see picture on the right below).
   
4. Bring the cord around and under both of the top outside straps.
   
5. Make a loopy quick-release knot (you likely won’t be untying these).
   
6. Take the excess and tie it off any way you prefer. Finally, cut off any extra cord. You’ve now completed one sandal! Repeat these steps for the second sandal.
   

How to Customize Huaraches

To customize your own huaraches, try a variety of tying styles. A simple search online will bring up some tutorials.
Experiment with different materials. You can use a strip of leather or other comfortable tying material for the straps. For the sole, you can try leather or any thin rubber material. You can even try an old rubber yoga mat if you don’t mind having a smooth outsole instead of a treaded one!
If you have flip-flops with broken straps, you can repurpose them and make huaraches out of the soles. In the original tutorial, Minimalist Running Sandals (Huaraches), the huaraches are made out of a car mat. Remember, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination!