Make Your Own Geta Sandles

Step 5 That thong tha thong thong thong...

Geta are different from most any other thonged sandal such as flip flops in that the thong goes through the middle of the shoe instead of toward the center where the big toe would normally go. This serves an important purpose though, since this makes the back side of the geta hold out to the side as one walks and prevents the heels from hitting one another. Those who've tried making off-center thongs on their geta figure this out.

Luckily for us though the hole's in the center, easy to measure, hard to mess up. Mark your hole as measured in the geta calculator, then drill it out with a large enough bit for two pieces of the rope to go through. I used a 5/16 bit and wallowed the hole a little to make it an oblong.

For the back holes you want them to be just behind the front of the back tooth coming down at an angle that leads to the gap between the teeth on the bottom of the sole. Be careful that you don't drill into the back tooth as the bit comes through the bottom as I did on one of mine.

To thread the thongs slide one end of the rope through each of the back thong holes up through the top, then together through the middle hole. Tie a knot on the underside of the middle hole to hold the thong in place and cut off any excess, sealing the ends with a lighter to prevent fraying. Test the fit similarly to make sure they're not too tight or too lose before your tie the knot.

The thongs are 33" each on mine, this should be a good starting size for others as well, but I'd say start with something more like 38 each to give yourself room to trim them down. It's easier to cut away excess than to add more on later. If you like you can add cotton piping over your nylon rope now to give it added softness and color. measure and adjust your rope to size, then cut a piece of piping an inch or so longer so you can sew the ends of it up after you slide the rope into it.