Trials of Making an I-Cord

Due to COVID-19, I've been working at home.  Since I've been working at home, I was sitting significantly more than I normally do (I normally stand all day at work).  So, Hubby was sweet enough to "donate" one of his cabinets that was just the right height for me to stand and work on:

However, since I haven't been standing in over a month and a half (at least), my feet hurt. 😢 As I've been contemplating on making a pair of zori for myself, it was (finally) time to do it as my poor feet needed some cushioning. 

I had rope for the frame of my zori but I wasn't confident that the material I had was "thick" enough to provide cushioning for my feet.  So, I took out my Lucet and proceeded to braid my material.  As I finished a strip, it was squishy but quite thick.  Thinking that I was too thick, I thought perhaps because it was a 4-braid, it would be "thinner" if I made a 3-braid.  So, I took out my Clover Wonder Knitter and tried using that; unfortunately, the material was too thick so, it didn't work at all! 😭  Upon thinking about it further, the Wonder Knitter was essentially an easy way to make an i-cord.  So ... Duh! 🤦 I can knit an i-cord!  I took out my Chiagoo needles and proceeded to make an i-cord.  Unfortunately, that was also too thick! 😭  Then, I began contemplating on cutting the material (I had sewn it into tubes about a million years ago) in half so I would have thinner strips of material instead of these thicker material ... 🤔

Poor Hubby ... He was watching me do this and finally took the chance and asked me:"What are you trying to do?"  So, I explained to him what I was trying to do and how I was contemplating on cutting the tubes in half.  He told me that if I cut the tubes in half, won't I be making more work for myself?  Did you really want to do that?  Why don't you just try to make it as is since I just wanted a "quick" pair of zori?

Heeding his advice, I had him cut me two (2) pieces of rope (Wellington Braided Poly-Pro Multi-Purpose Rope Medium Load 3/8in 81 lb load): 1 105 cm for the foot frame & 1 52.5 cm for the foot strap.  Then I proceeded to weave my zori using a book I has purchased in Japan:

I used 7 strips of material for the footbed and 2 smaller strips for the strap and thong portion.  Here's how it looks:

I even made a small heel for myself since I tend to stand on my heels more.  Well, I tried it for a week and ... it didn't work out. 😭  The heel felt too hard over the course of wearing it all day; it was also a tad narrow on one side, the strap (on the side that was too narrow) was also too loose, and on the other side, I inadvertently twisted the frame so, there was a weird bump near the thong area.  So, I ripped it out and tried again.  This time, I flipped the straps around thinking that I would have more room to hide all the ends within the slipper than if everything was at the "bottom".  I also wove it a bit looser so I would have spaces where I could weave the ends in.  Here's how it looks:

After seeing my new pair, Hubby had some zori envy 😍 ... So I made him a pair too.  His frame was 120cm long, had a 60cm strap and used 11 strips total (including using 2 strips to cover the straps & frame).  His pair came out better looking than mine!  And, he's a very good tester so, he'll tell me how well they fit and feel.

Hopefully, these will work out well and be comfortable ... 🤞