Finger Shoes: Making Mini Air Jordan 1 Lows

In this Instructable, I give you the details and instructions on how I crafted these finger-sized Air Jordan One Low "Bred Toes" using simple materials like hot glue, cereal box cardboard, paint, and other items you might find lying around your house.

One cool thing about these shoes is that you can actually slip them on your fingers and walk around with them once you've finished crafting them, which I can't lie, I honestly had a lot of fun doing.

I really enjoyed making this Instructable because I'm a huge fan of shoes, especially Nike shoes. This is my second Instructable themed around them. I hope you find some joy in reading this as much as I enjoyed making it, whether you're planning on following the instructions to craft something or just passing by :).

For this project, you will need:

• Glue (Hot/White): Hot glue is great for securing parts that need to stay firmly in place. White glue, with its slower drying time, is better for attaching precise details where you need more time for careful positioning.
• Non-Corrugated Cardboard (which I may refer to sometimes as NCC): Also known as cereal box cardboard, this material is used to make most of the project's parts. The thin nature of this cardboard makes the shoe look more sleek rather than bulky.
• Black, White, and Red Paint and Paint Brushes: For the shoe and shoe box design. Obviously, these shoes can be any color you like, so the paint colors can vary from person to person.
• Corrugated Cardboard: Regular cardboard for making the outsoles of the shoes (the bottoms).
• Black Construction Paper: We need this to make the laces.
• Tape: Masking tape or clear tape for holding the template pieces in place so you can trace them.
• Cutting Tools: I used scissors and an X-Acto knife to cut out most of the parts for this project.
• Drawing Utensils: Pencils, paper, and erasers. These were used to draw and trace templates.
• A Mobile Device or Computer: You can use a phone, laptop, or tablet to pull up references and print out details if you need to.

First things first, free-hand a quick side view sketch of the Jordan 1 lows. When starting a build, it's always helpful to make a sketch of what you want your build to look like. The sketch I drew is shown in the first photo above.

Next, let's create two outsoles from corrugated cardboard, one for each shoe. The outsoles are the parts that form the bottom faces of the shoes.

Take two small pieces of cardboard and roughly sketch 2 shoe soles. It doesn't matter whether one shoe is left-footed and the other shoe right-footed (like normal-sized shoes), but they do, however, need to be oval-like shapes with one end being more broad than the other (like normal-sized shoes), because this affects the overall look of the shoe. They also need to be 2 inches long, and they need to look similar in shape. Once you have 2 outsoles that you are happy with, cut them out using an exacto knife or scissors.

Now, you can decide whether you want to paint your outsoles or not; I decided not to. After that, you can move on to the next step.

Now it's about time we make some templates, which are paper cut-outs that you can trace to make patterns and pieces for your project.

Start by placing one of your 2-inch long shoe soles on a piece of paper. Mark the top and bottom edges of the shoe sole so that you have 2 parallel lines 2 inches apart. In between these lines, you need to draw a two-inch version of an Air Jordan 1 Low. I did this by tracing an image of the shoes on my phone, but it is possible to freehand an image of the shoes from reference too. The shoe drawing needs to have a flat bottom, meaning the toe of the shoe and the heel of the shoe shouldn't curve up like in the actual Jordan 1s.

After you've finished drawing the shoe, it should look something like the one I drew above. Next, cut out the shoe drawing into the 8 segments shown in the last photo. You now have your templates. They are VERY easy to lose, so make sure you keep track of them.

The cupsole is the part of the shoe that wraps around the outsole. On each shoe, the cupsole is going to be split into two identical pieces, so you'll need to make four cupsole pieces in total.

First, tape your cupsole template to a small rectangular piece of cereal box cardboard. This way, it stays in place when you're tracing it. After tracing, you'll need to increase the length of the cupsole you just drew. As of now, it isn't long enough for two of itself to wrap fully around the shoe. Using a ruler if you need to, extend the top and bottom lines of the cupsole drawing until they reach the edges of the non-corrugated cardboard, similar to what I did in the first and second photo. In the end, your cupsole should be a good bit longer than the original template.

Now, cut out the cupsole and hot glue it onto the outsole. Here's a tip: Start by gluing the thicker side of the cupsole strip to the back of the shoe, and then, gluing as you go along, wrap the cupsole around the outsole, finishing at the front. In the fourth photo, you'll see me trimming the cupsole because it's too long. You might need to do the same if your extended cupsole piece ends up being longer than we need for the shoe.

Make three additional cupsoles. Make sure to draw them longer than they need to be, because you can always trim them down later when you're gluing them onto the shoe. Draw, cut, glue, and trim.

When you're okay with the cupsoles and you've made any adjustments you need to, paint the cupsoles white (or any other color you have in mind).

The cupsole is the part of the shoe that wraps around the outsole. On each shoe, the cupsole is going to be split into two identical pieces, so you'll need to make four cupsole pieces in total.

First, tape your cupsole template to a small rectangular piece of cereal box cardboard. This way, it stays in place when you're tracing it. After tracing, you'll need to increase the length of the cupsole you just drew. As of now, it isn't long enough for two of itself to wrap fully around the shoe. Using a ruler if you need to, extend the top and bottom lines of the cupsole drawing until they reach the edges of the non-corrugated cardboard, similar to what I did in the first and second photo. In the end, your cupsole should be a good bit longer than the original template.

Now, cut out the cupsole and hot glue it onto the outsole. Here's a tip: Start by gluing the thicker side of the cupsole strip to the back of the shoe, and then, gluing as you go along, wrap the cupsole around the outsole, finishing at the front. In the fourth photo, you'll see me trimming the cupsole because it's too long. You might need to do the same if your extended cupsole piece ends up being longer than we need for the shoe.

Make three additional cupsoles. Make sure to draw them longer than they need to be, because you can always trim them down later when you're gluing them onto the shoe. Draw, cut, glue, and trim.

When you're okay with the cupsoles and you've made any adjustments you need to, paint the cupsoles white (or any other color you have in mind).

The next part we are going to make is the foxing. This is the ankle part of the shoe that curves around the back.

The process of making the foxing is similar to creating the toe guard. However, we can't simply trace the template and cut it out because the foxing template isn't actually how the final foxing design is supposed to look. A few modifications are necessary to make an actual foxing.

As usual, tape and trace the foxing template onto a piece of NCC. Next, flip the template horizontally and trace it again 1/2 of a centimeter to the right of the first tracing. Then, connect the two drawings as shown in the first photo: draw a straight line at the bottom and a small arch at the top. We also need to push the bottom border of the foxing drawing down by approximately 1/3 of a centimeter. For me, that meant using the bottom edge of my piece of NCC as my foxing's bottom line, as you can see in the first and second photos. After that, your first foxing should be done. Follow this paragraph's instructions one more time to make a second foxing.

When you have both foxings ready, glue them onto your shoes and paint them. Make sure to keep them symmetrical. From the side view, they should be slightly taller than the toe guard.

Now, let's get to making the mudguards, the two flaps that get placed on either end of the toe guard. So, we need to make four mudguards, two for each shoe.

Trace the mudguard template four times on a piece of NCC so that you have four mudguard drawings. Cut them out and glue them to the shoes on either end of the toe guards, as seen in the second photo. Make sure that you don't glue the mudguards over the small dents at the ends of the toe guard. It's a very small detail, but their visibility makes them look more like the Air Jordan 1s.

When you're done gluing, paint the mudguards whatever color you like and move on to the next step.

Now, let's start making the quarters, which are the largest part of the shoe. Once the quarters are added, the shoes really begin to resemble actual shoes.

We need to make two quarters for each shoe. However, we can't create the quarters by merely tracing the quarter template. We need to trace the quarter template, and then make a few adjustments to the drawing before cutting it out.

So, begin by tracing the quarter template onto some NCC.

When you look at the template, you'll notice it resembles a pentagon with a strip extending out. What we want to do is lengthen that strip so we can trim it down later when we glue it on just like we did with the cupsoles.

After that, note that one side of the "pentagon" is not straight but wavy. We want to draw a straight line above that wavy line, as seen in the first photo. Your quarter is now ready to cut out. Follow these instructions to make three more quarters, and cut those out as well.

In the second photo, you'll notice that two of the quarters face one direction, while the other two face the opposite direction. Arrange your quarters similarly. Once arranged, paint the sides of the quarters that are face up. Each shoe should have one quarter facing left and one facing right, so the painted side is on the outside.

Next, glue the quarters as shown in the third and fourth photos, ensuring they remain symmetrical. If the strip part of a quarter is too long, trim it so it reaches halfway through the foxing. Once you've finished gluing the quarters on and trimming them as neatly and seamlessly as possible, move on to the next step.

The vamp is one of the few parts of the shoe that doesn't have a template, so we need to use a different method to create it.

Start by placing a piece of NCC onto your shoe, as shown in the first photo. Then, draw the curvature of the front of your shoe onto the NCC, as demonstrated in the photo. If done correctly, you should have a parabola-like sketch similar to what you see in the second photo. Around that parabola, draw a second, larger parabola. Next, cut out the larger parabola with the smaller one inside it. To make the vamp easier to glue on, create small cuts from the edge of the larger parabola to the edge of the smaller parabola. Once you've done this, repeat these steps to make a second vamp for the other shoe.

Now you can paint the vamps. After painting, fold the tabs of the vamps in, as seen in the fourth photo, to prepare them for gluing. When gluing, start by applying glue to the folded tabs of the vamps, positioning them correctly, and letting the glue dry once you are satisfied with the placement.

Next, we need to create the collar, which peeks out from behind the quarters and adds to the shoe's height.

First, trace the collar template onto a piece of NCC as usual, but leave the bottom curve untraced. Push this untraced bottom border by 1 centimeter. Your drawing should resemble the first photo.

Cut out the drawing, but don't glue it to the shoe; it will serve as our template for the collar.

Take another piece of NCC and trace the cut-out drawing as if it were a template. Flip the cut-out over so the other side is facing up, and trace it again a quarter centimeter to the right of the first drawing. This should result in a shape similar to the second photo. As shown, connect the two tracings with a small arch on the top and a straight line at the bottom, forming a shape that resembles a hill.

Once you've completed the drawing, cut it out and paint it. Then, glue it to the shoe just behind the quarters, as shown in the photo. Ensure the collar is symmetrical when viewed from the top view of the shoe.

Next, we craft the eye stays, which are the wiggly strips of cardboard that get glued to the top of the quarter and the tip of the collar. In an actual shoe, the laces are fed through the eye stays.

First, get the eye stay template and trace it onto a piece of paper this time, not NCC. The eye stay template that we made can't make eye stays that are thick enough to be put on the shoe, so we're going to trace make another template using the template. This new template will be much thicker, so it can be used to make eye stays for the shoe.

To make the new template, trace the old template onto a piece of paper, but not directly. Trace around the old template so you draw an eye stay that slightly bigger than the old template, just like I did in the first photo. Cut out the drawing once you are happy with how it turned out.

Use the new template to make four eye stays by tracing it onto NCC and cutting out the drawings. Once you have 4 eye stays, paint them and glue them onto the shoe like I did in the fourth photo. Make sure to glue the the eye stays on the edge of the quarter, and on the top corner of the collar.

Next, we need to create the iconic Nike logo, the famous swoosh that wraps around the back of the Air Jordan Ones.

Trace the swoosh template onto some NCC and outline it. Before cutting out the sketch, extend the end of the swoosh as shown in the photo. Like some other pieces in this project, we need to make the swoosh longer than necessary so we can trim it down later when gluing it onto the shoe. We need four swooshes, so repeat these instructions three more times.

Once you have four Nike logos, glue them onto the shoe as shown in the first and second photos. Start by gluing the logos to the quarters and then, as you continue gluing, curve the swoosh around the shoe until it reaches the middle of the back. If there is any extra length, trim the swoosh so it ends at the back of the shoe.

In the fourth photo, you'll notice that I glued a tiny piece of red NCC to the back of the shoe. I did this to make the shoe resemble the actual Air Jordan Ones, which have a small rectangle on the back. You can add this part as well by cutting out a small piece of NCC, painting it red, and then gluing it to the back of the shoe. After that, you are done making the swoosh.

Now we can craft the laces, which I am going to make out of strips of black construction paper.

For each shoe, cut out seven strips of black paper to act as laces. Glue them onto the shoe as shown in the first and second photos. Using white glue, glue the edge of each strip to one eye stay/mudguard, and then glue the other end to the opposite eye stay/mudguard. When you're done, you should have seven rows of laces on each shoe.

Finally, we make the tongue of the shoe. This is the other piece, apart from the vamp, that doesn't have a template. This piece consists of two parts that are joined together.

Draw a shape similar to the one in the first photo: a rectangle with a rounded end, measuring six centimeters in length. Next, cut out the shape. After that, cut off the rounded end, leaving you with a rectangle and a semi-circular shape.

Trace the semi-circular shape onto a piece of NCC, and draw a small square-like sketch at the bottom of the tracing. Draw two slits in the square, as shown in the fourth photo. This creates tabs to make attaching it to the rectangular piece easier.

Now, cut out the entire drawing, making sure to cut the slits as well. After that, glue the newly made piece to the rectangular piece. Spread out the tabs on the semi-circular piece and hot glue them to the rectangular piece, as shown in the fifth photo. The idea is to have both the semi-circular and rectangular pieces curving backward. Next, paint the tongue on the side where the tabs are not visible.

Finally, hot glue your painted tongue to the shoe. Attach it to the underside of the vamp, not the laces. Ensure the tongue can be seen above the collar from a side view.

If you want, you can make an Air Jordan shoe box for your shoes.

Start by drawing a 1.5 inch by 2.5 inch rectangle on a piece of NCC. This rectangle should be big enough to encase both of your shoes when arranged like in the second photo. Then, draw the other parts of the layout as shown in the first photo, including the walls of the box and the tabs, which are the four trapezoid shapes on the sides of the box walls. These tabs make the box walls easier to glue together.

Next, cut out the drawing along its outermost lines. Once you're done, fold along the creases to create something like what’s shown in the third photo. Scoring the lines with an X-Acto knife really helps in folding the NCC, as it can be difficult to fold.

Next, make the lid in the same manner as the box. Draw a rectangle slightly larger than the one for the box, maybe 1/16 of an inch bigger. Then, draw the sides and tabs as shown in the fourth picture, and cut out the lid as shown in the fifth picture.

Now, glue the box and lid. Apply glue to the tabs, then attach the tabs to the insides of the walls that don't have any tabs. You should end up with a sturdy box and lid, as shown in the sixth photo. After gluing them, paint the box and lid.

You can also add some extra logos as well!

To get the tongue logo, I printed two Air Jordan logos from the internet, cut them out to match the shape of the tongue, and then glued them on. I also printed a mini Air Jordan shoe box tag and glued it to my shoe box.

If you don't have a printer, you can easily draw these logos, cut them out, paint them, and glue them to your shoes.

Once you've added your logos, you're done with your project. I hope it turned out the way you envisioned, and I hope you enjoyed reading this Instructable!