Making shoes - part 1
- P.M. Neist
- Apr 6, 2018
- 1 min read
As part of this week's exploration of women's shoes, I am making two pairs of handmade shoes.
Why? Because hardly anyone makes shoes. I thought it's be interesting to find out what goes into it.
Since this is an exploration and I like to use vintage pieces, I decided to start with a piece of reverse engineering: I got a pair of teal-colored suede platform sandals at the thrift store and spent Sunday afternoon taking them apart.
I eventually managed to separate the heels from the top part of the shoes.
Next, I taped the top of the shoe on white paper and traced an approximate pattern for my new top.
I taped the pattern back onto the heel and played with various combinations to see how they would fit together. Pros use shoe forms to shape the shoe.
I don't want to invest in a bunch of shoe forms that I might not reuse so I am gong to go for soft material and if needed, shape an approximate form to fit the end result.
For the top shoe, I selected an emerald corduroy and for the lining a wild-looking cotton print. The plan is to embroider the corduroy and quilt the shoe. I have no idea if this is going to work and I am a little nervous about doing a ton of work and wasting my time on something I will have to scrap but hey! the fun is in trying something new and challenging so here we go!