Finally, I got around to making myself some sneakers, I love how they turned out. I used a sneaker-making kit, veg-tan fish leather and cowhide leather for the lining. It took me a weekend to complete them. All in all, a really fun project, I will definitely make more in the coming months.
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Make your own clogs at home using recycled wooden soles! A fast and easy way to make beautiful and unique sandals.
Read MoreMy new PDF shoemaking Book Handcraft Your Own Shoes And Boots – A Step-By-Step Guide To Making Artisan All Leather Shoes and Boots At Home is available now!
With this book, you will acquire the skills to make beautiful, eco-friendly, comfortable and long-lasting Derby shoes and boots in any size you wish.
Step-by-step instructions show how to create a shoe/boot, including pattern making, stitching techniques, toe and heel enforcements, how to attach soles using a water-based non-toxic adhesive, edge finishing soles and the lasting process.
Furthermore, there is advice on leather selection, lasts and how to modify them if necessary, soles, heels and leather dyes.
The projects include making a Derby shoe, an ankle boot, a high-rise boot and a boot with a bellows tongue.
The book is suitable for beginners. All the work can be done by hand, no machines are needed.
It has 278 pages and more than 400 photographs. You can open and read it with Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software you can download).
Here are some reviews readers of this book have posted on the Shoemaking Fun Facebook page:
Another reader wrote to me:
“Hey Neda, I bought your book in December and started to make my own shoes. I have to say I love it and never thought my first try would turn out that well. It’s perfect for beginners. Even though English is not my mother tongue, it was easy to understand. Every step is well explained, and the beautiful photos help implement the steps. Thank you so much for writing this book, I recommend it to anybody who wants to start making shoes.”
And here is a photo of the boots she has made (posted on her Instagram account @knubbelgnomcreations)
Make the most comfortable shoes and boots you will ever wear while learning a skill to serve you a lifetime!
This book is now also available as a printed book on Amazon. Click here if you are in the USA and here if you are in the UK (affiliate links). Please consider the environmental impact of physical books versus an e-book. I know not everyone is comfortable with e-books, if that is your case by all means get the printed version!
£22.90
Your payment goes through the secure server of Send Owl, an eCommerce platform specializing in delivering digital products. You will receive the download link instantly after payment.
If you have any questions regarding this shoemaking e-book, contact me here.
This post contains affiliate links.
Here is a sneak peek into my upcoming shoe and boot-making e-book. The focus is handcrafting artisan Derby shoes and boots at home with just a few tools and no machines.
I’m so excited to finally come a bit closer to finishing it. I started working on the book over a year ago, it’s slow-going, but it will get done sooner rather than later, I hope.
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I haven’t worn sneakers for a very long time. I do like them but I stopped buying shoes once I learned how to make my own. Sneakers, I thought, aren’t the kind of shoes I could make at home.
I know they now sell sneaker making kits but I’d prefer a plastic-free version. So I’m glad I finally figured out how to make all-natural sneakers out of things I have in my craft room.
I used raffia for the soles and denim scraps from my ever-growing fabric stash for the uppers (it hasn’t shrunk much after completing this project, sigh), pigskin lining and leather soles.
Out came these sneaker style espadrilles. I’m so happy how they turned out, they are super comfy and so soft to walk on. So here is how I made them.
Every spring I make my children new sandals, so this year I decided to make sandals with a punched design. Before I start making them, I look for inspiration on the Internet.
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It’s that time of year again when I get out my leather stuff and start making sandals (while still wrapped in wool). These are my son’s new sandals. In this post, I share my process of making a sandal pattern using lasts.
I needed some sandals for cooler summer days, I try to avoid putting on shoes until I absolutely must because of my toes turning blue… So these cover most of my feet but still let in some air.
These knotted strap sandals I made for my teenage daughter. Every time I make her a pair of sandals she gets out fabric scraps and cardboard and builds her own sandals that she wears proudly around the house.
I’ve wanted to try weaving with leather strips for some time and finally decided to make my son’s new sandals this way. Most of the leather for the sandal tops is from my leather scrap box, so I used up some oddly shaped pieces that I couldn’t make anything with anymore.