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.
I started by cutting strips out of the pieces I found in the box, then dyed them and wove them loosely together. There are thinner and wider strips, I wanted an irregular look.
Next, I sandwiched the edges between two leather straps to hold everything together and then constructed the sandals.
You don’t need shoe lasts to make sandals but I like using them when making sandals for my son, he just doesn’t like all the adjusting and standing still. I do try them on his feet before stitching though just to make sure.
Here you see the underside of the soles after stitching. The heel is an extra piece of thick leather, you could add more pieces of leather to build the heel higher still.
And this is another photo of the finished sandals.
I will experiment more with weaving leather, I really like the texture it creates. Also try to knit, crochet or macramé leather lacing, endless possibilities for play…
I used water-based leather stains from Identity Leather Craft, the colours I chose are brick red, ochre and cranberry.
Have a look at the knotted straps sandals I made for my daughter this summer, they are just as colourful and playful.
For how to make any sandals you can dream of see my eBook How to make unique leather sandals. It’s a practical guide describing all the basic techniques involved in sandal making with step-by-step projects and lots of photos.
