How a Sewer Makes Shoes

Well, I did it! I made my first pair of shoes. Are they perfect? No! But do they kinda look like shoes? Hell yes! I have a lot to learn, but for my first pair I just went with my basic sewist instinct. How would a sewer make shoes? For me it was a logical place to start, and I learned a lot along the way.

Admittedly, sewing is very different from making shoes. There's different skills, different materials, and a lot more glueing. A lot. But, sewing does give you certain advantages in learning the craft. I know how to make a curved seam lie flat, I have oodles of fabric for muslins, and I own a sewing machine or three. So this post is all about how I made my first pair. How a sewer would. It's not necessarily the traditional way, although it does incorporate things I've learned from shoe makers online. Rather, it's how I used my sewing materials at home to craft my first pair of shoes. They're far from perfect, but I'm very excited about my first attempt.

Here's what I recorded along the way:

Pattern

If you've ever traced or drafted anything yourself, drafting shoes is no different. I traced my own using my deconstructed shoe (full post here) and several muslins. However, if you'd like a boost there are several patterns available online. Shoeology and uku2 sell beginner patterns on Etsy with lots of instructions and hand-holding. I also like their modern shoe designs, which aren't too cutesy and aren't slippers. I have noticed though that non-garment patterns don't always follow the same conventions that we are used to. I've found dog clothes patterns and shoe patterns sometimes have odd seam allowances and less attention to sewing details, so watch out.

Here are the components of my pattern, traced from a deconstructed shoe:

• lining - traced from my deconstructed shoe and refined through test muslins
• outer - same as lining but cut with a 1/2" larger seam allowance around outer edge
• interfacing - same as lining
• toe puff - just toe portion of lining
• heel padding - just heel portion of lining
• padded insole - traced from my deconstructed shoe and refined through test muslins
• insole lining (optional) - same as insole
• sole - same as insole but no seam allowances
• heel - just heel portion of sole

Supplies:

Fabrics: Most home-sewers will be comfortable with the fabric components of the shoes. I needed an outer fabric (canvas, leather, etc.) and lining fabric (broadcloth, felt, etc.)

Interfacing: Again this is something most home-sewers will have on hand. I used a moderate fusible interfacing for the body of the shoe, although I may experiment with heavier options on later shoes. For the toe and heel puffs, I used Pellon fusible thermo plus, which gives some nice fluffy padding and shape to the shoe and heel.

Insole: My deconstructed shoe had a padded insole. There are insoling options available on Etsy, but for my first version I just used bra cup foam I had on hand. Familiar, and no trip to the store needed. You can choose to either glue your fashion fabric to the top of the insole so it matches, or leave as is like I did.

Soling: You will most likely have to purchase soling. I used Sole Tech which I found on Etsy from Two of a Kind Supplies. They were a really good resource for shoe-making supplies and have many different thicknesses and options, from indoor non-slip to thick outdoor soling. Next time I will try something thicker, maybe 1/4" thick rather than 1/16.

Glue: This also required a purchase, although some of you may have some in your garage. I bought Weldwood Contact Cement. Other contact cements like Barge, Klebfest (UK), or even the non-toxic Aquilum should also work for attaching the shoe to the rubber sole. You put the glue on both surfaces, wait for them to become tacky, and press together. Less glue is preferable, as it doesn't take as long to dry.

I also had some Speed Sewn fabric glue on hand, which is useful for attaching lining to the insole, etc.

Lasts: Do you need lasts? If you're going to really get into it, I believe you do need shoe lasts. However, the sewing patterns listed above can help you make shoes without lasts. I used a shoe tree we had in the closet, which was free for me and was fine for my first pair.



Resources:

Free Resources-
DIY Shoes: Great step-by-step from materials to final shoe.
Illustrated Step-by-Step Instructions
Natasha Estrada's shoes
Parts of a Shoe
My Shoemaking Pinterest Board

Professional Help-
I Can Make Shoes
Shoemaking Course Online
Mary Wales Loomis

Amazing Sewers Who Make Shoes-
Handmade by Carolyn
Scared Stitchless
A Handmade Wardrobe



My Steps:

If you want to make shoes like a pro, I recommend you consult some of the professional resources above. However, to make shoes like a sewer, here's what I did:

1.Cut pattern pieces.
At this point, if I were planning on covering my padded insole with a lining fabric, I would have also glued the insole lining on top of the insole and set aside to dry.

2. Apply interfacing to the wrong side of the shoe outer. Fuse or glue toe puff and heel stiffener in place on top of interfacing. All these layers felt thick, but in the end they could have been even stiffer.

3. If desired, sew additional felt stiffener on top of the lining.

4. If your pattern has them, sew the heel darts in outer and lining. Clip seam allowance of dart.

5. Sew lining to outer along top edge. My pattern was drafted with 3/8 seam allowance for everything. Trim and notch seams carefully - pinking shears work great for this step. Turn to right side.

6. Open up lining and outer and sew side seam together in one continuous seam (lining and outer). Notch seams. Optionally, understitch or topstitch around opening, depending on style and preference.

7. Sew lining to insole, right sides together (seam facing outside of shoe). Leave outer free.

8. Try shoe on for fit, even though only the lining is sewn in. Then trim seam allowance around insole to 1/8".

9. Sew gathering stitches at toe and heel, about 3/8" from edge.

10. Put last in shoe. Apply light coat of fabric glue between lining and outer and press together.

11. Pull gathering stitches to warp outer around bottom of insole. Glue outer to bottom of insole. I used pins through the fabric and insole in this step to hold everything in place while the glue dried.

12. Glue on the sole and heel to the insole, covering fabric. I think you are also supposed to sand the heel flush with the sole at this point.

Truth be told, my first pair went much better than expected. They fit, although they could be a bit more snug. All the components are there, and they feel a bit more shoe-like than regular slippers.

However, I know I have a ton to learn. At this point, they still don't feel like "real" shoes. I need to get a thicker soling and glue it better to the bottom of the shoe (in the photos you can see the soling isn't glued on tight). I also want to use a sturdier material. Yet at the same time, all the layers make these shoes really hot!

I also need to tweak the pattern a bit. The toe puff isn't positioned right - you can see some wrinkling where it ends in the wrong place. And the toe isn't quite on center, so that needs to be fixed. There is also some gaping that remains, but that might be fixed by using a stiffer material.

To start me off, are there any shoemakers out there with tips for next steps? Anything in the above that I could absolutely improve on that I haven't mentioned? I have plans to get the I Can Make Shoes Flat Pumps Ebook (which is surprisingly affordable), and go from there. 

Shoe Making Step 1: Deconstruction

Ever since I was a child I've hated shoe shopping. As a kid, I preferred to be barefoot and only tolerated the most comfortable of footwear. As an adult, I find that many of my favorite ballet flats rough up my heels and the ones that don't are hard to come by.

Yet for all the trouble, shoes don't seem that complicated. Don't get me wrong, there is a rich history of shoemakers and some very exquisite things on the market today. But some of my favorite shoes are simple, cheap flats without much structure or support. I wondered if I couldn't recreate a very elementary shoe to try out for myself. How amazing would it be to have properly fitting, non-chaffing shoes in whatever colors I wanted! So after years of talking about it, I have finally taken the plunge and decided to make my first pair.

I am starting this adventure by deconstructing an existing shoe. The victim is a pair of simple ballet flats that fit really well but were chewed up by the dog on one heel. I got out my scissors and seam ripper and decided to see what these shoes were all about. Here they are from the outside in:


Sole

1. Taking off the sole - The shoe had been glued to the sole and stitched. The stitching had worn out in places over time, but overall the shoe was still tightly secured to the sole.

2. Heel - The heel gave 3/8" height in the back and was sandwiched between the sole and the shoe, sanded down until it met flush at mid foot.

3. Heel padding - Under the heel was some additional cotton padding. Not much support, but interesting to note that even a little shoe like this has something.

4. Toe - The upper had been wrapped around the bottom and stitched to it, which is done best with a last. The stitches were gathered near the toe. At this point, the inside of the shoe was still completely intact.



Structure

5. Interfacing - Ripping the outer away from insole, you can tell that it is lined with an interfacing, possibly a two-sided fusible. This gives structure to the overall shoe.

6-7. The toe and heel have additional padding, which was fused between the outer and the lining. This gives the shoe the right shape and rigidity at those crucial spots.

8. There was also some additional interfacing along the inner side seam.



Details

9. More padding - There was some additional padding at the center back above the heel. The round pad was at the top of the heel, while a thin strip reinforced the back heel dart.

10. Dart - The back heel has a tiny dart for shaping. It is also pieced with a contrast color fabric.

11. The front has a notched seam allowance around the tongue so that everything lays flat. Notice also the black tape that gives some additional reinforcement at this crucial area.

12. Lining - The lining isn't turned under at all. Because it is leather and doesn't ravel, it is sewn directly to the outer. Actually, between the outer and the lining is some piping, which was bound around the outer before being sewn to the lining.



Inside



13. Insole - Once the outer is off, you can see how the lining is stitched to the insole, right sides together (seam facing the outside of the shoe). It is stitched with a very narrow seam allowance to keep everything flat.

14. Fabrics - Notice also how the lining is in two fabrics - a leather for the sides, front, and insole, and a suede for the heel. This eliminates the need for the inner side seam on the lining, which could be a nice detail for a shoe outer in the future.

15. Toe - At the toe, the insole almost wraps under towards the sole, perhaps giving the toe a nice round edge. The stitching here was very durable and I had to use a seam ripper instead of ripping the seam.

16. Insole Padding - I couldn't separate the foam padding from the lining, as it was glued together very well. Still, that extra bit of padding looks like a nice touch. In the photo, I cut into the insole slightly to see what was inside.


And here is the outer laid flat on the table over a purchased shoe pattern:




How does it compare to a purchased shoe pattern? Well, it's different. The toe is similar, but it's hard to compare the rest because the pattern has the seam at the back heel and the shoe had the seam at the inner side. Overall, however, the deconstructed shoe spreads out wider but the fabric itself is more narrow.

The whole process has been very enlightening in terms of construction and pattern. I now need to review my other research (saved here on Pinterest), and figure out how to procure the necessary materials. I also need to create a pattern from this shoe, as well as check out a purchased shoe pattern for comparison. I'll see which one I like best, take my favorite aspects from each, and sew up my first shoe. It's completely uncharted territory for me, but not impossible.

More coming soon!