Oh Palm Springs

This was a gem of a shoe, so so cheap in a thrift store in Palm Springs, LOVE the white leather.

Bag Lady

We make the shoe bags in the workshop. This is quite a task, but well worth it, as the design can change from batch to batch. It keeps things interesting, and being a massive fan of textiles, it gives me a great opportunity to play around with fabrics.

Prison stripes?

Moccasin Making Day Course, London.

I did a trial moccasin making course at Prescott & Mackay In central London a couple of weeks back which was so much fun! Hopefully it will be a regular gig and more of you can come along. Check their website www.prescottandmackay.co.uk for more info about upcoming courses.

 Everyone getting in to their making once we're on a roll with the procedures.

Felicity from Selvedge magazine made an incredible pair and decided to use a blanket stitch over the toes - I was so impressed. Everyone brought in their own fabric to use on the insoles which we stitched during the session, so each pair was unique to the maker. 

Everyone could also choose a length of trim that matched their chosen suede colour.

Mardi made a stunning blue pair with a Jubilee theme - totally off the cuff! A great day's work.

Force Lasting

 Now we force the last in to the made shoe, so that the shape of the shoe can finally be realised. 

 Hammering the stitches gently all the way around the toes creates the neat finish we're after, and also flattens the stitches to make them even. 

 

 Then it's time to knot the ends of the laces, and tie the bow - fini!

But then there's always the other shoe to do too....

Stitching the toes

Here we stitch a small lining to the tongue.

Then the aprons (tongues) are ready to be stitched to the upper.

This is a fun part! And very therapeutic too. I stitch with 2 needles, one at each end of the thread. The technique is then to pass the needles through the same hole, crossing each other, creating an internal knot as you go. This is called a saddle stitch. The main idea is to keep the tension the same throughout so you end up with lovely neat little stitches, all happily sitting alongside each other, and it also creates a strong seam. 

Stitching the trim

The sewing machine is a trooper - getting through 3 layers of suede and a very delicate ribbon is tricky. Somehow we manage!

The suede collar is skived down each edge first to remove the thickness before the ribbon is added, so this helps.

Stitching heels

Chiara is a whizz at stitching the heels now, having made so many moccasins and it's getting quicker and quicker... it's amazing how something quite time consuming to start with becomes so fast with repetition and practice.

Cutting and foil emboss

 Cutting the beautiful sheep leather I use for lining - I get this from Pittards in Somerset who have premium leathers available. The lining of a shoe can sometimes be more of a support for the foot than the upper, especially if the upper is made from fabric, or delicate in some way. This leather I use keeps the shape of the moccasin as you wear it, while also being breathable and soft next to your foot.

The sock labels in my Summer style of moccasin have a gold emboss logo - one of the most fun jobs ever once the you've got on a roll with the heat embossing machine.