simpleshoemaking
Items
All Items
Reviews
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
-
![]()
leatherworks64 on Dec 30, 2022
5 out of 5 starsAs always with Sharon Raymond's books, clear instructions and simple patterns. I'm a big fan.
-
![]()
Sheila on Dec 23, 2022
5 out of 5 starsSaw these and couldn't resist getting them for our special baby shoes. These will be a great help. Fast shipping, and packaged well. Thank you!
-
![]()
Sheila on Dec 23, 2022
5 out of 5 starsPerfect for what we need them for. Great shape. Packaged well, and received in a timely manner. Thank you.
-
![]()
Laura on Dec 21, 2022
5 out of 5 starsVery inspiring information. One of the patterns had an error in the number of holes on the sole (they didn't match the number of holes on the upper) which I discovered when making a mock-up, but it's possible to correct this fairly easily. It might be helpful to count the number of holes before cutting out the pattern, just to double check.
-
![]()
woolsmith1 on Sep 10, 2022
5 out of 5 starsGreat product, as described, shipped fast, great transaction! Great, fun projects for me to do. Thanks!
-
![]()
woolsmith1 on Sep 10, 2022
5 out of 5 starsGreat product, as described, shipped fast, great transaction! Great, fun projects for me to do. Thanks!
-
![]()
About simpleshoemaking
Making your own shoes is Possible!
Twenty years ago I was living with husband and daughter in a commune in the UK, where hand-made shoes could be seen on the feet of gardeners, potters, etc. The possibility of being able to make one's own footwear boggled my mind! I met a saddle-repairer who wanted to try making shoes, so we gathered in her shop with a "How to Make Shoes" book and made ourselves each a pair. I was hooked.
Concerned about where I would find shoemaking materials in the U.S., upon arrival I looked in the telephone book for Salem, MA, where my in-laws lived, and there was Sole-Tech, a huge shoe-sole company! And leather was available in several shops in Boston (since closed), so I was set.
I continued to use Christine Lewis-Clark's shoemaking book as a guide, but I was more interested in making shoemaking patterns than making shoes over feet, as she recommended. Thus began the file drawers of patterns that I have now, that I am sharing in the shoemaking books that I have recently compiled.
But patterns aren't useful unless you have "lasts" to build footwear over, so I've made a video of how to make your own custom lasts, posted on my blog. I also sell resin lasts.
So, the basics for getting started with shoemaking are available here in this etsy shop. If this possibility boggles your mind too, please get in touch!
Shop members
-
Sharon Raymond
Owner
I've been making shoes for twenty years, and teaching others how to make them for twelve. I love to figure out how simple shoes were made back in time, or from indigenous cultures around the world.
Shop policies
All the footwear is made by the stitch-down method, in which the upper part of the shoe is turned out onto the sole; these components are then cemented and stitched together to complete the shoes. Lasts are needed in this process, which are molds of the inside of shoes (basically your foot, with adequate toe-room added, in a pleasing shape.) I have lasts available for sale, but there are directions in the books for making serviceable facsimiles if need be.
To see photos of shoes that have been made by using directions and patterns from these books, please see www.simpleshoemaking.wordpress.com.
Accepted payment methods