It’s a peak moment when I slip a last into a mock-up I have made of a new shoe style – and it fits! Now I know that my stitch holes are in the correct place on both the sole and the upper. For this mock-up I am using a gift bag material – it …

Since I prefer to wear “common folk” shoes, I love these shoes of mine. Just a little hand-stitching says a lot! These flats were made using patterns from my book on making stitch-downs – and stitch-ins – How to make simple ecological shoes for women.

http://gizmodo.com/how-leather-is-slowly-killing-the-people-and-places-tha-1572678618   I invite you to check out the above url for information on what the chrome-tanned leather industry has done to the Ganges River in India, and consequently, the people. In the U.S. and European countries,  chrome-tanned leather tanneries cannot dump their chemicals and dies into waterways, they must all be contained within the …

I focus as much on creating little kits using up my mountain of shoemaking scraps as I do making shoes these days. I thought some of you might like to make this wallet as a holiday gift. I got the pattern from https://theleatherguy.org/blogs/how-to/a-simple-leather-wallet-free-template. I love that it has a big space for embellishing the wallet …

This shoe pattern has been available under the “Resources” category for a while, and I thought it would be a good idea to give it some exposure as a blog post. Please send a photo if you make a pair! I saw this “sandoe” or whatever compound word you can think of (Ruth Emily Davey …

When my niece had her first child, I made a pair of “first footsteps” toddler shoes with a boat appliqued on them. When her second child was born, she wanted to continue with the nautical theme and asked for a pair of shoes with crabs on them. Well, that took some trial and error, some …

This pair of sneakers demonstrates why I love making leather shoes – from  earth-friendly sources, of course (thrifted leather items, scraps from upholstery shops for example) – I have worn these sneakers through twenty years of zumba classes at the local fitness club, and about an equal amount of hikes on hilly country roads. Yes, …

Imagine my shock when I checked my email a few days ago and saw this photo – with the caption “I made 15 pairs of shoes in 30 days!” Inspecting the photo, I see center-seam stitch-downs, side-seam moccasins, slip-on mules, ghillies, ballet flats, and many from “How to Make Ecological Moccashoes for All Sizes of …

Hopefully you can see a last under this sole. When making stitch-down shoes over lasts, the sole needs to be 1/4″ bigger all around than the sole of the last so the upper can be cemented, then turned out onto that 1/4″ that is visible all around the sole of the last.  Then, the sole …

These sandals from fungus workshop are particularly appealing to me–the way the straps are made is hard to figure out, they’re magical. Fortunately I have a pattern for them from Tim Skyrme’s Simple Sandalmaking book here: I love the stitching that anchors each strap, and the name of the maker that is embossed on the …