Aven

I use round jawed jewelry pliers when I had sew. Because of injuries I don't have the hand strength I should so I have found that the spring loaded pliers make all the difference for me. Flat jawed needle nose pliers will work, but you need to careful using them. You have to grab the needle along the length, not across. And if you use regular needle nose pliers, you can damage the needle surface. The round jaw pliers aren't expensive and having them spring loaded cuts down on hand movements. Until the VA sorts out what's wrong with my shoulder, I am using a 1 ton arbor press instead of a maul to punch holes or use a stitching iron. I would have liked to be able to have a 3 ton for the space between the back and the ram, but its too large for my shop and its too heavy for me to move by myself right now. I have two magnetic based LED sewing lights on each side to make it easier to see what I'm doing. They make all the difference in the world in eliminating shadows so I can see.

I'd suggest that you pick up a book or a video on making sheaths. The book/video will walk you through how to use the knife you have to create a pattern and then make the sheath. You will get a lot more out of the book\video that just having the pattern. Youtube is a wealth of information on making sheaths. You could start there instead of going the book/video route. I've found that books/videos tend to have more bits of information that make the difference in a workable sheath and a really good one. But whichever route you go, there's plenty of information out there that will help you make a sheath for the knife you have instead of having to get a knife that fits the pattern you bought.

I've toyed with the idea of making a partial last out of pine or poplar. It would be long enough to come back to the shoe opening so the whole thing can be clamped to the bench. Or it could be two pieces so that it stretches the leather out into shape. I would shape just the toe area to get the volume and shape. I haven't gotten around to doing it, but I think it would work for gluing a toe puff in. When I draw out a sole pattern I start with an outline of the feet. I use a pen held vertical all the way around the foot. At the arch, I go from vertical to about 45° to tuck up under the foot into the arch space and then back to vertical as I come out of the arch space. Then I check to see if the feet are the same size, if one is longer or wider than the other. Lets say one foot is longer by 1/8", I would use that one for my pattern. If they are more than 1/4" different, then you need two patterns. So you have the outline in hand that you are going to use. Take a different color pen (so you can see your new marks) and start smoothing things out. I'm going to use the right foot as an example. Starting at the longest toe, make a mark about 3/8" up then keeping that distance draw a line that would go toe tip to toe tip, but it's 3/8" away from the toes. Here you can fudge about to create a pleasing shape. Go around the foot so you come down the side of the little toe. Don't follow the little toe, but bring a line up from the ball of the foot from about an 1/8" outside of the bone at the ball of the foot and blend the two lines. This is why the tracing should be made by someone else as you put all your weight on your feet. You need them to spread out to get a real outline of your feet. Then from the ball of the foot you can smooth back to the outline of the foot and follow it around the heel and up to the arch. Stop where the two lines for the arch split. At the widest part of two lines, draw a line from the inner to the outer. Make a mark in the middle of this line. Now back to your sole outline. Bring the line up and through the mark you just made creating an average of your arch. Then doing what you did on the other side of the ball of the foot, aim for a point that's about an 1/8" off from the bone then continue up to that toe line you started with. Don't cut through your toes, that will force them together and lead to bunions. Now if you are going to do outstitched (stitched down) shoes you take the inner sole pattern you just created and draw a new with the stitching margin around it. I hope this makes sense. If not, check out the video that Jason Horvatter did for sandals. Keep in mind that he doesn't include much toe room because they are sandals and the toes have all the headroom they could want. I'm happy to help. If you want a loafer/moccasin pattern, I would suggest using DieselPunkRO's pattern. It's a great pattern for a moccasin. You can modify the sides and the toe piece to give you the loafer look you are after. I've made two pairs with it so far. Watch his video. Be very mindful of lining up the holes. Its easy to grab the wrong one, especially if you are using thread the color of your leather. I made a mistake just as I came around the bend of sole and didn't catch it until the bend on the other side. That was a bit disheartening but I haven't made that mistake again. Lots of ways to make stuff to cover your feet. Have fun learning.

Cool beans! You got it put together. There is lots to be proud of there. Yeah there are a few bits to tweak, but still there is a lot more to be proud of than not. How thick was the heel counter and the toe puff? That thickness is probably where you "lost" length. 1 oz calf skin is what I use in the inside. If you were putting a heel counter/toe puff on the outside, thickness isn't a critical factor. You do need to skive the bottom to make it easier to turn. In my opinion, which isn't worth much, toe puffs are best used with lasts. The last gives a shape for the puff and outer to dry against, forming the toe space. And if you want to use them with unlasted shoes, they are best put on the outside as a toe cap. Again, only an opinion. You might want to check the pattern you are using against your longest foot. When you stand on the pattern, there should be about 3/8" between the end of your toes and the pattern line. Sizes aren't universal. One size 10 could be someone else's 10.5 or 9.5. Its not as bad as women's clothing where there can be inches different between makers for the same size, but you get the concept. A number is just a number, check the fit. Because of my issues with my hands, I tend to lean towards doing less stitching. You could get away decreasing your stitch per inch by half. If you are using a diamond chisel at 3.38, try a 6 on scrap and see how it looks to you.

Looking forward to the pictures of them on your feet.

LOL, doesn't it always take longer than we expect? Its looking good so far. As for them being short, if they are just "tight", pretend you are in Basic. Get them wet and walk them dry. Just be mindful of your toes. They can stretch the leather out, but if your nails are long they can the process can mess with your toes. You are getting there!

Shoes are so deceptive, 1/4" change is huge. Darts like the one you have in your picture work well enough to bring in the top line or to tuck the leather up around the heel. Contrasting thread color will make them a cool accent. If you find that they aren't quite what you need, I would suggest you go back to the Velle pattern and look at the curved heel. Use that pattern Try it out on some scrap. No need to cut the whole side out, just the curve. Cut it out on pieces that are at least two inches wide and sew it up. Put that up against your heel and see how it fits. If the middle bit poofs away from your heel, make the curve a little bit flatter. If the top/ bottom gap, make the curve a tiny bit tighter. Putz around with scrap until you get the fit that works for your feet. Don't forget to keep a copy of the curve so you can use it for all the other shoes you are going to make. (Insert big cheesy grin) . Thin box cardboard works okay. Check out Kamsnaps. They have a grommet setters and the dies that might sort things out for you. Its a tad bit spendy, but worth it in the long run if all the eyelets you set are set perfectly. And remember its important that there is

Since linen is a natural product, it will dry out and/or rot. Shoemakers (cordwainers) would use hand wax (coad) on the threads. They had two different types, hard for summer (hard enough not to be a mess in the heat) and soft (so it would work into the threads) for winter. There are few threads on coad. Sorrell Notions was the one place I knew of to find it, but it looks like Lisa isn't carrying it any longer. You'll might have to make your own. JCUK is spot on about using the correct size hole with the correct size thread. You want a hole that will get plugged if you will with the wax on the thread. While sewing with the thread, once and done won't work. With each pull through a hole, the wax is scrapped off a bit, so you will need to rewax the thread as you sew. If your hole/thread size is correct, back stitching will hold it. And if you waxed your thread enough, no glue will work. It can't get to the thread because its coated with wax.

Rabbit holes are just so tempting. You never know what bit of arcane knowledge you might find. Yeah you might never actually be able to put it to use, but you know it. I'm a magpie in that sense, I love collecting knowledge. Thanks for the link I will check it out.

Boar bristles, linen thread, hand wax (coad) definitely old school. Enjoy the rabbit hole lol!

Steel bristles might be easier to start with. And you can buy a single guitar string size in bulk. Or you can hit up your musician friends for the E string when they change their strings. The boar bristle has to be split just right down to a certain point. The thread is laid in the split and then the hard part begins, doing the magical incantations and hand movements to get the tread and the bristle to be come one. I still can't find the video on threading onto the boar bristle.

Here are a couple of videos to add onto the loafer one. Steel Bristles Lisa Sorrell's Its a Boot Life Start at 4:30. Its a Boot Life Hand Stitching Start at 6:00

They are still used, but not like they once were. Now monofilament or split steel is the use for the needles. I had a bookmark of someone going through the whole process of waxing the individual linen threads together, tapering the bundle, which is what you have there, and then winding a bundle onto a needle, but I can't find it. If you go to about 29:45 you can see him using the inseaming awl and then the needles with the thread attached. Looks like monofilament to me. At 29:50 he using the awl again and you can see the tail of the thread on the right side of the screen. That's the "needle". Because the needle is the same thickness as the thread, it doesn't require a large hole to get the works through. Loafers Made by a traditional method

They look like what shoemakers used to attach the uppers to the sole. They didn't use needles. The end is tapered so a boar's bristle could be wound on to it and used as the needle.

It looks like it is linen. Is it in about 6 foot lengths?