Phil2011

Thank you for information! Do you know some webstores where I could buy ichigi ?

Hello Scraft, and welcome! Your leather products look great, and quite unusual! I Wonder if you would tell me if you know about male and female dance boots called "itchighi". Are they from your area?..

Bonjour Jean-Luc! Il n'y a pas beaucoup de Français, par ici! En ce qui me concerne, j'ai suivi une formation chez un artisan sellier-bourrelier en 1997. C'était dans le cadre d'une reconversion professionnelle. Malheureusement, je n'ai pas pu m'installer à mon compte et j'ai dû laisser tomber. Mais le travail du cuir est resté un hobby: après avoir travaillé pour des amis qui avaient des chevaux, je me suis réorienté vers la fabrication de mocassins et de bottes de divers styles. Tu pourras en voir une partie dans "Other specialties", rubrique "Shoes, boots, sandals and moccasins". A très bientôt j'espère! Cordialement, Philippe

Thank you very much! Unfortunately I don't have pics of these mocs as they're worn. However, on some occasions I saw the woman wearing them: at the supermarket, at the post office, and on street. It was great to see this! But at this time i didn't own a numeric camera...

Hi, there! I just found these pictures of a pair of moccasins I made several years ago: The upper part is made from an woman coat from the 70's! It's a thin and very soft lambskin! As this leather is very thin, very soft and a bit stretch I've added a thin cotton cloth lining. The soles are made of thick (0.25", or 5mm) but very supple chrome tanned leather (smooth side outside). I added a removable padded insole. I made these mocs for a woman who wanted softsoled mocs she could wear for driving, on street, and at work. The size is 6.5US wmn (37EUR).

Thank you, Jordan! Such mocs made of deerskin will be great! Will you make beadwork, too? Please post some pics of these mocs when they'll be made!

Thank you, Yohoho! It was not a very difficult work, and these Adidas were amazingly comfy as slippers!..

Hello! Thank you for comment! If you're interested, I'll send you a MP to give you the e-mail of the maker.

Hi, there! I use to make moccasins in women common sizes. But my wife's feet are tiny: they're 8.5" long only (21,5cm) !.. I don't own any pattern in such a small size and I can't find on web. But I'm still searching! That's why, for now, I found a woman on etsy.com who makes "elf boots" like this: I asked her if she could make small boots like these ones with the measures I could send her. She said it was OK, so I chosen the color: red! Yesterday, I got the boots: The leather is thick but extremely soft at the same time! There is no lining, and there is a padded insole. These boots are very well made! I don't have pics of my wife wearing them, at this time, but I wish I'll can post soon! ;-)

Thank you r lenna! I've stitched with two needles and linen thread. Beadwork on the foot is made on a thin turquoise leather. Beadwork around the ankle is made on a loom then glued and stitched on leather. At least, beadwork on front part of the moccasins is lazy-squaw stitching.

Hi, Glendon! Thanks a lot for the link! I'm going to contact the seller!.. About the second part of your message, I just can't find kids patterns! The smallest size I ever found is 6US wmn!.. Someone told me that I could reduce such a pattern to get the right size. Unfortunately it doesn't work: the proportion between length and width of foot are not the same one on short feet than on large feet... That's why I'm looking for children patterns...

Hello, there! I make moccasins for years, but always in women or men sizes. I married last month, and my wife has tiny feet: they're 8.5" long only (21,5cm)! I would like to make various styles of soft soled footwear for her (moccasins, boots, slippers, ghillies...) but I can't find any pattern in the right size . I Wonder if anyone could help me! Thanks a lot in advance !!!

Hi, there! My wife has tiny feet: they're 8.5" long only (21,5cm). I make moccasins for years, but always in men or women sizes. So, I don't have any pattern to make anything for her! I would like to make for her various styles of soft soled footwear as moccasins, boots, slippers, ghillies, etc... Thanks a lot in advance to anyone who could help me!

Hi, there! My wife's feet are tiny, they are 8.5" long only (21,5cm) and I would like to make various styles of soft soled footwear for her: moccasins, slippers, ghillies, etc... I use to make moccasins, but till I meet my wife I used to make them in adult sizes (both woman and man). I've searched a lot, but no pattern I find is smaller than size 5 or 6US wmn !.. I Wonder if someone could tell me where I could find patterns in the right size. Thanks a lot in advance!

Hi! There is only one leathercraft tools manufacture in France: Vergez-Blanchard. Here is the website: http://www.vergez-blanchard.fr/boutique/liste_rayons.cfm . But this company only sells to pro. So, the best way to get tools from there is to order by a craftsman, as a shoe repairer for example. Are you french? I am. So, if you're french too, it'll be easier to write in french!..

Hi, there! Last year, I got a pair of knee high boots from a famous auction site. It was a chinese copy of Minnetonka front lace boot. The size is 5US wmn (35EUR). Here are two main differences: on the chinese pair, the suede is much softer and pliable than Minnetonka's. On the chinese pair, the rubber sole is thinner, and it's stitched and glued, as you can see on this picture: I've decided to remove the rubber soles and to replace them with full grain leather soles (quite thick but extremely soft and supple). Here is the result: I didn't remove the foam padded insole. The combination of this insole and soft leather sole makes these boots extremely comfortable!

Thank you! Replacing the soles with suede ones was not a very difficult work: the most important step is to remove the rubber soles without causing any damage on the shoes themselves. But I recently discovered that it can be done quite easily on this kind of trainers by washing them in hot water!.. This helps a lot to remove the rubber soles easily!

Thank you Renee!

Thank you very much!

Thank you for your comment, Bluesman! Yes, they were extremely soft and comfy! I lost them in a moving to a new town, but till then I used to wear them at home almost daily for a few years. They were the comfiest home footwear I ever had!..

Hi, there! One day, I bought a pair of vintage ADIDAS trainers on a famous auction site. I enjoy the design of trainers from the 80's, and I was glad to get a pair in brand new condition at my size! When I got them, they smelled damp and musty. So, I decided to put them in the washing machine, at mild temperature. Unfortunately washing caused the detachment of soles!.. As I didn't have a suitable glue to reattach soles, I decided to save my Adidas by transforming them into slippers for home! So I replaced the original soles with suede soles! Here are some pictures: The suede is thin and very soft. These new soles are glued and hand stitched with linen thread. I added a new removable padded insole.

Hi! I already posted pics! You can see a part of my work on these links: http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=48180 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=48139 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=48142 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=48117 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=36748 http://leatherworker.net/forum/index.php?showtopic=36096 I've made more footwear, but I don't remember where the pics are!.. I'll post them as I'll get them back! ;-)

Hi, Blazin! Yes,they are! Thanks to this wonderful leather, full grain, quite thick but as soft as deerskin!..

Hi Kgirl! I agree with you about buying shoes to dismantle them! Better find cheap ones, of course!.. On the other hand, once you got patterns from a dismantled pair you can make several new pairs, even including some variants in construction or détails which finally look way far from the original shoe! For example, I made these soft soled boots: ...from a pair of traditional french slippers called "charentaises" like these ones: I Wonder if you could post some pics of your kung-fu shoes as you wear them, because I have to say that it's a bit difficult for me to make images in my mind, even if your description is very complete. If I see pictures, maybe I'll have a better idea than shoe lace...

I like your 4th picture a lot: the design of your shoe looks really great!!! Very good work, indeed!