Hawah

Sorry, Okiwen - I don't know the proper technique for getting shoe size measurements. Maybe someone else knows? I had an old sandal that I traced around for the sole, and for the straps I cut a long strip of leather and laid it along the old sandal straps to estimate the length needed, cutting a little longer just to be sure I didn't cut them too short. I used my own foot to make sure of the strap length needed when I was assembling the new sandal. As for why some people can charge $200 for a pair of sandals...I know other people out there are much faster than I am at leatherworking (using machinery for some of the stages would certainly help), but even half of the time I spent on these simple sandals would bring the cost up to around $100 even if I only "paid" myself minimum wage, despite using some of the least expensive leather available. Good leather + good wages = expensive sandals. More complicated sandals would cost more, sandals with good quality hardware would cost more, and sandals with quality cushioning and sole material would also cost more.

Thank you for the kind comments, everyone.

Beautiful, and inspiring! I like the celtic/studs combination. It feels to me like two different kinds of powerful wrapped into one package. Thank you for sharing.

Newbie here - new to the forums and new to working with leather. I just completed (nearly) my first pair of sandals. I'm still waiting on an order of sole material to stick to the bottoms to make them wear longer, but they're wearable for now. I've learned quite a bit while working on these, so I'm excited about starting on the next pair to see if I can improve the look and the speed of construction. Sarah aka Hawah