ChelseaC

I'd love any resources on making shoes, hand lasting, making soles, all of it. Books? Videos? Online classes? I'm a wife, and a mom of two and I can't go to a school specifically for shoe making so I'd like to attempt to teach myself. Is this a crazy goal? Any help is appreciated Right now I make soft soled children's shoes, so I know a tiny bit about shoe making but not much, and not much about making "real" shoes with a last / shoe form.

Thanks so much for all of the replies! I think what I am looking for is: Full grain, vegetable tanned(?)- whatever tanning process is more "natural" / eco friendly I guess, vegetable dyed(or dyed with food grade dyes.... Is that a thing??), cow hide leather, that is supple enough to use for soft soled baby shoes, and is about 3-4.5 ounces. Is that a better description? Basically I'm looking for a richly colored and thick leather that has not had potentially harmful (for babies) chemicals soaked into it. Will that description narrow down what I'm looking for? I really am only just skimming the surface so far with leather and I don't know a whole lot yet! I'm always wanting to learn more! Thanks again!

Would love to know what children's sizes you have

Thank you!!

Thank you so much!!

Thanks so much johnv474! I will check out those tanneries

Will do. my understanding is that vegetable tanned leather is free of (or has lower quantities of) heavy metals, and aniline dyes are "healthier" for the environment? Is that the gist of it? Or does that not exist?

Yes, veg tanned and I believe alinine dyed? (I think that's the term?

Where can I find children's shoe lasts that aren't going to cost me an arm and a leg? They would make my pattern making so much easier!! Thanks so much!

Thank you all for your replies!

Looking for chrome free leather suppliers that have cow hides, between 2.5-5oz, and ship to the U.S. I've found pergamena already and have samples coming but would love a few other options to look into! Thanks!

Looking for 1/8" rubber soling or maybe veg tanned leather to add to the soles of sandals. Where can I look for these? What would be the best way to cut them out and make the edges smooth with easy to find tools?

Thanks so much! I am very new to leather work in general, so I don't know much about each tool yet. I will check out the tutorial!

Hi! I am pretty new to sewing and leather working and I want to play around with making leather sandals. I currently make soft soled baby shoes. I have a list of tools that I think I will need to make sandals, but I want other input from people who are way more experienced than me! I would like to make them with a Veg Tanned Leather out sole, Leather insole, and leather straps. My list: Veg Tanned Leather, about 8 oz weight Leather, about 3-5 oz weight glue and brush.....not sure what kind rubber mallet oblong punch to make a slit to feed the sandal straps through the sole - to be glued (or sewed?) between the two layers of leather snaps/buttons/buckles sharp knife/scissors sanding tool? or polishing tool? for sanding down the cut edges of the sandals Please let me know if you would add or change anything to this list! Thanks!

Does anyone know about the 29-4?? What info can you give me? would that be something worth looking into, something I can use? Oops. Singer 29-4

I am in Southern California

or there is the sail rite ultrafeed basic walking foot machine that is $600 way more on budget, but I wonder about function.

or this one?

This is a Juki DD 5550, could something like this work for what I need?

this is an example of what I need to sew through and of course its a little different with each hide

Thank you Art! I guess really I should stick to 2-3 ounce leather if that makes a difference. I can only spend $1000 right now and I don't mind used or old, as long as its functional and can sew pretty smoothly/without getting jammed. any suggestions would be so great, so I can do some research. Thanks so much Jazzman! I'm really enjoying making them and hopefully can find a machine in my budget

I'd love help finding a Sewing machine that can sew through 2-5 layers of 2-4 ounce leather....Cow Hide, Goat, and deerskin is what I normally use. I have a Brother cs6000i right now and it does fairly well with thinner leather. I am making baby shoes/moccasins and have up to $1000 to spend, but $700 would be better I read through the amazingly informative sewing machine post, but I am still lost in the sea of machines!!