Simple Chukka

[Aven]

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. 

 

 

 

[Mablung]

6 hours ago, Aven said:

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. 

 

 

 

I skived the toe counter from a thicker piece, down to I think 2 oz or so. Part of the problem is that I cut it from a fairly firm 6/7 oz shoulder, so I made a boo-boo with the choice of leather. I’ve got a 2/3 shoulder that would likely work better because it’s a softer temper and pre-split. Calfskin would be preferable, though, and I can get it at my local Tandy. I wondered to myself if the counter would work better with a last, and I think you’re right that that’s where I lost my length. Thanks for the tip on the pattern sizing—I think that’s about the margin I had allowed, but I don’t recall off the top of my head. I think for the next pair, I’ll do a full mockup with craft foam to make sure my adjustments all work together properly. Otherwise, I’ll screw around with too many variables and not put them together properly. 
 

Thanks for the pointers! This is really helpful. I kinda want a pair of loafers as well, so I’ll do some moccasin-type shoes soon as well. That and I plan to use some old slippers to make a new lined pair because the soles have fallen apart. I’ll post those, too. I never thought I’d get into making even simple shoes, when I started doing leatherwork. 

[NatesLeatherGds]

On 4/26/2024 at 11:56 PM, Mablung said:

Here’s a pic of one completed shoe.

Nice!

[Aven]

20 hours ago, Mablung said:

 I wondered to myself if the counter would work better with a last, and I think you’re right that that’s where I lost my length.

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.

 

20 hours ago, Mablung said:

 Thanks for the tip on the pattern sizing—I think that’s about the margin I had allowed, but I don’t recall off the top of my head. I think for the next pair, I’ll do a full mockup with craft foam to make sure my adjustments all work together properly. Otherwise, I’ll screw around with too many variables and not put them together properly.

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.

20 hours ago, Mablung said:

Thanks for the pointers! This is really helpful. I kinda want a pair of loafers as well, so I’ll do some moccasin-type shoes soon as well. That and I plan to use some old slippers to make a new lined pair because the soles have fallen apart. I’ll post those, too. I never thought I’d get into making even simple shoes, when I started doing leatherwork. 

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.

[Mablung]

Fixed my length problem (most of it, anyway), by cutting the toe stitching and pulling out the toe “puff”—Tanner’s Bond Cement didn’t hold as tightly as I thought it would. Anyway, these little boots are now significantly more comfortable. 

[Mablung]

Finally got a new pair of these things done.  Made the heels pretty ugly in trying to combine a dart and curve to the heel piece pattern, but they'll be serviceable for a while.  Used a Crazy Horse pullup cowhide for these and needed to add just a smidge of length for the right foot, but I think it'll stretch adequately to work.  I'll probably make another pair out of some great bison I got recently to see if they stretch to fit more readily in that stuff, after I adjust the heel a bit more.

[Aven]

Bison works nicely for footwear.

If you didn't put a toe puff in these, get them wet, wear socks and wear the dry.  They should stretch a bit for you.

[Mablung]

53 minutes ago, Aven said:

Bison works nicely for footwear.

If you didn't put a toe puff in these, get them wet, wear socks and wear the dry.  They should stretch a bit for you.

No toe puff.  I almost soaked them this morning but didn't want wet feet at work and thought I'd see how they did just stretching under foot heat and wear.  Doing better than I expected.  They'll probably get a wetting and wear tonight, though, at least the right one.  The left feels perfect.

[Aven]

Don't mess with perfection.

You can try wearing a thicker sock on the right while you are at home and see if that gives you enough of a stretch.