wxp Report post Posted June 1, 2012 Hello Everyone, Well, for better or worse, I am off to a new adventure, I hope. I want to start making sandals & flip flops. Probably crazy idea but construction is way down & everyone wears shoes. So my hope is that this forum will help me get started. I have no idea what to do yet other than the desire to learn. I have been doing lots of research but have not been able to button anything in particular down. Sounds ironic doesn't it? My biggest question would be about sewing machines & the stitch they create. For the novice who needs a good machine to be able to serve him into the next phase of sandal making, from learning to sew to actually putting together a sandal ( i have sewed before, but nothing to speak of) what would be the best machine to buy on a limited budget & what exactly is a "lock stitch" other than what the word implies, that it locks the stitch. Is it a stitch necessary for making sandals/footwear. I have not yet purveyed the source forum but plan to soon. I have determined that the Adler 205-370 would probably be a good machine to have for this purpose but most likely out of my budget @ 3500$ plus, what would be the next best , comparable machine? Any other advice & information would be helpful I'm sure & a list of absolutely necessary tools & those I really do not need could be a piece of the appreciated advice. To continue, I like the idea of using car tires for the bottom sole, will this be possible to use, the inside of the tire is not absolutely smooth. When sewing the upper sole, leather foot bed piece, what does it exactly get sewed to? all the way through the mid sole & the bottom sole? FYI I am going to take a class week after next, but a bit of a head start would be nice. Thanks In advance for any help. At least some may get a good laugh out of this. In case you are wondering, I do live in a coastal town so there will be a market for my product. I just have to get busy making them & am excited to get started. I have always appreciated leather working & the custom made sandals I have seen. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andrew Chee Report post Posted June 1, 2012 Just a thought. You don't really need to stitch the sandals. There is a style of sandal that you can make that is nailed instead of sewn. See my attached picture for an example of one that I made. This guy also makes this style of sandal. Rilleau Leather That said, if you still want to stitch the sandals than you can take a look at a Juki 441 clone. Either the Artisan Toro 3000, Cobra Class 3, or a Cowboy 3500. They are all basically the same machine. Shorter arms which are fine since you're sewing sandals. I got mine used for about $1600 so it's definitely cheaper than an Adler (which is a great machine though). Good luck. Andrew Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sylvia Report post Posted June 2, 2012 In case you are wondering, I do live in a coastal town so there will be a market for my product. I just have to get busy making them & am excited to get started. I have always appreciated leather working & the custom made sandals I have seen. Hi Wxp: years ago Tandy put out a book called Sandal Making. It's hard to find as a hard copy but you can find it at http://www.leathercraftlibray.com https://www.leathercraftlibrary.com/p-1153-sandal-making.aspx? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wxp Report post Posted June 3, 2012 Thanks for the info, The Rilliau sandals are what I would like to learn to make, in addition to flip flops. I'll keep researching & try to keep all posted, in case your wondering how things work out. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
