It's been a while (making footwear)

It had been ages since I'd come in contact with shoe-making tools and materials. But I took the plunge once more 12 days ago. It turns out I have missed it so much unknowingly. I completed my first footwear in a long time last week. It took a while because we were having electricity issues, but once I was done it was worth it.

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I finished making the slippers on Tuesday and was supposed to make this post on Wednesday, or on Thursday, or on Friday, or on Saturday or on Sunday, but I kept on pushing it forward. I told myself it was because I wanted to take better pictures of it, or I already had something else to post about, but deep down I know those were not the only reason.

Once I was done, for whatever reason It didn't look as great as I had imagined it would look when I was done. @amberkashif called me a perfectionist for saying it's not so great, but that was how I felt.

Today I decided I was not going to push it forward anymore. Even though I have to make two other posts today (powerup day post and my dreemport challenge post) I'm going to do this one first, and if I'm unable to do any of the others then so be it.

What's funny though Is that when I picked them up this morning to take pictures it suddenly looked really beautiful to me and I started wondering why I didn't find them beautiful in the first place.

I made them for myself because my previous pair had spoiled and rather than fixing it I'd rather make another one.

Materials I used

• suede leather
• buckles
• lining leather
• Maco and bontex
• Nora
• Gum

How I did it

The first thing I did was to cut out my pattern on paper, which I then used to draw on my suede leather. I then pasted the suede leather onto the lining leather and cut it out.

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I set the leather aside and cut out two patterns for the insole, one a little bit bigger than the other. I used the bigger one to cut out the maco and the smaller one to cut out the bontex.

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Then I used gum to put the Maco and the bontex together. After which I attached it to another sheet of suede leather and cut it out.

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I used the pattern I used for the insole to cut out the Nora for the sole and a little part for the heel.Then I attached the heel

(I got carried away and forgot to take pics of the attachment, sorry)

After that I attached the buckles using leather and a rivet, then I took it to the sewing machine and paid someone to help with the sewing (I don't trust my sewing skills). I cut two curved lines in my insole for the straps to go in, and lasted it (set it using a last). I held the straps in place using gum, and applied gum to the sole as well.

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Once the gum was dry I attached the sole and used a filling machine to smooth the edges. Then I dyed the edges black and I was done.

I have to say, the process of making the slippers was really fun, and it made me realize how much I'd learnt in the little time I've spent making shoes before the long break I took. @ayesha-malik also made me realize that almost all of the footwear I've made are black, so I'd probably be changing that next time.

Thank you for reading. Have a wonderful day.

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_{NB:All images in this post were taken by me}