I have previously challenged myself in the art of handsewing shoes. I started out with a certain sceptisism, since I have always thought that I would be able to make any kind of apparel, but shoes. None the less, I managed to sew a pair of leather shoes from scratch, and they have been used often since then.
However, a creative geek like myself always sets new and higher goals. My first pair of shoes were soft like moccasins and made to take shape from my feet when worn. My new goal is to make shoes in the traditional way, shaping the shoes over a last (a model of a foot) and stiffening the heel and toe to keep the shape. After searching for a long time, I finally found a shoe last factory in Italy that could make one pair to order. It is of course completely unbearable for me to wait for them to arrive, why I make many, more or less useful preparations for my soon to be titel as hobby-shoemaker. Naturally it has been necessary for me to purchase new tools. As we say in Denmark, you should never go down on equipment, especially not when it holds such an aesthetic value as in this case. Crazy to be so thrilled about a shoemakers hammer! And in my unbearable impatience I have even made a leather handle for my new shoemakers knife. I hope my lasts will arrive next week for me to begin my first real shoemaking project. And I hope You would like to follow the process whichever direction it may follow. To be continued...