Here they are, the final pair of prototype shoes. Made in earth-toned colours, as requested, this is a very heavily interfaced crepe-de-chine. The lining’s a gorgeous bright orange, and the copper coloured ribbons are a perfect match.
I’ve started getting some feedback from my shoe testers, which has thankfully been pretty consistent. It looks as though there are a couple of changes I need to make to the basic pattern, but once that’s done I can feel a few more pairs of shoes coming on.
I think this might be my favourite pair of the prototype shoes. Plain black toes, big red ribbons… but who’s that hiding inside…?
Ooh, it’s Dennis the Menace!
And to complete the effect, red and black stripes around the heel.
Hopefully these are smart enough to wear for work (perhaps with black ribbons rather than bright red) with a little bit of sneaky silliness hidden away on the inside!
Laura requested that her shoes be a plain, dark colour, such as purple or red. This picture doesn’t really show the depth of colour in this lovely purple organic cotton. I used the same fabric inside and out, and was lucky enough to find a ribbon that matched almost exactly.
This is the second pair of skulls & roses shoes – this time with an organza ribbon for a little bit of variety.
Sorry about my little disappearance there – I’ve been so busy making things that I haven’t been making time to write about them. Please prepare yourself for a flurry of posts!
These are the sixth pair of prototype shoes, in black chinese brocade with multicoloured butterflies. They look a bit wrinkly because they’re a size bigger than my lasts – I promise they’re not wrinkly in real life. They’re finished off with a delicate organza ribbon because I thought it went well with the butterflies. These are definitely a pair of shoes fit for a faerie, so they’ve gone to a good home.
These lovely purple batik shoes were made in response to a request for “something sober enough that I can wear to work”. Hopefully they’re dark enough to be sensible, but pretty enough to be interesting.
Ooh, look, more shoes!
Serena sent me this fabric from her stash. Aren’t the bright colours fabulous?
This pair were slightly too small to fit onto my lasts, which means that you can see a bit more of the construction. All of the shoes so far have eight eyelets around the back of the heel. These have a ribbon threaded through, to fasten the shoes and adjust the fit.
The shoes do stay put without the ribbons, but I just prefer them this way.
This is the next pair of shoes – a pretty gothy pair with skulls and roses. I’ve actually made two pairs of these, and I’m extraordinarily tempted to make a third pair for myself
I don’t want to make eleven identical posts about the prototype shoes, so I’m hoping that the fabulous variety of fabrics will speak for themselves.
(Unless I keep making them in the same fabrics, of course…)
These are the first pair of shoes to emerge from my Shed – and aren’t they pretty?
My friend Chris (who teaches quilting and makes quilts to commission) provided the fabric, which is covered with sparkly copper spiderwebs on a purple and green background. The shoes are lined with purple organic cotton, and I thought the green organza ribbons made the perfect finishing touch.
They’ve been declared “lovely and comfy” which is a good start – I look forward to hearing how Chris gets on with them – if it ever stops raining long enough for her to wear them!
I was going to write a tutorial for this, but I honestly can’t imagine how anybody could need one.
Ta-daa!
