Tag: shoes

Muslin Boot

Muslin Boots

I’ve been thinking about making boots for a little while. I finally decided to stop thinking, start sewing, and see what happened. Some minor tweaks are needed (the uppers don’t fit properly to the insoles for a start), but here is the beginning of some little boots. I have plans for more of a pull-on pixie-style thing as well, but haven’t quite got my brain around those yet.

I have terrible spacial awareness, which makes imagining objects in three dimensions very difficult for me. I have to build them, and see what happens. I am terrible at pattern drafting for exactly this reason. Also, small children can beat me at Tetris.

If I can get this pattern right, and make sure that the construction isn’t deathly complicated and time-consuming, I should be able to make these in lots of different heights without too much difficulty. She says, optimistically.

Summer sandals

I might have splashed out a little bit on some new sandals for the summer. These are Think! Schlapfa Clogs, bought from Shoon. They were in the sale… and then you could buy a second pair of sale shoes for half price, so I thought I might as well have both colours! I’ve actually been looking for a plain black pair of these for several years but I’ve never managed to grab a pair in my size, and they never seem to be reduced to a price I can afford, so I’ve just kept on wearing my ancient ones and hoping they wouldn’t fall to bits.

I’ve had my old pair since at least 2004, and I’ve worn them ever such a lot. Because they have anatomically-shaped footbeds I don’t need to squash my orthotics into them, and I can wear them all day without ending up with achey feet. They’re so comfortable, and although it’ll take a while for the new ones to mould to the shape of my feet they do feel pretty good already.

Think! bring out new colours of these sandals every year, but usually they’re blues or greens or something else that doesn’t really go with my wardrobe. As it turns out almost everything I’m wearing at the moment is either grey or pink, so this sale couldn’t have been better timed! I’m not going to throw out my old pair just yet either. They’re plain pink (extremely grubby) suede, but I’ve got a bottle of shoe dye, so I’m going to attempt to dye them black and see whether I can make them last a little bit longer.

If these two new pairs last me as long as my trusty old pink ones, I won’t have to go shopping for sandals again until 2018! Please remind me of this next summer, when I tell you that I’ve got nothing to wear…

And the last pair…

Diane's earth-toned shoes

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.

Dennis the Menace Shoes

Dott's Dennis Shoes

I think this might be my favourite pair of the prototype shoes. Plain black toes, big red ribbons… but who’s that hiding inside…?

Dott's Dennis Shoes

Ooh, it’s Dennis the Menace!

Stripes

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!

Purple Organic Cotton Shoes

Laura's Purple Organic shoes

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.

Nimby and Mer…


Photos © Fairysteps

Oopsie, I might have had a little PayPal accident over at Fairysteps. Ren was making some pretty things from the same leather as my lovely handbag, so it would have been rude not to buy the matching purse, surely? No sooner had I popped it into my shopping cart than there was a post on Facebook to say that some pink chokers were on their way, so as soon as they appeared on the website I had to grab one of those as well.

They arrived this afternoon, having been somewhat ruthlessly shoved through the letterbox by the postman while I was out. The purse is nice and big, so I’m just deciding whether I’m going to use it for money or whether it’ll be a comfy new home for my ipod. The choker is absolutely gorgeous, so soft and lovely to wear. (I think I’m allergic to the popper, but that can be easily fixed with a little dot of fabric on the inside.) It’s just the right size, and I love the way that the pointy bit can sit happily either in the centre or off to one side. I put it on straight away, and it’s already moulding to the shape of my neck. Just gorgeous.

I’m trying to save up for a pair of boots or shoes (somebody bought the pair I was coveting), but I’m not going to get very far with that if I keep buying all these pretty little accessories in the meantime! Maybe I’ll find a pair in my Christmas stocking… *fingers crossed*

More skull shoes…

Lisa's Skulls & Roses shoes

This is the second pair of skulls & roses shoes – this time with an organza ribbon for a little bit of variety.

Pink Suede Brogues

Pink Suede Doc Marten Brogues

It’s been just over two years since I wrote about looking for a pair of pink suede brogues.

I’ve had these for a little while now, and suddenly realised that I’d completely forgotten to mention them. They’re Dr Martens, obviously, the 3989 shoe, in hot pink suede. This colour seems to be sold out now, but they are still available in pale pink. (There are other colours, but they only seem to come in men’s sizes.)

Thanks to the nice soft suede they’re lovely and comfortable, although I think it’s likely that I’m going to have to dye them black eventually. The seams at the back of the heels have already turned blue, where my jeans rub against them. I haven’t worn them much yet, mostly because it won’t stop raining and I don’t want to ruin the suede. I’m really pleased with them though, and I’m really looking forward to wearing them more often.

Butterfly Brocade Shoes

Rhona's Butterfly Brocade Shoes

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.

Purple Batik Shoes

Deb's Purple Batik Shoes

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.