# Latest homemade shoe



## CamM

I haven't posted here in quite a while, but here's my latest work:









At this point I have the welt stitching all the way around. Unfortunately I don't have enough money for training. Doesn't seem like anybody's willing to take an apprentice without you paying them, so I've just been going it on my own. This leather is so thick that I had to trim the inside layer so that the welt (the inch wide strip at the bottom with stitching) will lay flat against the outsole. Ideally you'd bend them both out for added strength. I've since learned about a method called stitch down-- stitching the upper to a midsole. It saves time, so if I want to turn this into a business of sorts, I could sell the shoes for less. Basically my goal is to make good craftsmanship available to as many as possible. Everything here is done with hand tools.


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## sherry in Maine

wow! impressive . . . .


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## mekasmom

That is beautiful. What do you line them with?


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## CamM

mekasmom said:


> That is beautiful. What do you line them with?


Since they're for my own use I don't line them. I think a good calf skin lining leather would run another $30 and I try to keep my expenses low, although I guess just using an old cotton t shirt wouldn't have been out of the question. Thanks


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## CamM

:happy2: Thank you 



sherry in Maine said:


> wow! impressive . . . .


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## DW

That is great. Do you hand sew them or with a machine meant for shoes? I am VERY impressed.


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## CamM

DW said:


> That is great. Do you hand sew them or with a machine meant for shoes? I am VERY impressed.


Thanks much. I hand sewed everything. The welt stitching is done with an inseaming awl (a curved, somewhat flat-tipped blade) and the rest with a diamond tip blade awl. Supposedly there are benefits to hand stitching, because the thread goes all the way through the holes, but I do it by hand because it's cheaper. The "problem" is from poking the holes to finishing the sewing is probably 10-15 hours of work .


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## ELOCN

Beautiful!


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## hippygirl

That is SO cool!


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## City Bound

awesome. is that the first pare you made?


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## mrs whodunit

Thanks for sharing love your work.

Hmmm too bad you weren't out west.

There is a great old time Italian shoe maker nearby who never could find somebody to teach his trade. All of his kids went on to be highly trained in their fields of interest.

I wanted to go and be his apprentice but life took another direction.


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## gone-a-milkin

Hi Cam!
Glad to see you are still making shoes. 
They look good.
Do they fit you? :teehee:


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## homefire2007

Oh my!!!!!! Beautiful craftsmanship! Looks like you've done a great job, I'm impressed with how this is self-taught...!


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## Jan in CO

Incredible workmanship! I can't imagine sewing these by hand. If the SHTF, You'll be in demand!


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## CamM

Whoa, thanks everyone! Gives me a little more confidence. 



City Bound said:


> awesome. is that the first pare you made?


This is the second pair I've made. All new challenges.



mrs whodunit said:


> Thanks for sharing love your work.
> 
> Hmmm too bad you weren't out west.
> 
> There is a great old time Italian shoe maker nearby who never could find somebody to teach his trade. All of his kids went on to be highly trained in their fields of interest.
> 
> I wanted to go and be his apprentice but life took another direction.


Is this guy still around?



gone-a-milkin said:


> Hi Cam!
> Glad to see you are still making shoes.
> They look good.
> Do they fit you? :teehee:


I would hope so. I haven't tried it on yet. The lasts were modified from the previous pair, so we'll see.


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## good2beus

Very impressed! Nice work - I wouldn't even know where to begin.


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## pheasantplucker

I'm impressed...very cool.


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## Falls-Acre

Wow, like the others I am VERY impressed with your work!


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## CamM

Thanks folks. I'm just waiting on a few more materials and then should get it done quickly and will post the completed one.


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## lonelyfarmgirl

thats really cool. who makes shoes anymore? if you can get out west to that Italian guy you should do. I am interested to hear about how they feel and all that once you wear them.


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## stamphappy

This is just wonderful. We always talk about different lost arts over in the S&EP forum and we talk about shoe making but I don't think anyone has ever done it. I'm just tickled at how amazing it is that you made these---by hand no less!!


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## scwit

I love love love your shoes!


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