To order products
send credit card information, name and address via telephone or fax or send check made out to Sharon Raymond to address below:

Sharon Raymond
145 Baker Road
Shutesbury, MA 01072

Tel: 413.259.1748
Fax: 413.241.6119

Email:
sharon @ simpleshoemaking.com (please eliminate spaces when using this email address)

Shoemaking Resources

Here are some websites I enjoy looking at for shoemaking inspiration:

This photo was taken in Paris, I don't know the name of the shoemaker.

To communicate with other shoemakers, go to Boot Maker, then scroll down on the left to "The Crispin Colloquy". This is a forum for The Honorable Cordwainers' Society, a shoe and bootmaking group that meets annually on the weekend closest to St. Crispin's Day, (the patron saint of shoemakers) October 25. Aspects of shoemaking are shared, and cameraderie is experienced. Recently, these gatherings have been at Larry Waller's shoemaking barn in Delevan, WI.

To order an inexpensive hand-operated Chinese stitching machine that uses thick (138 or thicker) thread, contact Ron Glassett, Rt. 1, Box 630, Eastsound WA 98245, (360)376-2600.

Stitch-down Shoemaking Resource List

Sources:

S = Siegel’s of California – www.siegelofca.com (order $75.00 worth of tools and/or leather, and get free shipping)

T = Tandy Leather – www.tandyleathercompany.com If possible, get a wholesale account

H = Hide and Leather House – www.hidehouse.com

GN = Garlin-Neuman

SR = Sharon Raymond, www.simpleshoemaking.com

W = Henry Westphal, (212)563-5990 - this business sells Osborne Tools and is based in New York City

WL = Weaver Leather, www.leathersupply.com

Lasts: . I sell copies of my low-heeled (1/2”) , round-toed lasts in women’s whole sizes from 6-10 medium for $75.00/pair. My women's shoe patterns were made over these lasts.

To find other lasts, look on Ebay, www.shoedoo.com, www.walrusshoe.com, www.globalfootwearsolutions.com

Lasting tools: (S) or (W)

CS Osborne Lasting Pincers # 233 - $33.90

CS Osborne Shoemaker’s Pincers #93 - $26.00

CS Osborne Tack Hammer No. 236 – 30.40

Lasting stand: (SR) - $40.00 (made by a local welder)

Scissors:

CS Osborne EZ-cut Leather Shear (S) or (W) - $28.00

Or purchase (T) Craftool scissors if you have a wholesale account – 3050-00

CS Osborne Scratch Awls # 4 in sizes 1 (2 ½”) (W)

If you plan to stitch the upper to the topsole by hand:

Wing dividers – T

1/8" distance between prongs, three-prong thonging chisel, #493 – (W) available at Westphal, makes stitches ¼” apart. It's handy to also have #491, the one prong chisel, and #492, the two prong chisel

Stitching awl consisting of: CS Osborne Sewing Awl Haft –

You can get a “speedy stitcher from Tandy’s, but I prefer Osborne Sewing awl haft (S) (W) – TL-145 $9.70 with Osborne TL413N8 straight sewing awl needle, (S)

To insert needle, screw off the part that screws off, and pry the 4 prongs that hold the needle apart a bit so needle can be inserted deeper into the haft; then replace the part that screws off!

Another method for making stitching holes for sewing upper to soling (I don't recommend this method, but if you need a motorized way to make holes, this is it: Dremel tool with above speedy stitcher needle inserted instead of a drill bit. A Dremel drill press makes the task more manageable. Dremel tools are available at hardware stores, and the drill press at Amazon.com

Hand-sewing thread:

Sewing awl thread #1205 – (T) - $24.99/spool

Punches and maul:

I think the best rotary punch comes from (WL) – 656230 – $21.35 (you have to order a minimum of $50.00 from Weaver – order a maul from them too – 652500 - $49.95 or a Novolene Chopping Block 65-2910, $19.25 – it’s the only board for placing under leather when punching holes that I recommend)

Supplies I keep on hand from Tandy Leather:

Glover’s needles – 1191-11 large, or 119113 small, $8.99/pack – sharp diamond-shaped tip makes these the best needles for stitching through thinner leather without needing to make holes first.

Harness needles – 1192-13 - $6.99 – use for butt-stitching leather using x and bar stitch, and stitching topline or any overlapping upper seams.

Tejas Braided Cord – 5060-00 - $12.99/spool – use for making shoe laces, burn ends w/ match

Fasteners:

Mini – Anvil to use as a base when pounding rivets together or pounding nails into soles on a last – 3101-00 - $9.99

Steel double-cap rivets – small – 1371 - $4.99/pack

Line 20 snaps – 1261 – various prices

Craftool Line 20 snap setters – 8057, 58 - $2.99

Buckles:

Sandal buckles – 1515 - $1.79 each

Industrial knife – 3595 - $29.99

Marble slab - 32228 - $29.99 – use to skive on (or get a piece of safety glass from a junk yard)

Adhesives:

Titan DX from www.veneersupplies.com, 1 quart for $16.99. This is the non-toxic contact cement that I highly-recommend, for any temporary cementing; that is, the two pieces cemented together will need to be stitched together as well. It will not hold on a sole without it being stitched. To operate, I keep the adhesive in a jar, and brushes in a tall glass jar with water and maybe a little bit of liquid soap in it; the brushes need to be dried with a towel before use, but they will last quite a while when kept this way.

Barge All-Purpose cement – 2510-03 – Tandy Leather – use it for adhering outer soles if you don’t want to stitch them on.

There are all kinds of dies and leather finishes. I am having success with the new Eco-Dies Tandy has developed. I don’t know much about different leather cleaners and conditioners, I use Lexol products and have been pleased with them.

Cushioning: I get the best, poron, from Pel Supply Company. I get 1/8” double-abraded blue sheets – ACPORS. I believe you need a wholesale number to order from them. I will sell poron to you if you can’t purchase it yourself.

Vibram Pyramid sheets or unit soles can be obtained from local shoe-repair supply sources, or from my website.

Natural rubber soling, available in 13 x 48” sheets – from rubber trees, biodegradable: available from Shreiner Company, PO Box 347, Killbuck, OH 44637, 1-800-7229915 – I use black or dark honey#3 (light honey is #5), 9 iron is 1/8” thick, 12 is 1/4” thick, and 15 iron is 3/8” thick. There is a minimum order of $75.00 of any one product

Stitching machines:

To stitch the uppers together using #69 thread, a variety of machines are available. I am using a Singer post machine and another post machine with a post and a roller foot. Look on the web, Ebay, or in the Big Book at Proleptic.com. Run a machine and price by me if you’d like.

To stitch the uppers to the soling, I use #207 thread, and that requires a heavy-duty machine. I have been pleased with my Cowboy Stitcher #CB-3500, imported from China, cost around $2,000.00, available from Toledo Industrial Sewing Machines, 3631 Marine Road, Toledo, OH 43609, (866)372-7397, sewmun@aol.com

The Tippmann Boss can also stitch with #207 thread, (T). It is operated manually, which has obvious advantages and disadvantages. I haven’t tested to see if it can be used to stitch through upper and any kind of rubber soling. It retails for about $1500.00.

Thread for stitching machines is available from Weaver Leather – www.leathersupply.com

Leather:

I get 4-5 ounce leather for uppers at either Siegel’s of CA (chink chap or Rough Rider), Hide House, or Garlin-Neumann. Garlin-Neumann has some great prices and will send you samples, which Siegel will not do.

Pigskin lining leather comes from Tandy. I keep the vegetable-tanned natural and black (99134) on hand. Garlin-Neumann also sells some pigskin lining.

For vegetable-tanned leather for soling, I use 8-10 ounce hides from Wickett and Craig, (800)826-6379

How to Make the Bellows Tongue Boot, Shoe, and Loafer

These three patterns all have a “plug” over the toe of the boot, shoe or loafer, much like a moccasin. (The plug becomes the tongue on a boot.) This creates ample height in the toe area. (I’ll use the word “boot” to refer to all three patterns at times.) Another feature these three have in common is that the sides of the plug or tongue are stitched to the body of the boot, then are folded over. That gives the shoes and boots a wide range of shapes of feet and legs that can comfortably wear them.

boot: The bellows tongue boot is similar to the Minnetonka suede moccasin-style high boot; the advantage of this style is that it can be pulled in close all the way up your leg. Laces go through loops placed along the seam between the tongue and the body of the boot, or through eyelets or grommets evenly spaced inside the seam.

To make the boot: Alter the patterns to your size, following directions in Shoemaking Patterns. If you want to make your boots taller than those shown on the pattern, simply extend the sides of the tongue and the body of the boot.

Make a mockup, then when you have your pattern just right, cut out your actual boot material – flipping patterns over when making the second boot!

Stitching order: To make the boot, first stitch the two body pieces together at the toe. Next, center the plug or tongue at the toe, and begin stitching toward the top of the leg. If you are inserting loops along this seam for laces to pass through, mark their locations with pins. Make sure the loops have at least two stitches to anchor them, preferably more. Once you reach the top, go back to the toe and stitch the other side of the tongue to the boot body. Finally, stitch up the back seam of the boot. If you are adding a heel cover/support, stitch that on after the back seam has been stitched.

Recommended stitches: See Crafting Handmade Shoes ppgs. 26-28 for seam stitching information.

Lacing the boots: There are x’s on the pattern indicating locations for loops placed in the seam between the plug and the body of the boot, or locations for eyelets or grommets. Using eyelets or grommets significantly reduces the amount of space inside the leg of the boot when inserting your foot, so if you are considering the use of either, check out on your mock-up if you have enough space inside the boot to get your foot in. If you choose to add loops while stitching the seam between the tongue and body, small metal loops are available on my website (they are actually bra strap slides!), but you could make loops from pieces of leather, sturdy felt, or other material of your choice.

Shoe: These shoes are called wallabees, and are commonly worn by people who want shoes that fit well if their feet expand a bit during the day – just loosen the laces! Sometimes seam binding is added over the seam between the shoe body and the plug – you would have to cut a strip as long as the distance around the plug/body seam, then punch holes along both edges that have the same spacing as the seam stitches – a lot of work, but makes a very neat shoe! Or, the plug pattern itself can be made to serve as seam binding – add about ½” to the edge of the plug, “skive” the edge so it is much thinner, then punch two rows of holes, one where they are on the pattern, and a matching set along the new edge. Then, as you are stitching the plug in place, you are also stitching through both rows of holes and thereby covering the seam, using the two-needle technique.

This style of shoe usually has two sets of lacing holes punched into it, s shown on the pattern, without eyelets.

For other information, please see Boot directions.

Loafer: The loafer pattern has some marks on it that look like darts – they are! The topline of this shoe can get quite baggy, so to shorten it, cut these darts down one side, then tape the dart so the cut side is matched up to the uncut side. Make two of these darts on each side, as shown on the pattern. When this has been done, these patterns look curved up a bit like flopping fish. If you like, you could add a channel along the top edge to fold down, stitch, and run a cord through, and tie over the plug. After the pattern has been adjusted, follow directions for boot and shoe above.

Shoemaking Resources

Here are some websites I enjoy looking at for shoemaking inspiration:

This photo was taken in Paris, I don't know the name of the shoemaker.

La Belle Fortoise

Art Peaux

LE MOULIN

Machado

Conker Shoes

Green Shoes

To order an inexpensive hand-operated Chinese stitching machine that uses thick (138 or thicker) thread, contact Ron Glassett, Rt. 1, Box 630, Eastsound WA 98245, (360)376-2600.

How to Make the Bellows Tongue Boot, Shoe, and Loafer