Q: Where can I find or how can I make fashionable shoe soles? I want to make a pair of shoes, but I don't want to tear apart the shoes I have. The pair I want to try and make are platform wedges. Thanks!!A: It depends on what kind of soles you want to make? Men's or women's? In order to make soles, you'll really need a last. Do you have one?
Q: No I don't have a last and I want to make womens shoes, but possibly some mens too.
A: You can make your own lasts or purchase them. Making lasts is a total art form. I've made my own, but I wasn't very successful. You can view the process photos here. This website has lasts for sale and a great DVD for how to make lasts. I have the DVD, but I haven't yet made lasts using this method.
http://www.walrusshoe.com/books_home.htm
The website isn't very user-friendly, but the people at Walrus Shoe are really wonderful. I called them when I ordered the last making DVD and they were so friendly. They knew Gaza Bowen, who taught me how to make shoes. Gaza was a bit of a legend in the shoe circles. I feel so lucky to have met her.
4 comments:
hi !! happy to find your site, congratulations, now do you try to make your own last by mary loomis method? I´m thinking by the way, to buy her book, but I´m not sure at all,does it worth it? I have a basic last made by shoemaker but her method it seems to me a good option to copy my favourite "big" 11 size shoe
You know, I wish I'd used a method. What's the Mary Loomis method?
The next time I do it I'm going to be much more systematic about it. For this pair, I just started cutting, carving and sanding.
I've often thought that if you wanted to copy a current shoe you could put a plastic bag in a shoe, then fill it with plaster and let that harden. You'd need to make sure you could get it out, and you'd need to fill in the wrinkles and do a little reshaping once it's out, but it might give you a head start and be easier than building a pair of lasts from scratch.
You know, you can make a very simple last by taking a sock that doesn't have a lot of stretch but is very form fitting to your foot, put it on, and duck tap all around it. Cut it down the front just enough so you can slip it off and then tape securly over the opening. Then fill the inside with plaster helping it keep its form until the plaster hardens. The plaster idea is a little heavy, however, and so a friend and I are thinking of using expanding foam found at the hardware store.
Cool, thanks Chloe. I haven't tried that yet, but have been meaning to. Oddly enough, I haven't found the time to get some plaster, yet I've spent far more time cutting and sanding a pair from wood. Hmmm.
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