At Project's End

I finally finished the shoes I have been working on. After difficulty figuring out the pattern and sizing, I achieved the correct size, as you know from my previous post. I completed the shoes in the requested material. These shoes were no ordinary shoes though.

Toddler shoes 6.5"
First pair of denim shoes I made

Aside from the smaller size which presents it's own challenges, the mom wanted the shoes made using denim. I had made another pair of shoes for this mom for her toddler also in denim (she wanted matching shoes for her boys). You may have seen the picture of the larger pair I made. The thing I failed to mention about these shoes was the sheer difficulty of using denim. The canvas that I typically use for the top of the shoes is pretty thick in it's own right, however, the top of the shoe isn't typically manipulated a lot. The heel portion, however, is much more difficult to manage. When using twill which is my regular material for the heel portion of the shoe, I have enough difficulty as 12 or so layers of material is a challenge for sewing machines, especially without the right needle (which needs to be super sharp and strong) or a top quality motor (otherwise I would have burned mine out a long time ago). The denim, however, it thicker than the canvas and probably should have killed my machine. Luckily, it didn't. I completed the shoes and they came out the same size as the practice shoes, which was great.

Baby shoes 4.25"

I did discover a potential problem, however. Because of the thickness of the material, the elastic casing is especially thick. A the ends where the material is stitched, folded over and stitched again (several times) it is so thick it actually narrows the amount of space on the inside if the shoe. The shoes then, became much more ideal for narrow or flat feet and they were actually difficult to try on my youngest who is about the same age as the baby that will be wearing the shoes. I do hope they work out though. I really want the mom to get what she wanted.

I have come to a conclusion, though. As much as it may upset some potential customers, I simply cannot make denim shoes again. The fact that I didn't burn out my sewing machine motor is a complete surprise to me. Denim really is too thick for the shoes. I do try to meet my customers' requests, but in this case, the mom benefitted from being a friend and my naïveté at how unsuitable denim is for this project. At least I know now and with continued experience in making these shoes, they are getting better and more consistent and I'm learning the nuances involved in their production.