Questions & Answers

Damien suggested I share this but you probably already saw this if you read the barefoot ted huarache group.

Anyway, I made some leather 4-tab sandals. They require a little bit more effort and tools than making a pair of huaraches, but they are very comfortable and there's no toe thong to chafe. I really hate the toe thong.

I posted pictures on Flickr. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dianesoini/tags/homemadesandaltutorial/

I wore these sandals today walking to and from work. They really felt great. They feel secure (no weird slipping around or straps sliding down or worrying about knots breaking) yet totally unobtrusive to my feet.

If you think you want to try them, maybe you can figure out the instructions in my link. Since I took the picture of all the leather pieces straight on, you can probably print that out, cut out the shapes and if they are too big or small, just use the zoom on the xerox or something to resize the shapes.

This is my first attempt at making a boot. My goal was/is to make a boot for Minnesota winters with a hope to eventually make something even slush resistant.

This boot was made for my 14yo son. It has a duck fabric outer and an polar-fleece interior. The innersole is sheepskin (taken from sheepskin paint rollers) that I shoe goo-ed to the duck outer sole. I then sprayed it twice with silicone.

Bicycle Boy has been wearing them outdoors for errand running and dog chores with no socks in air temps from 10 below (F) to our current temps in the upper 20s above. He's never gotten wet feet (major plus but not a surprise since it's frozen out there).

My next plan is a cinch strap with velcro closure at the ankle and top of boot. He says it's too slipper like to keep the snow out.

I also have some ~5mm sole material on it's way from my friend, a cobbler, that I will cut and put on the bottom.

I'm afraid they won't be slushproof. But I am very pleased with the style at this point. As big a toe box as I could want. Sheepskin in the bottom for lots of insulation. Very easy to assemble.

Anyone else out there making winter footwear?

I got a pair of Feelmax Osma in baby blue only because that's all I could get so I decided to make them a little more work friendly.

http://www.toesalad.com/node/534

I might go ahead and get some brown laces and see how that looks.

I just got one of the last available new pairs of Feelmax Osma's which were made the previous year. Last year because of production problems none were made. I was stuck with the baby blue color combo so being inventive I ordered some Angelus Suede Dye and went to work on them. Now they are more work appropriate & can be run in!

I'm very happy with how they turned out! What do you think?

"Where did you get your materials?" is the most common question I hear in the conversations I have had about DIY footwear. Durable threads, different kinds of cement, natural & synthetic fibers... all that!

What materials do you use and where do you get them?

MODERATOR'S NOTE: I am pinning this question to the top of the forum, as I imagine that this will be a common question people will be asking for quite some time. Let's try to make this thread the definitive resource for all things to do with sourcing DIY materials.

I know Tandy leather is a source, but the minimums are pretty high for a "first shot" project.

I'm looking for a reasonably priced source of shearling, for some DIY mocs. I've decided that winter is just going to an exercise in futility, trying to find appropriate minimal footwear to buy, so I'm going to DIY.

Thanks! ;)