How to make a Shoe by Hand, Part 1 Intro and Patternmaking 

Thank you for this tutorial. It was my primary source to begin shoe making and I am now about to finish my fifth pair.

Hi guys, I wanted to say hello and tell you I am planning on getting back into posting new content soon. It has been ages, years since my last post. I will put up more videos showing a project from beginning to end. I aim to get started within 30 days. I have to get together a few new video editing apps so my files will be compatible and scrape the rust off of my video skills, which were kind of basic to begin with, but I hope to make these postings more regular thing, maybe even daily. I hope you are having fun and keep clicking and skiving. Andrew

I'm about to watch 12 years of this mans life and im very excited to begin.

*Watching these types of videos is like receiving a therapy. they relax you completely* 😊

Just coming back to say Thanks! Two years ago Andrew taught me how to make my own shoes through this series of videos. After I went to Kazuma Nishimura's channel to learn how to make shoe lasts I was lucky to find Andrew's videos. Kudos Andrew, Thanks. (I'm just now starting to make my fifth pair from lasts that I keep improving.)

I have searched the whole internet for this. This is amazing

wow! its so rare for someone to take so much time and share so much expertise. i look forward to following this project, thanks so much for posting!

Andrew, I would like you to know that I nearly gave up wanting give up on learning the art of cobbling, until i came across this video. Thank you for renewing that passion.

Most important part of this isn't that he's demonstrating (few things I wish he'd done better, like actually cutting the pattern off and how he transferred it to paper) but that the man gives you references for the parts he doesn't show, or doesn't show well enough. I'm going to have to make copies (personal use only) so I can do this myself. Been looking for this stuff or a few weeks now.

This is the first video I've found that has explanations, and some explanations those are! You are a fountain of knowledge, dear sir, thanks so much for posting this!!

Thank you for a detailed explanation about the model industry

Thank you so much! Very helpful with lots of great tips! This is really generous of you to post all these detailed videos.

Excellent work, Andrew. 🇺🇲

Thank you very much for posting this! :) I also appreciate your attention to detail and the prompts to self-learn.

Great demo and talk through, thank you, keep posting more, please!!

amazing shoe making video...thank you for sharing

Very informative, the best I've seen yet! I never made a pair of shoes yet, but going to:)Can't wait for the next series!

Terrific series of videos. Thank you,

i love you, thank you sooo much!!! never commented on a video, but i was looking so much for this, thanks thanks thanks!

Greate video hope you do an updated version

Good video Andrew ! I’m new and i noticed your post in the comments i hope you do continue posting ot get back. To it as your video style is very. Informative, interesting, and very well done from camera angles to the audio and everything else making it just a good channel i was always a very handy person with a wide amount of skills and passions throughout my life i made my living as a professional Woodworker for over 20 years as well as that being one of my hobbies as well as luck would have it in my 40s i wound up having a Traumatic Brain Injury that caused me to. Retire early and also caused some paralysis in some parts of my left limbs luckily i am able to walk with the help of a leg brace and a cane the leg brace Is one of the reasons i was looking at custom leather shoe making as i do wear Orthopedic shoes i buy at the business that makes my Orthosis for me although the shoes have come a long way in styles and comfort they dont always have every. Style i need or want so often i find myself being forced to wear white sneakers to a semi formal occasion luckily very often that may be a family Event like a Wedding , Funeral, or something similar and my relatives o not seem to mind as they are well aware of my injury and the brace i need to wear in order to attend such a affair and are happy that i could attend the occasion with them A hobby of mine before i got sick ironically was sewing mostly Vintage auto interiors and Marine cushions and Vinyl for myself and freinds i did purchase a Industrial Walking Foot sewing machine that I’m quite happy with as it Actually was my vey first Ebay purchase and is a Chinese Clone luckily i was able to speak directly to the company owner before i bought the thing and he was very honest and up front to me about the machine so when i did get mine it was everything i was promised and in all honesty better performing than i thought it was going to be ive owned that machine over 12 years now and its still going strong i thought it may be cool to see how and what it takes to make a pair of shoes and the style in your video. Is similar to what i had in mind or maybe even a par of dress Cowboy Boots or “ Shit Kickers “ as my Dad used to call them even though he wore them daily as he had a triple E size foot and bought a very specific shoe to wear day to day the Shit Kicker name was what the old Cowboys used to call them as per my Father

You are my hero. Thank you so much for posting these :-) Very helpful indeed!

Thank you so much for posting this! Super helpful!

Thank you for sharing your wisdom.

Priceless knowledge.

New subscriber Andrew. I look forward to checking out your site. Robert Powers sent me over. - Al

You use a straight awl and hammer hitting the awl from the welt side to the outsole side. Aim the awl so the awl blade pops out exactly in the stitching channel. Forcing an awl through upper and lining leather is easy, but you aren't supposed to go through the thick leather of the outsole and welting by hand. You use a hammer. Set the shoe sole side down on a plank on your lap and hit the awl through the welt/sole

This is so great! Thank you!

this is very helpful

thank you for sharing this Craft with us

Wow very nice 👍

Andrew, it's amazing! Thank you!

Am proud of you sir

thank you so much for making this!

thanks for taking your time to carefully and clearlly explain the video. pls, i really want to learn to make shoe, my question is that if am making a loffers shoe , what kind of last can i use becuase of the lodders shape. thanks

Good day, Im Daniel from Nigeria, Lagos state to be precise. I know a bit of shoe making and designing but its my desire to broaden my horizon on the practical aspect of the craft in a foreign country. I would love to work in your factory as a trainee for a while after which i could be an apprentice once I've perfected the skill. Also, if you dont offer such Service, it would be nice if you could recommend a couples of places where i could apply to.

great video very helpful!

Hey Andrew great vids... I do have one question, I'm not sure how to pick the right last for my foot? At first i thought it was, just pick the toe shape and size 9... The more I read the more complicated it seems.. any suggestions?

Aby zrobic samodzielnie buty , musisz znac topografie skory i technologie rozkroju.Skora rozciaga sie w roznych kierunkach.Mieszkam w Polsce i przy butach pracowalem 20 lat.Pracowalem przy obuwiu zwyklym , sportowym i ortopedycznym

I just finished my first pair of shoes (pictures: www.flickr.com/photos/j__st/sets/72157647570101113/ ) and I could not have done it without these videos. So thank you very much Andrew, for your patience and dedication, for sharing your knowledge, for inspiring me, and for convincing me that this can actually be done in the first place. It seems you have since moved on to different endeavours. Nevertheless, these videos remain a true treasure trove for those who seek to make their own shoes. Once again, thank you, and best of luck with your future projects.

This is great ! Thanks!

you were at the capitol on the 6th

How about a remake of this project?

andrewwww, you're sooOOooOo cuUUuuUUuteeEEeeeEEEe !!!

Ordering from springline would take months and they give no prices on the site. I am going to make my own lasts out of clay and then make silicone molds and cast them in epoxy. I may even carve my own lasts out of oak or maple.

thank you for sharing!!

this is a good video

Will you be updating on where to buy shoe lasts? And how to measure a foot to chose what size last you need?

Hi Andrew, Thank you so much for posting the video! Question: If I was going to use suede leather (and make a pair of boots) what type of liner would you recommend to add stiffness? It appears you used a thinner liner, but had thicker leather. If I have thinner leather, what could I use for a thicker liner? Thanks!

Thank you! you are great

Hi Andrew, I wanted to ask a few questions if you don't mind. How many man hours would you say a beginner can expect to put into his first pair of shoes? What advice can you give on buying a last? I have a Singer 31-15 tailor's sewing machine, which is perfectly suited for sewing leather, would you recommend I use it? I have pattern drafting experience with suits and shirts, so the basic elements of pattern making are familiar to me. What kind of last should I buy for making a # of styles?

Pagan muy barato el minimo por eso no trabajamos mas en esto en LA no hay ni fabricas de zapatos.

so can i do the same thing with boots? where can i learn how or where to get lasts for boots, and how do I compensate for heel lift of the ground? is there a simple chart on how much the heel is of the ground? thanks

Thanks!

Thank you.

Hello, What do you suggest I do if I want to copy one of those older styles 6 or 7 eyelets? It would be hard to find such an old last I would think...

very nice

i lilke you .

please a Nigerian I really love this but don't know how to get d full details

thanks....

Could anyone give me the website address to buy handmade shoes last?? please

awesome

I WILL SHOW YOU!

Do you know any shoe last sellers in United States I'm in California,thank you.

Can anyone teach me how to make these, like where i can get a tutorial from start to finish

What is the name of the book?

the picture is a little overexposed; it's hard to see the tape on the 'featherline' of the last (or is that just because of the low resolution? - either way it's confusing)

Oh and where can I buy Vibram soles

good

please i need the full name of John for me to search for his site

where can i get tools?

Does this work for sneakers like hightops

Hey where do you buy your shoe last?

BRASIL

Forgive me. Your right brow rendered me a puddle on the floor. I shall return to my viewing once i've collected myself.

Thank you very much. I just started making shoes and this helps a lot. check out my progression on thecrazysmiledotcom.

Ahhahahaha. Thats Andrew Ridgley.

Well let me start off with that you didn't show us how to actually make a shoe you told us so if i was watching this video without sound i wouldn't learn anything. You need to show us how to make the shoe you need to do some hands on stuff instead of just showing us the pieces and then just that is it.

This is how counterfeiters make fake shoes

Wonderfull insight into shoemaking , fascinating.

Where do you buy shoe last??

thank you for sharing this Craft with us