Have you ever made shoes? Or leather sandals? In a way, it’s like making underwear, in the sense that it’s hard to know where or how you’d even start. The idea gets all big and scary in your head, like something you just can’t do. Impossible. But then you do it. And you think, what!? Why have I not been doing this all along? This is so much fun! (And really quite easy.)
Well, one of the (approximately 378) reasons I don’t typically make my own shoes is because I so rarely wear close-toed shoes. I live on a warm, tropical island and my toes enjoy their freedom. Melissa knows this. However, she also knows about my pre-sewing community life: the period in which I designed, made and sold small capsule collections of clothing made from organic cotton and leather bags made with the highest quality vegetable tanned Italian leather. It’s with this knowledge in her back pocket that she invited me to create a tutorial for leather sandal espadrilles for The Artist Series.
What Melissa did not know is that I have always loved designing minimalist leather sandals. Even as a young teen, when I dreamed of being a fancy fashion designer with my designs walking down the catwalks of Paris Fashion Week, one of my favorite parts was designing the sandals. I have never, however, had the opportunity to actually make sandals. Until now! And although I no longer care to ever see my designs walking in fashion week, I was very excited about the opportunity to design and present my sandals here!! And, friends, I am super excited to show you that YOU can make them too!!!
When you purchase the The Artist Series Espadrilles Kit, you'll find the short and sweet required supply list right on the first page of the tutorial. This may be the perfect project to up-cycle an old leather belt, or perhaps your local craft shop carries leather remnants. I also offer tips on supply substitutes, like using a nail in place of an awl, so there is no need to go out and invest in a bunch of new supplies! A few links are included to shops where you can find the supplies if you do choose to purchase some. But these are also handy just see what the items look like, in case you’re not familiar with them.
One thing I love about this project is that you do NOT need a sewing machine. It’s all done by hand, meaning you can take it with you on your summer holiday, and then wear your new sandals by the end!
While I hate to add pressure, the The Artist Series Espadrilles Kits are time limited collaborations. This means that the LEATHER ESPADRILLES tutorial will only be available for ONE MONTH, ending on August 8, 2019. So take a moment to consider it…but don’t wait too long! I know you’ll love them, and I'd love to admire them too! Be sure to share your lovely sandals with both Melissa and I on social media by tagging us (@halfmoonatelier and @ahappystitch) and using #leatherespadrilles.
GRAB YOUR ARTIST SERIES ESPADRILLES KIT HERE!
Small world, RJ! Regarding arch support, I have not tried anything. I also need a lot of extra support for my feet, so I don’t get nearly as much wear out of my leather espadrille sandals as I’d like. While I find them to be quite comfortable, my knees do hurt if I walk much on them, so I keep them more for moments that I’d like to show off a bit:) However, I do think that you could use a very small cork arch and glue that to the sole. My podiatrist uses cork lifts and arches and I past those in to my Birkenstocks to get my feet to where they need to be. So that could work.
I love espadrilles -what would be your solution to add arch support without adding a purchased sole? (My son-in-law used to live on Saba as a chef - now he’s on St.John working with the university.)