ShoeMaking: The Art of the Cobbler 

Part 1

By Tracy Weston

Edited by Lisa A. Lawrence 

It’s often difficult to find “just the right shoe” for an outfit, even if you’re a doll! Sometimes, there just isn’t anything out there for your outfit of choice.  What do we do?  Manolo Blahniks are expensive.  That’s ok.  We’ll pay the price, but alas, they don’t fit a single one of our fashion dolls. So, we’re left with seeking more creative alternatives.  Tracy Weston, tracyweston@yahoo.com, demonstrates how to make shoes for Gene, Tyler and Kitty.

You can never have too many shoes, and I'm sure your dolls will agree with me on this one.  While now more than ever there are lots of shoes available for your favorite fashion doll, nothing is better than having your own customized shoes to match an outfit perfectly. Shoemaking is not for everyone, but if you are willing to put in practice and determination, you can succeed at being a miniature cobbler.

You can use your doll's own feet to make the shoes from, but you do run the risk of glue spills or other such accidents. You can avoid ruining your doll as well as create a variety of shoe shapes by using plaster lasts, which are casts of the doll's feet to make the shoes from. 

I sculpt a toe extension onto the plaster cast of the doll's feet to form whatever toe shape I want. I use a different pair of lasts for each shoe type. For example, pointed toe lasts for pointy-toed high heels, square toe lasts for square toed boots/sandals, etc. You can purchase a pair of shoe or boot lasts by contacting me at tracyweston@yahoo.com.

1. First you will need to make a pattern for your shoe upper. Take a piece of muslin (or an inexpensive swatch of cloth) and drape over foot. Take a pencil and trace around the foot the shape you want your upper to be.   

2. Take your upper pattern and trace it onto your fabric/leather.  Be sure to leave about a 1/4 inch
seam/gluing allowance.

3. For the shoe lining, use a lightweight silk or polyester.  You can either glue interfacing to your lining , or you can use fusible interfacing.  Once again, be sure to leave 1/4 inch seam allowance. Trace your upper pattern onto the lining.

**The shoe upper will be completed in step #14.

4. Next, you will need to make an innersole pattern the same way you made you upper pattern. Trace Muslin/fabric around bottom of the foot. Take your innersole patterns (Right and left) and trace onto the fabric/leather you will be using for the innersole.

5 . Glue the wrong side of innersole material onto card stock or acid free watercolor paper.  Just make sure the paper is about the thickness of card stock.  Cut out the innersole and place it on the shoe last.  Place rubber bands around last and innersole. Let the glue dry completely.  This will give the innersole its shape. When it's dry, take a a bobby pin and snap off the straight (flat) side with wire cutters.  Glue the flat bobby pin half to the bottom of the innersole, using needle nose pliers to bend and shape it to form along the bottom.

6. Outer-sole: Take your innersole patterns and trace them onto the material you will be using for the outer-sole.  Draw a little "tail"  to cover the inside of the heel.  You can use a thicker leather, or you can use vinyl, pleather, etc.

7. Heels: Take a small mound of sculpey® clay, cernit®, fimo® or paperclay®, whatever you want to use to form your heel.

8. Roll the clay so that it forms a tube.  Cut two pieces that are about the size your want your heels.

9. Roll one end of the piece so that it tapers at the end; it will look a bit like a wine glass.
 

10. Cut a lengthwise section of the heel off so it will have a flat inside surface.  If your heel is too long, cut it down so that when you stand the last up, it is level with the heel.

11. Smooth and shape the heels to your liking. Bake the heels in a glass dish (don't use metal) for about 10-15 min at about 275 degrees.

12. When heels are baked and cooled, lightly sand them to give them a "rough" texture. This will make it easier to glue fabric/leather to them.  Be sure to cut fabric on the bias so it can stretch more easily onto the heel.

13.  Now you have all the parts of the shoes ready to be put together.

14. Sew the lining to the upper with the right sides together.  With both the lining and the upper turned inside out, sew back together as shown.

15. When you turn the shoe right side out, take a small bit of glue and glue the inside of the lining to the upper so that it will be nice and smooth.

16. Slip the upper over the last as demonstrated. Be sure the upper fits snugly over the last.

17. Glue the bottom edges of the shoe upper to the bottom (paper side) of the innersole.  Cut the rubberbands loose after you glue the upper (don't glue the rubberbands though).  Trim the excess leather off the bottom of the shoe.
 

18. Glue the heel to the shoe.

19. Take your outer-sole and glue it to the bottom of the shoe as illustrated.  Cut out a small piece to cover the bottom of the heel.
 

Now you have made a pair of shoes for one happy doll!