Candi Cobbler – A Shoe Blog

Ocean blue leather flip flops

I love flip flops!  I probably have more than a dozen pair in my closet right now.  If I’m not in heels, I’m either in flip flops or barefoot.  So it’s no surprise that as soon as I started dreaming of warm weather, I started the design concept for a custom pair of flip flops for myself.

I used the soles of my Havaianas for the sole pattern and toe thong placement as they fit my feet best.  I really like the look of a sole stitch on sandals, so since I do not have a post sewing machine as of yet I had to pound the holes and hand stitch these.  I also wanted to test out using a rough edge instead of lasting the leather to an inner sole.  I really like the look of the rough edge with this material.

Flip flop soles

The toe thong piece was trickier than I anticipated (imagine that).  For extra durability and longevity, I wanted the upper to be one solid piece instead of separate pieces sewn together.  I went through several different designs but this one worked and looked best.

One piece toe thong

I was a slacker this time and did not take any pictures of these sandals in progress, but as always you can click on the gallery photos for additional commentary.

Modeling the sandals in the kitchen1

I technically started these shoes around the time that I finished the *beading* for the gladiator sandals that I posted about here.  At the time, my future sister-in-law was talking about creating an Etsy shop for her pottery and using EZM as her signature (funny story, but you’ll have to ask her about it), hence the ‘EZM’ detail on the beading.  Unfortunately, I didn’t want to spill the beans on the shoes before they were completed because let’s face it, there’s no telling how long it was going to take me to finish any pair at this stage in the game, and I was slack about being sneaky and stealing a pair of her shoes one night during family dinner night at her place to use for measurement.  It all worked out in the end though for I completed the pair of flats for her sister and posted them to my blog here and she saw my post and called me out on not making her a pair, therefore it was all out in the open and I could *ask* for a pair of shoes to use as a measurement guide for these.

I knew that I wanted to make wedges for her, but I went through several different patterns for the straps before I settled on the final design.  Then at the last minute, I decided to incorporate the varying layers into the wedge and to make more of a chunky wedge heel than a full-fledged wedge shoe.

Close-up of chunky wedge heel

In doing so, I made the wedge slightly smaller than it should have been.  One of these days I will learn to stop trying to add more and more complexity to every pair of shoes I make.

I presented them to her as an “Unbirthday” gift at family dinner night this past week.  We had a shoe modeling photo shoot in the kitchen afterwards.

Modeling the sandals in the kitchen3

I like the strap design of these so much that I have decided to make myself a pair. . . .but obviously with a different beadwork design. 

As usual,  see below for more pictures in progress and click on each one for additional commentary.

Exotic Kaleidoscope Heels

Not sure that I can top the raising of the bar of these heels. . .not sure that I ever want to even try.

To say this design was a lofty and ambitious undertaking is the UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE YEAR!

. . . but so totally WORTH IT!

Santa stuffed my stocking last Christmas with two bags of exotic scraps.  The second I saw the brilliant pink/yellow/blue/etc. dyed exotic skins in those packages I knew that I wanted to make a pair of kaleidoscope heels (to match my kaleidoscope eyes – thanks RC).

The pattern alone was tricky to sketch.  Then I got the brilliant idea that I wanted the left and the right to be mirror images of one another so instead of cutting out two pieces of the same pattern on the same side, I had to remember to flip the pattern over for the opposite side.  I literally made my very own shoe pattern puzzle.

Shoe pattern puzzle

I did this for both the vamp (picture shown above) and the heel of the shoe.  From there I had to trace and cut out the patterns for each of the pieces from my selection of exotic scraps.  I ended up having to modify some of the placement of the pieces, as a few of my scraps were not large enough to accomodate the puzzle pieces that I had selected.

Once all of the pieces were cut, I barged each piece onto liner leather and hand-stitched each piece together and onto the liner leather.  Needless to say all that took me a while to complete.

Left vamp barged and prior to sewing

I realize that these shoes are a bit out there for most but I think they’re pretty freakin’ cool.  I’ve never seen anything like them before and cannot wait to wear them to see the reactions that I get from strangers.  The complexity of the design and the act of piecing all of the different puzzle pieces together has given me many more ideas for designs yet to come.

*Click on the pictures for additional postings.

Purple People Eaters

This design I created with my future sister-in-law in mind.  I wanted to do something cool and edgy for her.  I had originally intended on making her some sandals, but as she’s from the Great White North, I figured she’d get more wear out of a pair of shoes that actually covered her toes.

I purchased this fabulous purple suede leather a while back and knew that I wanted to use that for the liner.  I spent crazy amounts of time lining up the eyelets on the leather trying to decide what pattern I wanted to use.

Pattern design of eyelets

This pair was the first time I made an attempt at sewing a smooth edge to the top line.  On the first one I had a little trouble piecing the two ends together but I figured it out for the other side.

Practice makes perfect

It was also the first time I used a different pattern for the liner than I did for the upper.  I did not want the heel portion of the liner to have the stitching down the back.

Inside view

The sides are a little looser than I would have liked.  I was afraid to pull too tightly while lasting for fear of this resulting in the top line of the shoes too low on the foot for comfort.

Wide sides

These Purple People Eaters are the first pair of shoes that I have completed for someone other than myself or my fiance.  I’m excited to receive feedback from the recipient (both good and constructive).  I just hope she enjoys them half as much as I enjoyed creating them.

Completed shoes

After I had completed the first pair of practice shoes for my bf fiance (a lot has happened since I last posted), I was really excited to get started on the real thing.

As mentioned in my previous post, the top cap of the practice pair got smooshed in while sanding and it rubbed the tops of his toes when he wore them.  For this pair, I decided to test out my super strong ‘military grade” toe caps. . .not quite steel toe but close enough. . .on the real thing.

As usual, there were lessons learned in trying something new.  The ‘military grade’ toe caps are soaked in acetone to soften the material and activate the bonding agent therefore they must be nailed in place and left to harden overnight.  (The regular toe cap material is heat activated and hardens quickly as it cools).  I made the unfortunate mistake of keeping the shoes on the lasting jack overnight as it hardened which caused the toe cap to somewhat take the shape of the cushion of the lasting jack.

Another lesson learned from this pair (and practically all others before it) is the importance of making sure your pattern remains centered on the Last when lasting the liner leather to the inner sole.  Otherwise, you will end up with a slightly off-centered shoe.

Top view of completed shoes

A first for me on this shoe was the “sole stitch” piece around the base of the shoe.  As I do not have a sole stitcher, I did not actually stitch the material to the sole.  It is barged on.  I really like the look of it though.

Inside view

I’m so glad my fiance has a pair of my shoes that he can wear out, are comfortable, and that he loves.  I look forward to starting my next pair for him. . .I already have a new design picked out. 

Click on the pictures for additional descriptions.