But I took some deep breaths, and started cutting out the sides, toes and tongues, freestyle. I have a rough feeling about how the shape will form, though I know this prototype with be very crude....
The next step was to begin the construction with the toe pieces - even though these are the parts I am least confident about. It was a lot of work to make the holes first, then to use needle and thread to bind the soles and toes.
buttons gifted by my dear new fabulously-creative friend Madeleine - who is also in the photo below, making red pockets for her turqoise jumpsuit!
I found the leather moving a lot! This was unsettling at first, until - as with the finding of the previously-pricked holes - after some half hour or so of stitching, things began to feel much smoother.
This buoyed me, and it started to be quite thrilling to pull the form of the shoe together. When I sewed the backs of the two side pieces in particular, it made this glorious line of neat stitching - just like in a proper shoe!
In all honesty, it is unclear whether the shoe will function for long; the leather, if you remember from phase one of this project, is from a skirt, and so is fairly soft. Plus the many unstitchings left many lines of holes, which may compromise the structure. All this, as well as the general malleability of the leather versus the sturdy strength of the thread versus the tension of the stitches.
It is good to be getting a feel of how all these elements interplay, knowing that the following pairs that I will create might become more and more efficient and beautiful 🪷
Madeleine joined me for a sewing session on Sunday afternoon: it is fabulous to have company when doing difficult projects like this!
As I begin the reinforcing of the edging of the middle of each shoe, by folding the border back, making a kind of hem, it's extremely satisfying to see the curve unfolding, the stitches growing more confident, the potential of the shoe-form coming together.
Perhaps I'll take the pieces with me as we drive into the mountains for a picnic today: it is so good to enjoy sewing out under the sunshine, where the details are that much easier to see!
finally giving up the day's session when I couldn't see the stitch holes any more, with the light fading!
