Sewbussted's Material Witness/ Chicago School of Shoe Making and Leather Arts

This past summer, a friend of mine asked me if I would like to join her for a leather sneaker workshop. I'm not a huge sneaker wearing person, but this was rather special since the sneakers would be made out of leather, and then too, I've always wanted to make a pair of shoes. So, I said, "sure, count me in!" Well, I had the best time, and I absolutely love my sneakers. I've had quite a bit of experience with making leather garments, but never a pair of shoes. 

I recently had the opportunity to meet with Sara McIntosh, the owner of The Chicago School of Shoe Making and Leather Arts. She is absolutely lovely, and such an inspiration. I think you are going to truly enjoy this episode of Sewbussted's Material Witness.



Below are a few of the items that we showcased in the video. 

The boots are just amazing. 

There are so many classes that are offered at the school, everything from bags, to shoes, to clothing items. The school is truly a place to dream and then create. And too, I think Sara's story is an inspiration for anyone who would like to realize a creative dream.  

You can find the school HERE.

On Instagram HERE.

To my delight, and surprise, I had the opportunity to do another interview and video while I was visiting the school. That video will air next Tuesday. It is such a moving and inspirational story. It actually brought me to tears. So, be sure to tune in next week for this very special episode of Sewbussted's Material Witness. I think it will touch you as much as it did me. 

Making An Old Dream Come To Pass With a New Pair Of Kicks

About 6 weeks ago, I took a sneaker class at the Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts. I had so much fun! I especially enjoyed being the student :)

Below is my work in progress. The shoe that you see at the top of the photo was my inspiration piece. Below the shoe, you see my pattern, tools, and my shoe in pieces.

The class was 2 full days of instruction. I made a mistake on one of my shoes while attaching the top of my shoe to the sole. At that point in the day, I was quite tired, and ready for a break, so I elected to just finish my shoe at home. Last Sunday I finally sat down, redid the stitching, finished the shoe, and ordered my laces.

Ta Daa!!! My finished sneakers. I love them!!!

I have never been a big sneaker person, but these are not typical sneakers. Thankfully, my husband and I don't wear the same size shoe, or I would lose these! 

Pure fun :)

I have no intention of making all of my shoes. It was just a fun class to take. A bit of a dream realized, well, almost. When I was maybe 8 years old, my shoe wardrobe consisted of a pair of shoes to wear to church, a pair of sneakers, and a pair of school shoes. And there were times when all I had was a pair of sneakers. I so wanted a pair of cute sandals, so I decided that maybe I could make a pair. I found some cardboard, glued a few layers together. Between the layers, I glued some heavy string, punched holes through the top layers, and made the loops to hold my "sandals" on my feet. After all the work I did, I was so proud of what I had fashioned. They lasted about half a day before they completely fell apart. I never would have dreamed that I would one day own a pair of leather sneakers. Life does get better :)

Here's to realizing our dreams!
Rhonda

Fun With Sneakers

I made a fabulous soup this past week that I will share, but my time is a little short this morning as I am taking a class this weekend. So look for the soup recipe on Tuesday.

A friend of mine sent me a note about a leather sneaker class that was being offered at The Chicago School of Shoemaking and Leather Arts. I have wanted to take a class, but I haven't made it a priority, so my desire continued to be placed on the back burner. When my friend told me that she was taking the leather sneaker class and asked if I would join her, I said, "Sure!," and I am SOOOO happy that I did.  

I did a little research before I went to the class, but just wasn't sure about what I would like to do. When I arrived, the sample pictured below grabbed me, and that was it! Loved the design.

Below is a sneak peek at what I am doing. When  I arrived, there was a table full of leathers to choose from. I vacillated between a red crocodile embossed leather and the teal blue crocodile embossed leather that you see below. I went with the teal blue, after all it is my favorite color :)

You're seeing the sides of my shoes and the tongue. In the background you see the inspiration sneaker. So today I will be sewing the shoes all together. Can't wait to see them all come together. 

I'm off to get dressed and head out for a super fun day! 
I'll post the finished shoes tomorrow.

Happy Sunday!

Rhonda

The Call of the Red Suede Wild!

When I last left you, my red suede for the leather version of the Islander Fast and Fabulous Jacket looked like this.

It now looks like this. Not yet completed, but well on its way.

Working with any type of skin, it can take a little finagling on the part of cutting out the pattern. 

I had 3 skins that totaled just about 28 square feet. That would seem like quite a bit, but skins are not rectangular pieces of fabric, and there are imperfections. 
In order to get the jacket out of the skins that I had, some changes needed to be made. I'll walk you through them. 

For shaping over the shoulder, the raglan sleeve has a neckline dart. Rather than sew in a dart, I split the sleeve down the center and turned the dart into a seam. A raglan sleeve is also quite large, so splitting it down the middle made pieces that are much easier to position on the suede. 

1/2" seam allowances were added to the sleeve seams. 

Once the seams were stitched, I then top stitched them  to hold them in place. 

The front jacket pattern was also cut apart to allow for better placement on the suede. I chose to make a diagonal seam from the sleeve notch to center front. 

1/2" seam allowance added. The seam was sewn and then top stitched in place.

The seam was left at center back and a coordinating diagonal line was drawn in to the back jacket.

As with the other pieces, a 1/2" seam allowance was added.

The center back seam as well as the diagonal seams were top stitched.

Once I have top stitched my side seams, I'll be ready to attach my lining and the facings.  

In my next post, I'll show you how I am constructing the lining. You just might be amazed by how easy it is to do!

I need to finish the blue jacket, but the red suede was calling out to me, so I just had to put the other jacket aside and get this one finished :) At least I'll be ready when the cool fall temperatures arrive.