Creating Ritsa's Sandals

Ritsa contacted me on Instagram asking if I could make 2 sandal designs that she was wanting. #handmade, #custom, #shoemaker

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To go into more detail here is the low down....

The Black Leather Slide

After making the pattern the insole pattern is traced onto thick black leather & cut out

Pattern is traced onto leather ready to cut out

After cutting out I add my logo using a heat stamp.

Insole cut out with logo

Leather upper is then cut out, attach the decorative metal studs. Then glue the upper to leather lining & stitch.

Leather upper with studs attached then glued & stitched to lining

Lining is then trimmed away with scissors

Leather upper with lining trimmed away

Lasting up the sandal, this is when the sandal upper is stretched over the last (shoe mold) to give size & shape. First i tack the strap's in place to get them positioned correctly.

Lasting the sandal

Once I have the strap's positioned where I want them, I then inlay the straps so that they can lay flat at the edges. To do this I cut and skive (shave) sections into the insole.

Inlaying the strap's

This sandal has a resin edging so it is important for the strap's to be as flat against the edge of the insole as possible. I cut sections into the edge of the insole for the strap's to sit in.

A section is cut into the edge of the insole for the strap to sit flat against the edge

Straps are then glued to the insole

leather strap's (upper) has been glued to insole

Resin edging is then glued to the edge of the insole.

Resin edging has been glued to the edge of the insole

In this case I added a layer of 2 mm soft synthetic soling material & sanded it flat to even out any lumps, it also adds some cushioning.

A layer of 2 mm soft soling has been glued to the bottom of the sandal and sanded back. Also shown the patterns have been traced on the soling ready to be cut out

The outer sole is then cut out & glued onto the sandal, then a small heel section is added & all edges are sanded to finish.

The finished sandal

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The Soft Rose Suede Sandal

This sandal is made using another technique, slots are cut into the insole for the strap's to feed through. After making patterns, Insoles are cut out of raw veg tan leather

Insole are cut out of raw veg tan leather, I have marked where the slots are going to be cut

Sandal upper cut out of suede

Sandal uppers are cut out of soft rose suede then glued & stitched to lining leather then trim & hammer with beading hammer to smooth down the stitching.

Sandal uppers have been glued & stitched to lining

Slots are cut into insole & logo heat stamped, then 2 coats of sealant.

Insoles & uppers are ready for lasting

Lasting up the sandal

The sandal uppers are fed through the slots of insole, and stretched over the last & glued to the insole.

Slot Lasting Technique

Upper is glued to insole

Uppers lasted up

After lasting sandals are left for 24 hours to set, Then the lasting allowance underneath is sanded flat, sole is glued on and edges are sanded smooth, sealed & buffed to finish.

The finished Sandal