Shoe sole stitching masterclass

Today I delivered a lesson on stitching soles to the felted shoes.

Short masterclass for feltmakers, they usually make felt slippers and here we discussed how to make outdoor shoes. We met in Kaunas (UAB Partis, thanks for the meeting space).
Meeting, greeting, fingering tools and materials:

During our Summer camp Danguole have made felted shoes. Today we took them as an example and added outdoor rubber soles. Shoes were felted on the flat sole shoe lasts, so we've chosen flat rubber shoe soles for these shoes. We cutted special cellulose board to be put between the shoe and the sole. It covers the grids of the sole, they won't emboss through the wool felt.

Carefully marked the place of the soles. Applied the adhesive for shoemaking. This adhesive usually is very volatile and it is necessary to work in well ventilated place. We worked at the window. Layers of adhesive must dry before putting parts together.

Cardboard will be used to cover grids in the heel of the sole.

Moment of attentiveness - soles must be glued in the right place.

I stitch the soles with speedy stitcher sewing awl. It tightens the stitches by itself and saves your fingers from doing it :)

Me - shoemaker?! :)))

Next pair of the shoes:

And the result after few hours of work:

So soft and so warm and so made by hands:)

Supplies for felt shoe soling you can find here

Good luck with your projects!

__________

All guests of this masterclass made their fish for the Museum of Fishing in Moletai to support an artistic campaign "Fish pendants"

Baby alpaca

This week I got the softest and so pleasant to touch yarn! Natural undyed fibres of baby alpaca are supersoft and much warmer than wool. This luxurious yarn is spun of selective fibers of young alpaca (first shear), it is suitable for softest newborn items.
I've made a scarf for my daughter and few items for babies:

Baby alpaca circle scarf

  

Baby alpaca knit blanket

And small pieces of first knittings I felted into baby felted booties

Feltings and knittings

Unsuccessful knits don't have to be disassembled. They can be used as decor in felted booties

And some new Delida's knittings with my perfect model Maja. Chunky scarf :

More items in www.knitted.lt

Knit blankets

Love my new toy:) Knitted blankets are sooo cosy, stretchy and soft! I am planing to make a big wrap for myself, and for now Knit wool blanket

Edges crotchet

How to make and add rubber soles to the slippers

I get a lot of requests to teach how to make shoes. Here is short lesson, how to make, glue and stitch soles to the bottoms of the felt slippers.

1. If you want to make slippers with the hard soles, you should make them on the shoe lasts. Put your slippers  tightly on the shoe lasts and only then add the soles. bottoms of the slippers must be stretched while doing this.

2. Circle your slippers and make the pattern of the soles. This paper pattern will be used to mark the place of the soles on the slippers and to cut soles of the soling material. This time I use yellow micro-porous rubber for the heel and beige natural rubber for the bottom of the sole:

Heel is not neccesary, but this time I was making slippers for my daughter Leda for her kindergarten and footwear had to comply with the requirements of orthopedic (small heel, hard counter).

You can use any soling materials - rubber sheets for soles, thick leather, cork, recycled tire rubber etc...

Heel is 1/2 length of the sole. Mark place of the soles very accurately on the both slippers - this kind of footwear doesn't have seems, so only your accuracy will guarantee, that soles will be in correct place.
3. Grind the detail of the heel with the sandpaper:

4. Apply contact adhesives on the bottoms of the slippers, let it dry. Apply second layer of contact adhesives on the heel area and on the detail of the heel. Use adhesives according to its instruction. Usually surfaces must dry for 10-20 minutes. Then accurately put parts together.
If you glue just one layer of the soles skip part 4 . 

5. I did it outside my studio, as contact adhesives for shoemakers are very toxic.
When parts are put together, struck with a hammer. Apply next layer of the glue - on the whole bottom of the slippers and on the soles. Let them dry and put together, struck with a hammer.  
If you won't be stitching your soles, our slippers are finished.
Soling material must be very elastic if you will glue it without stitching. Otherwise it will peel off while wearing.

6. Usually I stitch soles from the inside through the slipper and sole. But this time the size is too small. My stitching tool don't fit into the slipper, so I made an outer seem:

I use The speedy stitcher sewing awl. It is very useful as it tense stitches and I don't have to make it heard with the fingers. Use waxed thread for shoemaking.

Slippers are finished. 
Moccasins are similar "free form shoes" as the felted shoes, so most of the ideas, how to make soles I found in the tutorials of how to make moccasins :) 

Good luck with your projects!

Supplies for shoemaking you can find in my Etsy shop

New toys

A couple weeks ago I got myself a new 'toy' :) Knitting machine!

And the first item made of the softest virgin wool knit blanket for baby

Fall

Something new and warm for Autumn from Delida:

fingerless gloves with hearts

Adorable Autumn Berries

Cute Owls

Changes

This Summer have brought some changes into my woolen life:)
Changes began last Autumn. WoolenClogs shop was growing fast and I needed more hands in order to fulfil all the orders.  In October 2013 Tadas began to work with me as an apprentice. He quickly learned the craft and helped me during hot Christmas season. Now he became a maker in his own right and began creating woolen clogs together with me. Few weeks ago his wife Aiste joined WoolenClogs team as a curator of Etsy shop. New season of WoolenClogs will begin with bigger team, stronger hands and even more enthusiasm!
Tadas' workplace:

And I am curating a new place of the most beautiful Delida's knittings: www.knitted.lt new knitted items will join this shop soon!

Amber sunrise

Gintarinis saulėtekis

Cat cave

Felted cat cave - cosy woolen bed for your pet. I was dreeming to make such a cat bet shaped like my woolen clogs for a long time.


Cat cave Clog with Sun :

Cat cave Woolenclog :

Cat cave Love Clog :

The only pity thing about these my creations - my own cat hates small cosy spaces :) She loves to lay free and very wide :)))