Advanced Lasted Shoemaking Workshop

Advanced Shoe Making:

Ready to take your shoemaking skills to the next level?  In this course offering you will explore shoemaking in a traditional way incorporated with some modern techniques.  Utilizing skills you have obtained from previous footwear courses,  you will build shoes on lasts and gain an understanding of how classic shoes are made, beginning with sketching a pattern directly on the last, then adding the necessary measurements to the flat pattern and necessary linings/facings then planning out how to stitch all the pattern pieces together.  All aspects including tooling and skiving leather pieces to allow smooth transitions between pattern pieces will demonstrated.

Skills you will learn:

• The inner workings of the shoe such as how to construct an insole, toe-box, and heel-counter of leather and how to make them rigid enough to keep the shoe’s shape over time.
• Upper pattern placement and lasting, shank placement, the application of cork filler to the midsole and the addition of decorative leather welting to the outer edge of the shoe, leather outsole shaping and attachment and stacked leather heel assembly, shaping and attachment.

On the final day you will remove your last from your shoes and add a padded sock, trim the linings off the pattern and add finishing touches to your completed pair of shoes.

Prerequisite: Ballet Flats/Loafers class or equivalent experience. If you’re unsure if you have the necessary experience for this class, please contact us and describe your shoemaking background or courses you’ve taken.  Feel free to send along photos of your work if you have any.