I am so excited, just finished my new winter boots! I use this pattern. It took me about 3 months to purchase materials, cut out, and make. They kept my toes toasty warm in the 10 degree F weather for a trip to the bookstore and grocery store. I plan to make some awesome liners for them soon but for now i am layering on the socks!
I used 4-5 oz Scandinavian elk leather. I'm not sure what the Scandinavian part means, but oh my, the leather was thick and soft and pliable! It was perfect.
I widened the bottoms a little bit because they seemed like the pattern was too narrow for my feet. I didn't adjust the uppers or anything else, just the soles and insoles were widened maybe a 1/4 inch at most around the ball of the foot.
I attached the insoles with Eco Flo Tanner's bond Leathercraft cement. I just bought this at Hobby Lobby. It is a runny Elmer's glue like substance, but it seems to stick the leather together just fine while still allowing flexibility. (The wooden hammer is mostly just looking badass, I used it to help press the leathers together, but probably didn't need a fancy tool to do it)
I stitched them together with artificial sinew, also bought at Hobby Lobby. I have used this in the past and think it works well.
At left is a picture of the completed basic pattern. I wanted them to be Iowa weather worthy, which requires some waterproof soles! After looking around for a bit, I found this awesome Etsy store called shoeology and purchases the Miracle Mold soles.I followed the directions in the video posted from the etsy site. The right picture is the soles that I attached.
I oiled them using leather oil to make the outsides soft and waterproof.Here i have complete one of the boots so far.
