Blossom Pattern 1: Materials

Here is a quick check in to show-and-tell the items I bought for making this months project! As I said in my last post, I am spending the month of February making some simple shoes for work!

For starters, I am using an organic cotton knit, sweatshirt style material that my awesome brother bought me for my birthday! Thanks Daniel :) I think this will work well for the shoes to add a little thickness and stability to the shoes, so they are not just two, super thin pieces of cotton holding the shoes to my feet. In addition, the cotton is super soft and cozy!

For the outside, I found this pretty material for 40% off at Jo-Ann's in the quilting section. It is a simple cotton weave material. I was tempted by the cozy looking flannels, but had to remind myself that I didn't want a material that might pill up and rip easily under rough wear and tear. Also, they are supposed to be for spring, so they couldn't be too warm!

To give my shoes a finished look, I bought some brown bias tape piping. My hopes are that in addition to making the shoes look a bit more professional, The piping will keep the shoes from stretching out over time.

I have not yet decided what I will use for the soles this time around, so far, its a toss-up between classic leather soles, and using some of the leftover soling material I bought from Shoeology. In addition, depending on how the project goes, I might use some leather as an interfacing in the heel to keep it stiff so the shoes do not slide off easily.I will post more later on what materials I end up using if I decide to use these. 

EDIT: Here is what I ended up ordering off eBay, it is Leather Vegetable Tan Project Piece 2.1 Square Foot 11 oz. I think you could get away with ordering a smaller square foot amount, but make sure it is long and wide enough for both of your feet, plus a little for the heels. You will definitely want a larger 10-11 oz amount, since this refers to the thickness of the leather, and you will want a good and thick piece, since it is going on the bottom of your shoe. 

For reference, I bought some 2 oz leather that was way too thin to make even the uppers of a shoe without reinforcement of some kind. This is just too thin for the wear-and-tear a shoe is going to get. Often this sort of leather is made into jackets, or other clothing items. I bought 4-5 oz leather for my mukluks. This was soft, supple and adequate strength for my boots. I would suggest no thinner than 8oz. The stuff I am using is 11 oz, and it is fantastically thick and wonderful.  

You will also want to get some contact cement to glue the soles on at the end!