Ballet Shoe Tutorials

Hey, so shoemaking must be catching on as an obscure side hobby, because I was fortunate enough to stumble across two pretty legit shoemaking tutorials as of late! Both would be featuring a ballet flat style shoe, similar to the tutorial I did a few weeks back. However, I thought I would share these other resources with any budding shoemakers that may be reading this for further techniques and tricks for making beautiful, basic, and still classy shoes.

Shoe 1: Kris Degraeve's DIY Shoes

Pros: Look very professional, seems easy to make, Kris seems to know her stuff on materials and such
Cons: Potentially short lifespan due to heavy reliance on adhesives and use of card stock in construction, need to destroy an existing pair of shoes to get pattern

A really good looking shoe in the end. Looks like anything you could buy at a store which is a huge plus. I think if you plan to have a typical lifespan for this type of shoe, i.e. its made of cloth and so probably wont last years unless you only wear them on special occasions, then this is a really good tutorial to follow, and I will probably attempt it some time in the future. Anyhow, here is a picture from around the middle of the tutorial series. Link is to the beginning of series.

Shoe 2: Tree Peeps Sewn Slippers

Pros: provides a good fit even if you don't want to spend hours perfecting a pattern, promotes recycling (she uses old corduroy pants),
Cons: doesn't provide any info on soling options, potentially irritating on ankles, no real pattern provided

I think this lady is awesome. Something about her. She seems like someone I could get along with. I could be wrong. Anyhow, not the most professional shoemaker in the world, but helpful to see someone else who is not a super design student of fashion guru, or a mastercraftsperson who is still making a pretty neat shoe that I would totally wear.

Bonus round: Bespoke Shoe Unlaced

So if you are serious about shoemaking in the long run, and interested in advancing your abilities, I would highly recommend this blog. I didn't know half of what they were talking about at first, as it is pretty technical, but I have to say it has challenged my shoe making and pattern making process.

Also provided below are some youtube channels that I occasionally waste far too much of my time watching, but sometimes it is helpful to see it as a video instead of photographs and words. WARNING: you may become addicted!

Sveta Kletina awesome pattern making tutorials
Marcell Mrsán I was sold on this 7 minute speed shoemaking video
Andrew Wrigley Really detailed bajillion part series on shoemaking