For this shoe recipe, you will need:
- Sheet metal
- Leather (faux or real)
- rivets
- First measure a foot (this could be your foot or someone else’s)
- Draw the outline of the foot that you measured on a piece of sheet metal.
- Draw a one inch “ring” around the edge of the outline on the sheet metal.
- Cut out the outline from the metal, making sure not to separate the two outlines–they are one piece.
- Next, cut a straight line down the top on the metal to right above where the arch of the foot would be.
- At the bottom of the metal, cut a line at the half point and make a hole big enough to comfortably fit the ankle of the person who will be wearing the shoe. (You will have to test the shoe as you go to make sure it is as comfortable as possible–after all, it is a custom shoe)
- Take the sheet metal at the top where there is the cut and layer one side of the sheet metal on top of the other.
- Next take a piece of leather and fit it into the shoe. Mold the leather to the inside of the shoe. Once you’re happy with where it is, outline about an inch away from the outside of the metal as well as the heel area.
- Cut away the unnecessary pieces of leather (the leather outside of the one inch outline and the area inside of the shoe where the heel would go)
- Next, rivet the sheet metal to the leather. At the top of the shoe, make sure you’re riveting the overlapped sheet metal together with the leather as well. (In total you should have about eight rivets–one at the top, two one the left and right upper sides, another two on the left and right middle area, two on the left and right lower area where the ankle is, and the last one you will rivet later.)
- Now that the shoe is mostly together, place your foot in the shoe and make sure it fit well. Make any adjustments necessary.
- Once your shoe is comfortable, take the leather and cut a long piece of the fabric.
- Place the strip of fabric beneath the arch of your foot and wrap it around the shoe being mindful of where you want the ends to connect (I suggest at the stop of the shoe in the middle)
- Rivet the fabric together with the sheet metal.
- Try the shoe one, fixing any small details like sharpness of the metal, or evenness of the fabric.
