I made shoes for Meghan for my shoe project. When I initially interviewed her, we had a few things in common; we both valued comfort, simplicity, and sustainability in fashion. After a lot of brainstorming, measuring, and different iterations, I decided to make her a pair of slippers. For the sustainability aspect, the shoes are made almost entirely of recycled materials (apart from the thread). The fabric I used was from Fabscrap, an organization devoted to reducing textile waste and recycling fabrics. This resource really paid off, because I was able to get all the fabric I needed for an insanely low price, and feel good about giving these fabrics another life. I chose a faux leather in brown to keep the simplicity aspect.
This was the very first time I’ve used a sewing machine, and even though it took me ages to learn, I’m incredibly satisfied with how it turned out and with having this new skill. I rented out a sewing machine in the Making Center to sew the leather and canvas together. Initially, I tried to hand sew the entire shoe, and was unsatisfied with how it looked and how flimsy it was. I did end up hand sewing the soles (which were the soles of hotel slippers) to the fabric, because I wasn’t using an industrial sewing machine.
The unfortunate thing about the faux leather was that it’s synthetic, and couldn’t be laser cut. This wasn’t a huge problem for me, because I was able to sketch out the outlines I needed and cut accordingly. To prevent a messy look, I hand sewed an “invisible stitch” to attach the leather and canvas, and then flipped it inside out to finish with a sewing machine. This is my favorite aspect of the shoe, because it looks the cleanest.
This project was challenging for me, and it motivated me to learn how to sew, use a sewing machine, learn how to use a laser cutter, and work with fabric, which is something I’ve always wanted to do. It was a challenge to make something for someone else as well, and it was a good exercise in communication and planning. The shoes I made aren’t perfect, but I’m proud of my design and the work I put in to complete them. I’m excited for where my new skills will take me in the future.
