I Made Hand Crafted Oxford Shoes. Was it Worth It?

This was a crazy idea. I made my husband a pair of hand crafted oxford shoes, using traditional materials and techniques, including hand-welting! Keep watching to the end to hear my take on why someone would even want to make hand crafted shoes, as well as to see the pitfalls I experienced along the way.

In this video, we will see:
*How I adjusted a pair of shoe lasts to fit my husband's feet
*How I crafted the pattern for these shoes and stitched together the shoes' uppers.
*How I lasted the shoes and crafted a hand-carved leather insole for the welting process.
*How I stitched together the shoes, crafted leather soles, and stacked leather heels.

Keep watching till the end to get a peek of my husband *possibly* wearing the finished hand crafted oxford shoes!

Enjoy!

✍ Blog post for this video: https://bit.ly/3XuA9BC

⏰ Time Stamps ⏰
0:00 - Intro
0:45 - Traditions of Shoe-Making
1:07 - What is Hand-Welting?
1:44 - What This Video Covers
2:33 - Shoe Lasts and Pattern-Making
4:06 - Making the Shoe Uppers
6:22 - Carving the Insole Welt
8:15 - "Lasting" the Shoes
9:11 - Hand-Stitching the Shoe Inseam
12:11 - Outsoles and Stacked Leather Heels
12:21 - Heel Rand
13:33 - Cork Inner Layer
14:09 - Adding the Outsole
14:59 - Stitching on the Outsole
17:22 - Sanding the Sole
17:50 - Building Stacked Leather Heels
20:56 - Prepping Heels and Sole for Dye
21:43 - Dyeing and Polishing Soles and Heels
23:12 - Final Touches
24:54 - The Try-On
26:35 - The Magic of Shoe-Making
29:21 - How Does my Husband Like the Shoes?
30:21 - What Would I Change Next Time?
33:10 - Conclusion

I am an entirely "self-taught" shoemaker, with most of what I currently know coming from great shoe-making and shoe history books. Here are several that I have found very helpful, with Amazon links to purchase:

"Handmade Shoes for Men" by László Vass and Magda Mólnar
https://amzn.to/3k43gNu

"The Art of Boot and Shoemaking" - reprint of 1865 edition, by John Bedford Leno
https://amzn.to/3XaJ1fF

"Bespoke Shoemaking" textbook by Tim Skyrme
https://amzn.to/3GHzplT

"Women's Shoes in America, 1795-1930" by Nancy E. Rexford
https://amzn.to/3D8Wv3V

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📖 "Victorian Custom Corset-Making" Course: https://bit.ly/corsetcourse
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