I’ve done three sandal making courses with The Shoe Camaraderie, and when she reduced the price of the DIY kits, I immediately bought one. Then I discovered that a friend, Katherine had bought the same kit (the Elodie sandal), so we thought we’d make them together, joined by Megan.
I can’t boast that we knocked them out super quickly! There was far too much chatting, eating and drinking going on, but three meetups later (and a bit of help from Mark) and we all have shoes!
We started out in quite relaxed fashion, full of hope and enthusiasm
Megan made much quicker progress than I did! I was really uncertain about having all that leather at the front of my foot, so fiddled around before committing. 
Katherine was really good at fitting
Katherine looked particularly fetching in her sandals after she attached them to the soles. She made two pairs at once and these yellow ones are a copy of some rtw sandals that she had. I have the pattern now and can’t wait to make a pair myself.
so much sanding to do!
Of course it rained so we went inside and had food whilst we fiddled with shoes. That is not a tablecloth on the table; Mark put it on in case we got dangerous with glue!
We were fairly industrious at times
and then Mark joined the fray. I think he’d had other plans for the afternoon but took pity on us!
Megan was especially grubby by the end.
We spared Katherine the same fate by dressing her in my Marnie corset apron by Pattern Union. How fabulous do her yellow shoes look?
I have to say that I learned a lot doing these shoes by myself. I’ve done three workshops but it was much harder to make them without Lisa’s help. The lovely Megan Nielsen (of Megan Nielsen Patterns fame) told me that she’d had the same problem which made me feel much better. Plans are already being made for more shoes, so it’s not the end of this particular adventure!
This looks like a fun thing to do with sewing friends. The bright colors are amazing!
I especially like the yellow sandals and what a wonderful idea for a get together.
We enjoyed it so much that we are planning our next activity!
All great shoes but I particularly like the yellow ones 😍. But then I like anything yellow (except cars).
I love the yellow ones too!
This adventure was so much fun and I am beyond thrilled with my shoes. Thank you for being the best host and to Katherine for the fabulous cakes, sourcing all the things I needed and generally organising us. Oh, and Mark of course. I don’t think I would have finished if it wasn’t for his help (and power tools). Now I need to pluck up the courage to actually wear my new sandals. I hope they don’t fall apart!
This adventure was so much fun and I am beyond thrilled with my shoes. Thank you for being the best host and to Katherine for the fabulous cakes, sourcing all the things I needed and generally organising us. Oh, and Mark of course. I don’t think I would have finished if it wasn’t for his help (and power tools). Now I need to pluck up the courage to actually wear my new sandals. I hope they don’t fall apart!
I wore mine in the rain – twice – and they are absolutely fine. Be brave, you will be amazed how strong they are. I really enjoyed doing this in the company of you and Katherine!
This adventure was so much fun and I am beyond thrilled with my shoes. Thank you for being the best host and to Katherine for the fabulous cakes, sourcing all the things I needed and generally organising us. Oh, and Mark of course. I don’t think I would have finished if it wasn’t for his help (and power tools). Now I need to pluck up the courage to actually wear my new sandals. I hope they don’t fall apart!
PS I am having so much trouble leaving a comment. I’m not sure what I’m logged in as!
You finished up doing well. I think WP must have been playing up!
Thanks for documenting this Sue…I am always too distracted to take progress shots. This was such a wonderful project to do with friends and thanks to Mark for making sure we completed our shoes. I didn’t want to wear mine in the rain, so it is good to hear that yours held up well. I love all the colours. Planning our next shoes right now xx
Thank you Katherine, this has been a lovely project with friends. I can’t wait to make my next pair! These have been worn and worn.
i am really impressed by the great fit and professional looking results of all your sandal makes. You are lucky to have a resource like The Shoe Camaraderie for instructions and supplies. I am envious. I have purchased some shoe making books, but have not dived into that activity yet.
It’s hard to do off your own bat, but I think lots of people do it. I shall be interested in how you go.