Some of the reasons why moccasins appealed to me for him: The shoes are soft so he can feel the ground, and they don’t interfere with his balance. The bottoms are suede, which is better than keeping him in socks because they are more sticky, and have more movement in them. My son is learning to walk, and moccasins are really easy and functional. I had some leather, and thought, I can do that. Once I started, it became more complicated than that, because you have to think in a different way [when designing for a baby]. I’m used to making adult things. [In this instance] I had to think, considering what would be good for a baby, which I had never really done.

I didn’t study shoemaking, I studied clothing. I’ve always been interested in making adult shoes but it feels a little inaccessible, because in the same way that millinery is a craft that’s age-old, shoe making is the same way. Usually you need all this equipment, like things to sole shoes, different sewing machines, sanders, which I don’t have. But, I do have a lot of knowledge in regards to making things relating to the body, so I feel like moccasins are an easy place to start. In my experience, working with milliner Albertus Swanepoel, I did some accessories that involved print design and knitting, but I mainly focused on hats, which is still really interesting to me. I don’t have that much shoe experience, just some knowledge–but this is giving me experience.

I have been sewing for quite a long time so it wasn’t that far-fetched to then sew a baby shoe. I looked at baby shoes online, YouTube videos, and at the baby shoes that I had. I traced the soles of my son’s shoes to get the size. I altered the shape to be a little bit different, making the toe less round or widening the arch. For [the gray felt shoe], I made it a tiny bit longer so he could wear it longer. [With my son], I can test the moccasins as he walks around, and I can see how sturdy they are and how long they can last on him, and see how accurate my sizing is.

 

 Results and Goals:

For now, I want to stick with the felt style. I want to make sure that it’s really working and make it the best that it can be. For a leather version, I want to do two different styles–one that’s more casual, and another one incorporating some of my millinery skills to make the details on it really cool. I’m also thinking about vegan shoes, using something else that will work as well as suede. I was thinking it would be cool to do a plaid one, or just use different fabrics in a thick texture, so maybe like a Harris tweed, but I don’t want to go crazy. [In the meantime], I want to get this construction down, and I’m just going to play it by ear and see how it grows. As far as mass production, I do work with local contractors here in the NY-area that can sew for me if I got a huge work order, but for now, I want to keep them as something that I make custom or in the webstore.