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Making shoes from scratch, tips?


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If I wanted to make a size 7 shoe, how do I know how big that is to make the shoe? I have seen something called a shoe form, but not anything that would work for heels. I know the best way would be to make a plaster cast of the wearers foot, preferably posed as if the foot had the shoes on. I wish I had a 3D laser scanner I could use to make virtual models of the intended wearers feet! I wonder if shoe stretchers could be used as an sort of adjustable form? Any Cobblers out there?:wave:

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The "shoe form" is called a "last". One site mentioned making a set of makeshift lasts by pouring plaster of Paris into a pair of shoes and letting it harden. You would want to use a pair of shoes about which you do not particularly care because you are going to have to cut them away from your new lasts -- the hardened plaster will not flex so it will not be like removing the shoes from your feet. Look around in this forum -- Dr. Shoe has made some insightful postings on this subject. He has actually made shoes.

Have a happy time!

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Yes, I read his post from last year conversing with another member on the subject. I have a totally different approach in mind. I am thinking about making heels from sheet metal (with some sort of insole pads) I particularly like the design concept of having a pad for the ball of your foot, and a seperate pad for the heel, but nothing where the arch is. The method of manufacture I will use will make it quite easy to build, the hard part is in the design and more specifically the sizing.

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  • 3 weeks later...

"Size 7" is not really measurable. Especially when trying to convert between differen shoe size systems, every site says something different. Also sizes say you first have to add 2 centimeters to your foot length and use that value for any further calculations. A US14 (woman) is said to be about UK11 to UK13, Europe 45 to 47, or 28 to 31 centimeters. If they really fit? ... I don't know. The "normal" way to calculate american (woman) sizes is: (last length (inch)*3) - 23 :wave:

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