This is what I’ve been working on. The customer needed a zipper and I decided to give my new shoe making patterning skills a workout. The first attempt I told myself that it was out of my skill set, I couldn’t do it, it was too hard, and I completely overthought it and had a disaster. 

This is the second attempt. I calmed down and thought about it, realized it was much less complex than I’d told myself, and whipped out another pattern. This is a fitter’s model, made of scrap leather and with no attempt at beauty, so she can try it on and I can make sure it actually works as it should before I waste a bunch of kangaroo and time doing inlay/overlay. It does sit nicely on the last though so that’s hopeful! 

When we discussed her boots I instantly had a vision of a zipper going down a completely straight side seam, at an angle so I could make the counter nice and long. The first time I tried putting all the shape into the seam without the zipper but that drug everything off sideways. This time both seams are completely straight and all of the shape is sprung behind the vamp and counter cover. The foot will be blue ostrich. I’ll put a wide blue ostrich strap over the seam and probably a wide strip of blue ostrich as a flap over the zipper, unless she wants the zipper left exposed. I bought a really pretty zipper with all different colors of metal teeth so I’m conflicted on whether or not it should show.