A few years ago I saw a photo of a bespoke boot online and I was obsessed with how they were patterned. I didn’t copy them exactly but I certainly was heavily inspired by them, and I made myself a pair. Patterning mistakes were made that first time, and it took me hours to understand how they should go together. But they were wearable and I wear them often, so a customer saw them and requested a pair. Remembering how difficult it had been for me to understand how the pieces went together the first time, and since it’s been long enough for me to forget, I decided to make myself a pair for practice. And… they were so easy and went together quickly! The whole time I was sewing the pieces together I was nervously asking myself, “Has shoe patterning *finally* started making sense to me or am I making mistakes and I’m too dumb to know it?” It appears to be the former because all the pieces went together without any disasters! The toe’s a little discolored because the leather is wet, but aren’t they sweet?
Also, I’m still searching for the perfect shoelaces. I thought one of these would work but I hate them both, so new options are being shipped to me now. Keep watching to see what I finally choose.