Did You Know?....
October 25th is St. Crispin’s Day!
There are many different stories and legends about St. Crispin and there is even some doubt as to his nationality. Some say he was a Christian living in
All are agreed on one thing, however --- he is the Patron Saint of Shoemakers, or Cordwainers as they were formerly known.
So in honour of St. Crispin, here is a little project to make a pair of shoes, but as there is also a fantasy thread running through this issue, I’ve turned them into witch’s shoes:
Draw round the feet of a miniature doll onto thin card and cut out. Glue these onto the wrong side of a scrap of leather to form the inner soles.
Cut out the other shapes to form the uppers (see photo above).
Put glue along the edge of one boomerang-shaped piece and fold it round the edge of the sole, keeping the dotted line (on photo) at centre back. It may be easier to snip round the bottom edge first to get a neater fit. (See below, showing underside of sole at this stage).Do the same for the other shoe.
Now take the pointed pieces and glue them over the front part of the shoe and onto the underside of the sole, forming long points at the front. I also added little tabs at the back to strengthen the heel. (See below)
Make the base of the sole by gluing on another piece of leather and trimming neatly round the shape. If you have some large buckles, they finish them off quite nicely.
