What a wonderful video. I've been barefoot most of my life, and because of this, have wide feet that don't fit into the modern shoe. Now I can make myself a pair of custom shoes for when I walk through fields with lots of stickers, or when I'm in public. Thank you!

Those look very similar to the “pucker toe” moccasins from my tribe…the Chickasaw tribe in the United States. They used to wear those in times past.

I’m a myoskeletal realignment therapist. Your feet look exactly like feet are supposed to look like. The toes and metatarsals are supposed to be spread out, and the arch is not supposed to be high. Our toes are supposed to grip a wide variety of ground terrain, and our plantar fascia and Achilles’ tendons are supposed to act like springs to store kinetic energy and bounce us into the next step. Nature invested a whole lot of thought into our feet with so many intricate muscles that get squashed and atrophy in modern shoes, especially with all that arch support and heel cushioning. Our feet just can’t act like natural feet in modern shoes. Celebrate those lovely natural feet! I wear minimalist shoes only, so mine are just like yours.....gorgeous!

They are very similar to some I made for toddlers many years ago : they protect the feet, but allow for freedom of movement. Thanks for the video. I really like your style, especially the absence of annoying and inappropriate background music.

Can’t believe I have only just discovered you! Absolutely brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing all your knowledge. I think I’ll cancel my Netflix subscription for a while 🤔🤣😍

Thank you for making this wonderful video. It is maybe the best instructional video I have seen on KZfaq. I've been wanting to make some simple leather shoes for years and I after watching this video I am going to give it a try. You are a very good teacher.

holy fuck woman that is fascinating how does this channel not have many more views??? that is my niche. goddammit. im inspired to maybe make a channel like this sometime, but focusing on ancient amazonian and eastern south american tecnologies, cause those are my ancestrals and the whole "primitive" view people often have of these people is just ignorant racism, cause these cultures produced and still produce so many fascinating and complex and useful and good quality products! but most people often forget just how much knowledge we have acquired as an species, and think people only started making good and smart things after the industrial revolution! look at weaving! that IS tecnology! wow im so fascinated thank you for bringing this knowledge to youtube. this was a college lecture in a youtube video

I don’t have access to leather like my prehistoric ancestors might but what I do have is thick denim scraps, so I’m gonna have a go at making a pair with that and see how it goes!

I could really get behind this whole free-form shoe idea. My mom has duck feet and my dad is a sasquatch, so I was doomed to have wide flipper feet with no arches, and I have one foot that's just over 0.5 inch/1.25 cm longer than the other, give or take. Modern store-bought shoe sizes are just never gonna work for me, finding new shoes is an adventure in disappointment... When I find a pair that fits I wear them until they disintegrate.

Oh thank you a lot beautiful lady you helped me so much have a good day ♥️

This reminds me of my close friend, when our children were very small. My son walked early, usually barefoot where safe. Her son had a lot of difficulty getting into walking when he was ready. The hard shoes the pediatrician insisted on for support were hopeless. He just struggled about, stiffly. Then she gave him little soft moccasins. He took off like a rocket, never looked back. His were tiny versions of the shoes Sally's making here. Now I wonder how to get cheap leather, go make for myself. maybe a bag at the thriftie!

Crazy how similar in fit and tying these are to the “modern” day Irish dance soft-shoe ghillie! Main difference being there is more gap on top of the foot and therefore more lacing showing. But still, remarkably similar! Oh, a fairly newish difference in the ghillie world is that within the last 20 years, the makers have started putting a seam underneath the arch to form-fit the foot even more. And then the extra bit of leather sole is under the bottom of the heel point and ball area. Before that though they we’re always flat with an extra full sole piece like yours for longevity.

Interesting that you can leave a footprint through them when wet. They are like the bare foot shoes that are all the rage!

Whoa, I really love the simplicity of the design. I think I will actually try that.

Good tutorial for making a pair for earthing purposes. Thank you very much. 4:18 from template

Amazing, thank you very much!

Gives me ideas of crocheting the base pattern and sewing it up

Wow, great, you can explain how to make shoes in 16 minutes!!! Thank you, next on to do list: find leather!!!

Those look a great deal like Choctaw shoes.

I was just thinking about making simple shoes! Perfect timing!

Oh what joy ! not only a new Sally Pointer vid but one I have wanted for a good 40 years. not because I can't buy shoes from a charity shop but because I once saw Bronze age shoes when I could not afford them and put off making some by trial and error. I don't re enact my desire is purely pleasure. Size 6 is 39 by the way. blessings and good health to you Cadi

So interesting to hear about prehistoric shoes. It makes me feel a bit weird to know that scientists could look at my skeleton years from now and know that I covered my feet!

Commonly, the leather is thickest and toughest along the spine, in the middle of the tanned skin. Best would be to set the centre of the soles for both shoes along the spine section of the hide, since you want the soles to be thick and lasting. Use two hides, if neccessary, and use the sides of those hides for something different.

If one wants equal thickness and strength, take both pieces from the same level of the hide coming from the spine. ideally like one is walking heel toe heel toe on the spine of the hide to cut the pattern. The closer it gets to the belly, the less tight the hide fibers are, as well as more stretchy, and less long lasting. (i.e. belly leather makes for good undergarments)

Tonight I've been sewing covers for the arm rests of a computer chair, something I've never done before - but as I was working it all felt very familiar. I think I've half remembered this shoe making video and have made upside down shoes for arm rest covers! It worked and they look fine :D

time to make some sheepskin slippers for around the house I think... thank you for the instructive video, very well presented.

I knew that leather I kept from out old sofa would be useful again! I've used it as a base for some wool slippers I made but I might have a go at making these too. Thanks Sally!

Very interesting. I learned decades ago to make Native American moccasins from traditional patterns. Those were very different but also very comfortable.

Great video! very clear and precise! Im going to try this out, thanks!

I made a pair of early shoes on my channel from a thin leather and this video reassures me since I wasn't entirely sure about the thickness which I used. Great channel!

This would be great for baby shoes, better tract than those awful ones we have now

I regularly walk around my camp barefoot, but have often thought about making some shoes. Thanks for the video, I know what I will be doing later, this evening 🙂

Great tutorial, thanks!

getting ready to go to the farmer's market. there's a vendor who's been selling fleece and i missed her last week. so i'm occupying myself with your work while I poke through my purse to make sure i have everything.

Thank you - very interesting indeed.

I love your videos as much for the archeology as I do for the crafts 😄

Sorry, almost forgot. Thanks for another wonderful video and a big Thank You for all the work you do to share your talents & wisdom.

love these

Beautiful thank you

Simple et efficace, merci Sally

You amaze me.

Fascinating and useful!! I have been barefoot or wearing comfortable flats shoes and sandals all my life, so never had bunnions or odd distortions and have very healthy, big feet lol. Intersting how my daughter copies me without thinking, never wears high heels, maybe platforms that still keeps the feet flat and she has beautiful healthy feet. She has pinched a couple pairs of my old leather boots, flat and comfortable ones, including a 40 years old burgundy Brazillian pair of boots, that now only needs the zips to be resewn as the thread is deteriorating! Looks a lot like a riding boot, so classic ageless style

Another fascinating video. Thank you Sally.

I want to try this!

Thank you Sally, just the advice I needed to get making :)

Thank you for the video.

For strength and resilience, the lacing should be flesh side inward, top grain outward.

I Loved Seeing These Made ~ It was so interesting 🌿

I am so grateful for the knowledge that you share. Thanks from Canada 🇨🇦

Your content is everything I was looking for, I love learning these types of things, thank you so much for sharing this knowledge xoxo

Great 👏👏👏!!!

Really enjoyed this vid, straight to the point. Your shoes look sooo comfy Im going to make myself some from an old leather sofa like someone here suggested. Thank you for your very interesting video. Ps my feet look just like yours from years of wearing dms 😁

Thank you so much for this video! I've been looking for a style that I could make myself for earthing/grounding. It's so good for you! Sending love to you and yours from Virginia USA!

Great and nice work! Good drawing as well! Thanks for sharing! Best wishes, Sepp

Wow! Now I feel inspired to make leather from my kombucha SCOBY and try this.

And now I am wondering if I could somehow put a decent rubber sole on a pair of ghillie shoes to make shoes I can wear on a daily basis. Due to medical issues shop bought shoes don't fit, unless I buy them 3 sizes too big (and yes, they then fall off). Laced shoes are never large enough and I have been looking for a cordwainer locally to make me some. I had totally forgotten about the hours and hours I would wear ghillie shoes for nearly half a century ago when dancing (Scottish highland/country) and how comfortable they were. Plus they are so adjustable for when my feet/ankles are extra swollen. Heavyish rubber soles and I can once again go out and do some exercise. Brilliant video (and a special thanks to A Little Pillow Company, I had totally forgotten about those shoes and my daughter did Irish dancing as well). Like others below, even when I could still fit into shoes I always found the trainers/runners/whatever you call them to be painfully uncomfortable, but then I also grew up wearing no shoes in the house and often none in the garden and we wore flat ''roman'' sandals as our summer school uniform which gave protection from the hot pavements/roads but that was about all. Brilliant video, came just at the right time for me (I've only recently found your channel) but I have been wanting similar shoes for a long time.

New sub here. I am binging, saving, sharing, thumbs upping and really enjoying! Thank you for recording your efforts. Art is so universal don't you think? I think there is little difference between simply making something to the utmost level of creativity and producing a product that is about function. Bravo!

Your an absolute blessing your channel has really help my with my own impression

I want to make those! They are so cute, and I love walking bare foot. It may protect some against the trash outside. (I live in the city, there is broken glass and stuff everywhere.) I want to try to make something like these with wool too, for winter indoor! It should be possible to knit a stretch in that shape. Thank you so much! I will share your video with two people I think will love this too. Have a beautiful day! Hugs! 🤗

Sally Pointer. You & i have the very samezies toes !!! I Luv your feet b/c they’re just like mine, honestly. Most amazing is the second toe to the pinkie toe which has a unique shape that i haven’t seen on anyone else’s foot !!! Thank Y❤️U for being my long lost sister!!! ❣️❣️❣️

How did I miss this one? Working on canvas mukluk type boots at the moment.

That was fantastic. Thank you! Now I'm inspired to make myself some since I am frequently barefoot on our thorny property.

You are amazing😊😊👍😆

They look so nice!! Now I want then for daily use!!

cool

Like Roman Carbatinae !

Wonderful video, Sally, so helpful and informative. The shoe/foot/toe bone theory is fascinating. Do you put beeswax on for waterproofing or to keep them soft?

They look great! I have a question about the soles, how long do they last? Especially if you don't just walk on grass or soft earth? I once made sandals from cowhide that got really worn out on the heel after a few hours of walking (including on pavement) and since then I've always used modern rubber soles, but I still like the idea of shoes made completely out of leather. Is there a big difference between animals or ways of tanning? Or would you just have to keep patching the heel if you walk on rough surfaces? Thank you for all your work, you're a wonderful teacher and make me interested in trying things out myself, I love your tutorials on working with plant fibers in particular.

The leather gathering in the front is very common in "traditional shoes",. In Romania village people either went barefoot up until early 20th century or they wore "opinci" which are the same style of shoes or Dacian ancestors used. It's so interesting to see how the same techniques are used for slightly different style of shoes due to the limitations of the materials and tools as well as just practicality.

Five stars!

Some kid probably got chewed out for losing his shoes haha

I made one, it is a bit cheaper because I used old sofa leather, but it is so awesome. I have a question, what shoes where used in cold and wet climate ? in winter. Thanks ahead

Those look similar to Cherokee pucker toe moccasins.

What tanning process was used on that leather? The way you were talking about forming them it sounded like a vegtan, but I wonder if modern chemicals were used on it. Cool shoes.

Very nice I'm researching how to make a pair so Very helpful thanks and you have very lovely feet nice color for the nails 😁

Sorry to respond too late, but do you have any tips for the "scrunching"?

They look fantastic, my only concern is leather soles are incredibly slippy.

I suppose I could use a baking sheet for this

Could these be worn in mucky/wet conditions? Or does that depend on the kind of leather?

Podría hacer la suela de yute cocuisa sisal y tejida en trnza para la confección de la suela lo demás me gusta y el tejido de lacapellada modernizarlo y es porque no tiene horma para la confección y lo rudimentario es lo que más me gusta porque es la te eccnica empírica que es ir arreglando los defectos que van saliendo y el estilo de no tener horma me gusto después de todo para una clase dezapateria y que esto también existe saludos cordiales amigos hermanos paisanos IMIGRANTES COTERANEOS disgregados EXPARCIDOS por el mundo suerte en lo que emprendan gracias y saludos de Venezuela para el mundo chao

Is it possible to line the shoes with rabbit fur?

How thick would you say the leather is?

They look like ballet shoes a bit,

Do they help with flat and planter fasciitis?

My feet are different sizes-probably from my acromegaly.

What is the thickness of the leather please?

Have you seen eastern woodland moccasins? Similar to what you have.

Have you ever heard of pucker toe moccasins? It's a traditional moccasins style from eastern tribes, especially connected to the Cherokee. Same shoe. This is also the basis for Irish Gillies. And the "experts" still say no ancient Europeans ever came to the Americas. There's also the Windover bog burials in Florida that are almost identical to burials in a lake in Switzerland. These burials are also the oldest weavings found so far in North America.

This was when you could "eat your shoes" if you were wrong or starving i love that saying but ive not heard it for a while probably because its now untrue with plastic and all sorts of nonsense. Im all for all leather/natural footwear.

Those are one uglyyy shoes...😆 But i really enjoyed watching you doing this project.

why would you make Native stuff and expropriate the culture considering how they make their money by making and learning their crafts?

please de-hiss your audio, it's unlistenable (for me, i mean)