Instructions for Making Indian Moccasins
Leather Indian-style moccasins are comfortable and perfect for wearing as house shoes at home or running errands in casual attire. You can purchase everything you need to make the moccasins at a craft and hobby store or a leather supply shop. Indian moccasins are a thoughtful gift for friends and family and will last for years with the proper care.
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Things You'll Need
- Paper bag
- Artificial sinew
- Glover's needles
- Piece of leather (at least 20 by 16 inches)
- Pen
- Utility knife
Instructions
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1
Cut apart a paper bag and lay it on the ground. Stand on the paper bag and have a friend trace your left foot. Have him leave a 1/8-inch seam allowance around the tracing.
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2
Mark a dot on either side of the paper at the point where the arch of your foot is the highest and then remove your foot. Draw a line connecting the two dots and then intersect it with a straight line going through the original line and down through the area where your heel was on the paper. Extend the straight line one inch beyond the heel drawing. This will create a T-shaped line showing where the sole of your moccasin will be.
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3
Place your hands, with index fingers together and all the fingers snug against one another, flat against the sheet of paper. Position it so the tips of your thumbs are touching the top of the T-shape.
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4
Tell your friend to make a mark on both sides at the outer edge of your palms. Remove your hands from the paper, then draw a straight line from the front of the toe area. It should extend ¼ inch from the end of the toe area.
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Use the markings to trace a triangle shape. Begin at the toe area and bring your pen or pencil around to the outer palm marking on one side.
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Continue around the bottom of the heel marking that extends 1 inch beyond the heel and back around the other outer palm marking and back to the toe area. Make sure you write "left" on the paper.
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7
Cut the template out and trace it onto the leather. Flip the template over and now you have a pattern for your right foot. Trace the template again.
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8
Cut out both pieces of leather with a utility knife marking them with a pen as to which one is "left" and "right" and mark a dot to indicate the T-shaped area on both pieces of leather.
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9
Use the scissors to cut the shape of your foot out of the paper template, then draw the design on the leather. Mark it "left" and flip the template over for your right foot and repeat the drawing for the right foot and mark.
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10
Cut the sole shapes out of the leather.
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11
Sew the two pieces of leather together for each foot--triangle piece on top--using a blanket stitch with a glover's needle and artificial sinew. The artificial sinew should connect the big toe area all the way back to the middle of the heel area.
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12
Repeat the method beginning at the toe area of the other side of the moccasin and continuing to sew the edge all the way to the middle of the heel area.
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13
Sew the back of the moccasin together by folding it in half and joining the two sides.
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14
Cut the leather from the top at the ankle stitching area toward the toe area leaving 1 inch of leather. This will form the tongue that you can grasp to pull on your moccasins.
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15
Repeat the sewing method on the right moccasin.
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Tips & Warnings
Decorate the moccasins with fringes of leather or multicolored beading if you desire.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit multi-coloured beads, background from beads image by 26kot from Fotolia.com
