Reviewing a kit from The Shoe Camaraderie has been on our wish-list since our we posted about Lisa's fantastic workshops back in 2019! We jumped at the chance to try out the Astrid Sandal Kit, a timeless caged leather sandal with a buckle fastening just under the ankle, using one of our soft pink-toned leather hides. Read along for details of our sandal crafting journey, made by our talented Online Team member Annelise.
DIY Shoe Kit
Astrid Sandal by The Shoe Camaraderie
The Shoe Camaraderie currently has 10 beautiful DIY Shoe Kits to choose from as well as Material Refill Kits, a Specialty Tool Kit and Pattern & Online Course bundles for makers with their own supplies. Making your own sandals sound a little intimidating? Fear not! These kits (and Lisa just an email away!) make shoe making simple.
When you purchase a sandal kit, you have access to a full set of in-depth online instructional video lessons (sort of like a sew-along!) that The Shoe Camaraderie has made specific to your sandal style. You'll be provided with the PDF pattern of the style you've chosen, a whole lot of tools and supplies that you'll need, as well as a thoroughly documented instruction booklet complete with helpful illustrations.
To note, we chose to use leather we had on hand from our selection of hides (available in all our New Zealand and Australian stores) but usually the leather colour of your choice (from the selection The Shoe Camaraderie has available) is included in any DIY Shoe Kits.
There are a handful of items you'll need to source yourself, and these are listed on the product page of your chosen shoe kit so you can prepare in advance. Most of these items you'll probably have on-hand if you're a sewist! The only thing we didn't have was a pair of heavy duty shears for trimming the sole and Lisa recommended pairs here and here.
Tools galore! All of these handy tools come with your kit!
We made a size 40 with a size 3 strap in one of our dusky pink heavyweight satchel leather hides and adore the final result! The process of tracing around your foot and taking your own custom measurements to find your size results in a very luxurious and comfortable fit.
With the help of the instruction manual provided and well put together step-by-step video tutorials, we found the entire construction process smooth to follow. This project was SO rewarding and it is super exciting to see what can be achieved with the correct tools and fantastic guidance!
Annelise (our fabulous sandal-maker) has cutting and measuring knowledge and skills from sewing but we think this DIY Shoe Kit is suitable for an Advanced Beginner shoe maker as this was Annelise's first time making shoes, and they turned out beautifully!
We love how The Shoe Camaraderie kit accommodates a wide range of sizes and allows you to have a go at shoe-making at home! If you've been looking to try out making your own custom shoes and want to have fun learning some new skills along the way, we'd absolutely recommend trying out The Shoe Camaraderie DIY Shoe Kits! They're not as hard as you might think and with the step-by-step videos and super helpful instructions you'll be a shoe-making pro in no time.
P.s Ella wears her sandals with our Make by TFS Cass Pant in Navy Heavyweight Linen and Bloom Shirt in Celery Vintage Finish Linen!
Fancy a pair in bright canary yellow? Or perhaps a fab fuschia pink? The colour range below is from a recent shipment earlier this month, contact your local store to explore their current selection.
A little note on our leather sourcing —
We mindfully purchase our leather hides from high-end designers as end-of-line (dead-stock), and do not mill or dye any leather directly. For this reason, you’ll find a unique range of leather hides in various colours and finishes in each of our stores. Leather hides are not available in our Online Store at this time.
We'd love to see your creations from our leather, share them with us by tagging wearethefabricstore or using #TheFabricStore