Pinky Linkers are physical devices that allow two people who might not know each other very well to experience a physical bond. They are customized to reflect both the size of each individual’s pinky as well as how close each person feels to the other. Check out the Instructable here: http://www.instructables.com/id/Pinky-Linkers/
This version of the Pinky Linkers was prototyped and tested with the Pier 9 Artist-in-Residence cohort in March 2016. Thanks to all the AIRs and Pier 9 staff that contributed data and played the linking game!
I’m getting settled in at the amazing residency at Autodesk’s Pier 9. This past week we were assigned a mini-group project to help us get warmed up and to get to know each other. I worked with Johan Da Silveira, Jonah Ross-Mars, and Purin Phanichphant to create a Bicycle-Mounted Banana Suspender.
Last weekend I returned to Brooklyn Shoespace for a 5-hour class on making leather slippers. The bootmaking I did last month was amazing but extremely time-consuming. Now that I’m moving on to thinking about iterative design and how to quickly build some electronics into footwear I thought it might be good to learn how to make something a bit simpler. Slippers turned out to be a great fit. Here’s what we made:
The process is fairly straightforward. These are the main steps:
Trace and cut leather according to pattern. Also cut rubber soles.
Use rubber cement to tack upper to leather sole.
Use dividers to measure distance of stitches from slippers edge, as well as stitch length.
Punch sew holes with awl.
Sew using a saddle stitch. Tip: for thread, use 4 times the length of the sewn edge + a little more.
Paint bottom of leather soles + smooth side of rubber soles with shoe glue. Let dry.
Very carefully attach rubber bottoms to the leather.
Sand edges.
Make & add tassles if desired!
Cut leather pieces, edged with rubber cement
Leather tacked and clipped in place
Marking stitch line with dividers
Punch sew holes with awl
Threading needle with waxed thread
Completed sewing
Soles with glue drying
Attaching the rubber sole
Sewing the tassle
See completed slippers above. Next step: adding some electronics!
I also finally crossed paths with my copy of the “Eyeo 2011-2015” book. It’s quite beautiful. I’m really honored to be included amongst such inspiring and prolific colleagues!
I’ve been on a bit of a workshop binge this Fall. Back in October I took “Leather Working 101” at the Textile Arts Center in Brooklyn. It was a great opportunity flush out my basic knowledge of leather tools and techniques. I’ve picked up bits and pieces from the leatherwork we’ve been doing at Social Body Lab, but this helped to give me a more solid foundation.
Left: a leather sewing test, Right: a leather card holder
A few weeks ago weeks ago I attended a Saturday afternoon workshop on “Natural Dyeing & Foraging” at Manufacture New York. Part of the reason I wanted to go is to get a sneak peak at the Manufacture NY space, but I’ve also been thinking some about dyeing my own materials. Our instructor was Liz Spencer who focuses on ethical dyeing practices. The workshop focused on dyeing with plants found within the nearby region: black walnut, Hopi purple sunflower seeds, coreopsis, and pokeberries.
black walnut
Hopi sunflower seeds
coreopsis
pouring coreopsis into dye bath
pokeberry dye
pokeberry results
The final results! Left to right: coreopsis, pokeberry, Hopi sunflower seeds, black walnut. Top to bottom: linen, silk, wool yarns
Besides straight up dyeing we also got to try bundle, resist, and shibori dyeing techniques. Good food for thought for future projects.
Today the boots became boots! The morning started with buffing the parts we dyed last night to make them nice and shiny. Then it was a lot of sanding, gluing, and assembly. It’s amazing how much work it takes to get the shape of the heel to perfectly match the shape of the sole. Once all the pieces were put together it was time to take it off the last – the moment of truth!
The fantastic news is that these boots actually fit. They’re a little tough to get on without a shoe horn and my heels slide up a bit when I walk, but overall they came out way better than I ever expected. It has gotten me excited about learning how to make other kinds of shoes!
Today was all about soles and heels. First patterns were made for both and then it was all about cutting, glueing and sanding. I decided on a leather sole with some inlayed rubber and leather stacked with a rubber cap. The combo embraces the loveliness of leather while being tough enough to withstand Toronto winters!
Filling in the bottom with cork
Decided on the heel height. I went with three pieces of men’s weight sole leather + the rubber
Sole and heel patterns
Leather soles
Assembled heel
Sanding the heel to introduce the angle and smooth the sides
Day 3 = awesome! Today was about assembling, sewing, and lasting. The most nerve wracking moment was sewing the stitch around the ankle. I chose a contrasting color (neon pink!) so there wasn’t a lot of room for error. But both came out straight! The most bewildering moment was lasting the upper. When yanking on the veg tan it seemed impossible that it would reassemble itself into a reasonable shape, but with some help from Becca and Keiko it did. Now both look very much boot-shaped. Next up – soles and heels!
The dried vamps after coming off the board
All the pieces! L to R – cut down vamps, counters, assembled linings
Day two! Today started with meeting Becca at Global Leather where I purchase a hide for my uppers. It is a black sheep veg tan which I’m quite excited about. The pattern pieces were cut and then the vamps were soaked, stretched, and left to dry overnight. Also the edges of the backs were skived (thinned out) in preparation for tomorrow’s assembly. The skiving machine is one of my new favorite things!
The linings were also cut from a soft black pigskin. The seams were joined first with rubber cement and then sewn. Tomorrow they’ll be joined to the uppers!
Brooklyn Shoe Space!
My hide – black veg tan sheep purchased from Global Leathers
Cut pieces – with this pattern the entire upper is made of only 2 pieces!
Soaking the leather
Board used to mold the leather
Lasting pincers
Blocking/crimping the vamp
Manual skiver – shaves off layers of leather to thin it
I’m taking a 5-day Bootmaking Intensive course at Brooklyn Shoespace with Rebecca Heykes. After a lot of thought about integrating some electronics I’ve realized that for my first go I just need to learn how to make shoes! I’ve decided to make a basic Chelsea boot – something that I will definitely wear. Today was spent pattern making as well as creating insoles. Here are some snippets…
Selecting a last
Sketching the design
Taping the last, so the pattern can be drawn on
Determining the vertical with the last propped up at the appropriate heel height
Removing the pattern
Attaching tape patterns to pattern board and cutting them out
Pattern with allowances
Taping the bottom for the insole pattern
Cutting the insoles
Cutting leather particle board for insoles using 5-in-1
Insole pieces
Bevelling insole edges
Gluing in the shank
Using nails and masking tape to hold moistened insole in place while it dries and molds overnight
