Costume Craftwork on a Budget

SECTION SIX Leather Products

These chapters cover inexpensive ways to make shoes/boots, a jacket, and a shoemaker’s apron. (See also Chapter 21, which has instructions for making leather mittens.)

Chapter 19 Suede Leather Shoes and Boots

I made many pairs of inexpensive soft suede leather shoes and boots for Robin Hood, inspired by my mother when she made embroidered shoes that I loved very much for me during my childhood.

Robin Hood is set during the medieval period. There was no period boots or shoes that could be pulled from stock. Many of the boots and shoes were made from deerskin (available at tanneries), which is a natural yellowish brown color. Some of the dark shoes and boots in the production were made from cut suede leather coat material ...