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Making Shoes, Part 4: Finish the Shoe Top your shoe in luscious leather. From "B. Original" episode DBOR-413

Finish up your sassy new shoes.

Your handmade shoes are almost done, and it's time to top them off with a beautiful upper. Michele Beschen shows you how in the final part of this B. Original how-to.

The possibilities are endless: You could choose a strappy evening look, a sensible sandal or anything in between. Since the uppers will be small, you can splurge on a leather you love – or use up some scraps from other projects.

Scroll down for the grand finale of Michele Beschen's handmade shoe how-to.

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Finish the Shoe

	Figure A
	Figure B
	Figure C
	Figure D

Materials:

shoe soles from Part 3
pieces of leather
decorative upholstery tacks
nails or plain tacks
hammer or air nailer
double-sided tape
uppers from dismantled shoes
heavy-duty scissors
fabric or leather trim (optional)

• Use the uppers from the shoes dismantled in Part 1 of this project as a template for the new shoes' uppers.

• Trace the old uppers onto the new leather and cut out the shapes (figure A). Michele Beschen picked an imprinted leather for her new clogs.

• Fit the leather pieces to the shoe soles and use double-sided tape to hold them in place. Attach the leather securely to the soles with nails or tacks; Michele Beschen used an air nailer (figure B).

  Safety Alert: Wear eye protection whenever using an air nailer or nail gun. Always use extreme caution when using nailers.

• Start nailing or tacking the leather at the toe of the shoe and work around the sides, alternating sides with every nail or tack. Slip your foot into the shoe periodically to make sure you get a good fit.

• When nailing the leather to the shoe, aim the nails or tacks slightly downward so the points can't come up through the sole of the shoe.

• With the leather upper in place, hide the nails with a band of leather or trim (figure C) attached with decorative upholstery tacks (figure D).

• Put some spring in your step with some cushioned inserts or insoles, available at any drug store or shoe store.

Slip on your new shoes and do a little dance – you made them yourself!