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Make your own Maskasina/Moccasins
There are two parts for this project. 1) beading the vamp. 2) making the maskasin. This How-To focuses on part 2.
The difficulty should be "nice & simple", except that working with leather takes a tad more skill. Also, sewing the piece takes less than two hours, but the beadwork can take much longer.

I am more than willing to clarify, if you need more information to complete these.

Posted by Falene M. from Abbotsford, British Columbia, Canada • Published See Falene M.'s 12 projects »
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  • How to make a pair of mocassins. Rock Your Mocs  - Step 1
    Step 1

    Make the Pattern.
    4 pieces: Vamp, bottom, sole, and the in-between piece. (attached is a basic diagram)
    Vamp: (print and copy the attachment; each square is approx. 1 inch). It should fit the top of your foot; from toe to the middle of your foot (middle of the arch).

    Sole: Trace your foot then edit it. Smooth the areas around your toes.Use a ruler to straighten the sides of the foot (from little toe to heel, and from big toe to heel.

    Bottom: Print and copy the attachment (each square is approx. 1 inch). Place the sole pattern on the bottom. There should be three fingers allowance on either side of the sole, at points a and b, 1-2 fingers allowance at the toe and heel of the sole, point c and d.

    The in-between piece: (I don't know what it is called). This piece is optional but it does hid the seams along the vamp and helps prevent water from leaking in. Find a ruler. Cut out a piece that it the shape of a ruler. It should be long enough to go from a-c-b.

    Make a prototype out of newspaper or muslin.

  • Step 2

    Cut out the pattern in Fleece and Leather for both feet.
    2 soles, 2 bottoms, 2 vamps: Fleece
    2 soles, 2 bottoms, 2 vamps, 2 in-between pieces: Leather

  • How to make a pair of mocassins. Rock Your Mocs  - Step 3
    Step 3

    Vamp:
    Bead/Burn/Embroider a Pattern onto the leather.
    (I used a Dëne/Athabascan/Athapaskan pattern with my own colour scheme)

    Attach the in-between piece.

  • How to make a pair of mocassins. Rock Your Mocs  - Step 4
    Step 4

    Sole: (for both the Fleece and the Leather)

    Pin the sole to the centre of the bottom piece on the side that you want people to see. Sew close to the edges. If you sew too far away, the sole will get caught on carpets and such things.

  • How to make a pair of mocassins. Rock Your Mocs  - Step 5
    Step 5

    Bottom: (for both the Fleece and the Leather)

    Fold the bottom in half. Sew the heel together. Fold the heel down and sew the hole to the width of the foot (see photo).

    NOTE: make sure that the seams are on the opposite side of the sole. You want to see the sole, not the seams.

  • How to make a pair of mocassins. Rock Your Mocs  - Step 6
    Step 6

    Attach the Vamp:

    Gather the Bottom from point a to point b. Pin to hold everything together. Sew. Make sure to not sew over the seam line that connects the vamp to the in-between piece.

    Flip the in-between piece over the seams and hand sew down. Use sinew for all hand sewing.

    NOTE: I couldn't use a pin, so I used tape...it worked well.

  • How to make a pair of mocassins. Rock Your Mocs  - Step 7
    Step 7

    Put it together and Attach the fur:

    Slide the Fleece lining into the leather. Tack down around the opening.

    Fur: Attached the ends of the fur to form a circle. With the furry side facing in, sew the fur to the shoe. Flip the fur over the seams and tack down.

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Comments

Katsi D.
Katsi D. · Tubac, Arizona, US
I promised my companion here to make him some nice moccasins. These are lovely! I will measure his feet, make a paper outline pattern - so I know what I can work with, as to quantity of leather. I have some pieces of dark chocolate tanned deer hide to use. I don't have a sewing machine, so they'll be sewn by hand. Will have to get some nice fleecy, warm inside lining material, one of these days (that can be done later before assembly, I'll bead the front tops in the meantime). Thank you for sharing your lovely moccasin pattern. Love
Falene M.
Falene M. · Abbotsford, British Columbia, CA · 18 projects
That sounds like a good project Happy I have only made two patterns so far (for size 5 and size 7 women's feet), so I would love to know how much more adaptable the pattern is. Good luck hand sewing (I am not the most competent hand sewer, but I would imagine that some parts would be easier).
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