My husband and I were discussing the possibility of boycotting China-made goods. At least, I was talking passionately, and he was working on a paper. (Sometimes I think my conversation helps to focus his mind on his work.)
Anyway, Matthias needed new shoes this week. He had completely worn out his hand-me-down Robeez (little leather moccasins), which had survived 3 little crawler/climbers and were completely toast.
I went to a shoe store to buy a new pair. As I was pulling out my wallet, an awful, economizing, anti-factory sentiment came over me. (Robeez, a Canadian company, are now manufactured in China.) What happened, I thought guiltily, to my commitment to "make it myself, buy second-hand, or do without"?
So I went home and took a seam-ripper to the old, holey shoes. Voila! A pattern.
Then I rummaged in the basement for for that ripped-up leather jacked that my husband was using for book-binding, and discovered a little jack-pot of leather scraps.
I traced the pattern, and made...
A new pair! Here they are, after being worn for a day or two.
Actually I made two pairs, the first being a tad big. That's alright.
Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of the process. I forgot all about the camera in the passion of the moment. Silly me.
But there are all kinds of soft shoe patterns out there, including this free one. Here's how it all looks from where I stand: 
