Pattern Making Course - Summer 13. Day 1

Today saw the start of carreducker's first Pattern Making Course for shoemakers which is very exciting for us. The focus of the course is on bespoke pattern making rather than pattern making for the industry. So ideal for people who want to make one-off shoes on their own rather than for graded runs for production.

As with our intensive Shoemaking Courses, it is a highly practical class with the majority of the time spent actually making patterns.

This is the classroom, lovely and bright as you can see

So, with Fiona Campbell, expert pattern maker, at the helm, our five students started the day with a discussion of the role of the pattern maker within the bespoke shoemaking process.

Next came an introduction to the tools of the trade and a look at the last.

During the week they will look at 3 styles of shoe - the court shoe/pump, the Oxford and the Derby. Today they started with the court shoe, including a brief history of the style.

And then they moved on to practical work which involved taping the last; drawing on the design; and making a standard.

This led to cutting sectional patterns and testing them on the last.

So it was a full day's work with a lot of new things to take in and learn. Tomorrow will see them moving on to the lining pattern for the court shoe.

Good luck guys and we hope you really learn a lot during the week.

Happy shoemaking!