Hard sole mocs tutorial

[powwowbum49]

STEP 19

Now you need to cut off any excess leather at the heel seam. The way you cut this excess off will also determine how the heel fits the foot. A heel naturally bend in toward the ankle and so some folks like to cut this at an angle taking more off at the top than the bottom so the moc will shape to the foot. Other will just cut it straight. Which ever way you prefer be carefull not to accidentally cut your sewing threads since you are not done with them.

Also you may now need to bend the sole back around into proper shape at this time, since the 'popping' process is done by folding the sole in on itself causing contortions in the sole.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 18

At this point it is time to pop the moc right side out. You can pop the moc in one of two directions. The first would be starting at the toe and rolling it inward, back on itself toward the heel as shown in the first pic. The other method shown in the second pic (and the one I prefer of the two) would be popping the moc over through the foot opening of the moc and then pushing the toe area forward.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 17

Now go back to the original side and finish sewing it back until it meets the other side.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 16

Now, you will stop on the side you were sewing and move over to the other side and sew in the same manner you chose to on the 'big toe' side of the moc (either snug or loose fit). What you want to do is sew so that the arch line marks on the upper will be fairly close to straight across from each other. Continue sewing this side all the way down to the toe/heel mark at the heel.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 15

Continue sewing down the moc to the arch line mark. You will probably notice that the arch line mark on the upper does not meet up with the one on the sole (which can be seen in the attached pic). This is fine for the snug fit that I like, but if you are wanting a fuller fit then you may need to take slightly longer stitches on the upper than you do on the sole. This will cause the upper leather to pucker a little bit with each stitch and thus take up the difference slowly as you proceed down the side of the moc.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 14

Now it is time to start sewing. I sew the 'big toe' side of the moc first since it will have the tightest curve and thus be more difficult. As you pass the needle downward through the sole, align the edges of the welt and upper and then pull it down in front of where the needle will come out of the sole. Push the needle through the welt and upper and then pull. Now realign everything back up and snug it down and proceed to the next stitch.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 13

Now at this point I criss cross the threads and sew through the holes of the opposing thread. I do this so that the threads will be locked down and I will not have to have a knot on the inside of the toe of the moc.

Note in the pic how this forms a X over my toe/heel line mark.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 12

Now I fold the welt in half and run the 2 needles through it on either side of the half way point and then through the upper leather on either side of the toe/heel mark at the toe that I put on it. Remember that which ever side of the upper leather that you want on the outside will need to be facing you at this point. In other words the bottom of the sole and the top of the upper need to be touch each other.

[powwowbum49]

Well...I am going to finish up this tutorial now...ya ya I know...Finally...LMAO!!!

Okay, uppers can be beaded or plain. Also the uppers can be beaded before or after the mocs are together. This is all a matter of personal preference and dictated by the type/style of beadwork that will be done on the mocs.

The pair I am working on will be partially beaded but I will not be doing the beadwork until after they are completely sewn up. I am doing this because I am short on time before my nieces will be using their mocs and I want them to have some say in the designs and colors that will be used.

STEP 11

At this point I use artificial sinew and size 3 glovers needles to sew the mocs up. I pull off about 12 feet worth of sinew and split in down (in half). I set half aside for the second pair of mocs and the put a needle on each end of the 12 feet worth of half diameter sinew. I then take the 2 needles and put them through the sole leather on either side of the toe/heel line as shown in the attached pic.

[powwowbum49]

W_rose

Most definitely sole shape could (and in some instances still does) help determine the tribal identity of the maker. There are some folks out there that like to artifake things to look old and will still use those sole shapes.

This is basic instructions for mocs construction and need only be altered slightly to achieve several different tribal styles of mocs. The particular mocs I am making for my niece are to leaning toward Pawnee, but the instructions will produce many different style I use it mostly to make S. Cheyenne style mocs.

[Blackbear]

Looking good!!! Simpler than the missouri river patterns so far

[wyo_rose]

Wow, nice pics! And it's good to see that your method and mine aren't that different. Just slightly. But you know long time ago, different tribes could be identified by their moc soles footprints.:p

[powwowbum49]

STEP 10

Now that everything is cut out, I prepunch holes in the sole. This allows me to sew up the mocs much easier and quicker. I do this prepunching with an awl that has a very small thin tip so it won't bust through the sole leather ... or I use my dremel and a 1/32" bit in it (but that small a bit is hard to find) to just drill the holes.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 9

Now you can cut the sole pattern out (if you haven't made the manilla folder copy of the patterns) and use it to mark your sole leather and cut them out. Like the upper be sure to turn the pattern over before tracing the second sole.

Also be sure to mark the sole (and upper for that matter) on the edges with the toe/heel line and arch line marks. I do this because I use these marks as points of reference to line the upper and sole up for sewing.

[powwowbum49]

STEP 8

Once this is all done you can now cut out your uppers. You will also want to cut out a 'welt' for each foot. The welt is a thin strip of leather that is sewn between the upper and the sole to help protect the thread that the mocs is sewn together with and also to seal the mocs so less dirt and moisture can get in. It needs to be at least as long as the upper is around the outer edge plus one inch per side.