Making Moccasins

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Making Moccasins

 

 

 

There are as many versions of making mocs as there are Nations but

they have the same basic requirements: they must fit the foot, there

must be a

backstop " to enable traction, and they must be made with the grain

for stretch and comfort.

 

 

 

Elk is the preferred moccasin material nowadays but both moose and

buffalo are wonderful if you can get them. Most traditional moccasins

are sewn with braided artificial sinew. Moccasins need to be made

with the " smooth " side of the leather next to your foot and

the " suede " side out for traction. Seams are always done so they

remain on the outside of your foot to prevent blisters.

 

 

 

Fitted moccasins are very tight when you first put them on and

probably will hurt your toes for the first 5 or 6 days you wear them.

After that they will be so comfortable you will forget you have them

on! After awhile a layer of ground-in dirt will adhere to the bottom

of the mocs and you should leave this as it becomes a " sole " . Or you

can add treated rawhide or man-made soles if you wish by gluing and

sewing to the pattern before you begin to sew the seams.

 

 

 

The basic pattern for moccasins is very easy: stand with your full

weight on one foot and have someone accurately trace the outline of

your foot on paper large enough to add a seam allowance all

around......brown paper grocery bags work great for this step. Repeat

with the other foot. Now measure the height of your foot from the

floor to 1/2 " over the top for Eastern style or halfway across the

top of the foot for Western style. You will add this measurement to

the outline of your foot all the way around the foot part of the

pattern, up to within 2 " of your ankle, adding an additional 3/8 " for

the seam.

 

 

 

At this point you need to decide what type of moc you wish to make.

Measure the heel from the floor to the height of your ankle bone.

This is the basic heel measurement so add it to the back of your foot

pattern. Then you decide if you want a flat moc, ankle-tie moc, large

decorative flaps, etc. and add enough measurement to the heel

section of your foot pattern to accommodate your choice.

 

 

 

For standard flat moccasins add 2-1/2 " to the heel measurement all

around the heel area until you reach the front pattern. This will

provide you with enough leather to fold it over and sew in place. For

ankle-tie mocs, you will need to add 4 " or more so that the flaps can

cross over your ankle. You can also use this for the flaps type moc.

 

Next measure the back of your heel and draw an oval shape the width

of your heel centered directly behind your heel on the pattern. This

piece will become the backstop. The side pieces for the ankle flaps

will meet inside this backstop and be sewn together to form the back

ankle piece.

 

 

 

Put your pattern on the leather and trace with pencil or washable ink

around it very carefully, making sure that your toe and heel line up

with the front and back of the leather. Leather is skin and stretches

in two directions: from the head of the animal (front) to the rear of

the animal (back) the leather has a mild stretching ability but from

the backbone to the abdomen the leather has a great deal of stretch

and the mocs will stretch in this direction so you need the mild

stretch on the length and the greater stretch on the width of your

pattern. If you have a half hide this is easy to see but if you only

have pieces, just take two hands and pull the hide and you ll see how

much more one way stretches.

 

 

 

Cut out your pattern and carefully cut the heel portion so that the

backstop is a semi-circle which will overlap the heel seam. Sew your

seam of the back sides of the flaps with a baseball stitch through

holes you have punched in the leather with a metal punch, awl or

sharp nail [this stitch starts on one side on the outside and comes

up from the inside thereafter, alternating holes from one side to the

other]. Draw firmly but do not bunch the leather. Place the finished

seam over a smooth, round surface (a rolling pin works

great) and pound it vigorously until the seam lies flat and smooth. I

use a wooden mallet but a rubber hammer, ice bat or even a smooth log

work great.

 

 

 

Then pull up the backstop and attach it to the back of the moc by

tacking it evenly all the way around for dance mocs and in at least

four places for slippers. There will be an airspace at the bottom

between the bottom of the back and the stop...this allows your feet

to breathe so don't sew it up!

 

 

 

In making Eastern style mocs, you will need to now measure and cut

a " tongue which is the width of the top of your foot to within 1/2

inch of the sides and add 3/8 " for a seam allowance. Mark 1/4 " holes

around the moccasin pattern foot area and count how many you have. It

helps to begin at each side and work toward the toe area so that you

can adjust the spacing if necessary to come out even. One foot will

always be slightly larger than the other so don't skip this step.

Then do the same around the tongue section from 1-2 " from the ankle

edge (depending on how high you wish the tongue to go on your foot).

 

Count each pattern section's number of holes. You will need to then

figure how many holes along the toe area will be needed to sew into

how many holes on the tongue. It is usually 1:1 along the sides of

the foot, 2:1 for 4-6 holes, and 3:1 across the top of the toe.

 

 

 

Sew together in an overlapping blanket stitch (I always work from moc

to tongue to create the right tension), doubling up the holes as

needed. Finish by burning the ends of the artificial sinew until they

melt and press them into the leather. Then pound this seam as you did

the back seam until smooth and even all around. You can now finish

the flaps in what ever style you wish, adding beaded fabric over the

tongue and flaps, painting the leather or adding quillwork on a strip

of deerhide.

 

 

 

For Western style, simply sew the front seam of the moccasins to as

high as you wish on your ankle and pound smooth as above.

 

 

 

If you want lined mocs, use the pattern on the skin side of the fur

and glue to the moc patterns before you start sewing. Rabbit works

very well but many Indian men wouldn't be caught dead wearing it so

check first. Sheepskin and other soft furs will do nicely. You want

to avoid the hides having hair instead of fur...like wolf, beaver,

bear, etc.

 

 

 

In making knee highs (Apache style) or boot mocs, you will need to

measure up the leg from the ankle bone to the height desired, then

add about 6 " to this measurement. Knee highs really need fringe and

4 " of the 6 " will be reserved for that, the other 2 " will be used as

a fold-over hem to run a tie through. Most knee highs are made as a

large piece, wide enough to encase the calf with 3/4 " added for a

3/8 " per side seam. Then cut a piece long enough to reach from the

top of the mocs to just below the ankle bone on the front of the foot

and about 6 " wide. This is sewn first to the top of the foot piece

(made like a flat moc as above) and then to each side of the calf

wrap, creating a closed " boot " . Lacing holes are punched along the

seam, through both layers and matched side to side. It's a good idea

to melt some wax on both sides of the leather to create a self-

grommet, protecting the leather from being ripped from tension.

 

 

 

Charlie and Jan Miller LaFoe at http://www.beyondthemountains.com