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| A quarter of the Cow Hide! |
Several years ago I got a cow hide that was not nice enough to make into a rug. I had scraped it but didn't know what to do with it. The size of it was incredible and it barely fit into my 10x10' frame; that was overwhelming to deal with.
But this year I got over it and cut it in four pieces which were much more manageable. After cleaning it up a bit it was ready to be made into rawhide sandals.
Of course, there are many different ways to make sandals and everyone has their own preference. After trying several designs and wearing them for an extended period of time in various weather I finally settled on the design presented here.
The first step is to draw the pattern of your foot onto the hide. I like when the hair side is up against my feet so when I draw the pattern with my left foot on the underside of the hide it will actually be the sandal for my right foot. Draw a line all the way around your foot, making sure that the pencil is held up straight and not at an angle.
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| Drawing the Front Tabs |
To be able to tie the straps to the sole without them rubbing against the ground I use little side tabs, so make sure your piece of hide is wide enough to accommodate them. The front tabs are placed just behind your toes, where your feet are the widest. Unless you have square feet those tabs will probably not be facing each other and the strap will be parallel to the slant of your toes. That works great for me.
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| Drawing one Back Tab |
For the back tabs, come straight down from your ankle bone on each side and draw your tabs just in front of that point.
Start with tabs about one inch square. You can trim them later on if you wish.
Next you can cut out your pattern, about 1/4 inch from the line you drew, just to make sure. If you're super careful you can use your knife but make sure you always cut away from your body; the hide is hard and you can put a lot of force into your knife. To be safe, use something like metal snips to do the job.
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| Back of the Sandal with Tabs |
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| Tab to tie the strap to the sole |
With a hand drill or by spinning the point of your knife if it's strong enough, drill two holes side by side into your tabs, parallel to the edge of your sandals.
These holes will be used to tie the straps to the sole.
Now flip your sandals over, hair side up, and bend the tabs up at a 90 degree angle. If your tabs are large enough that should be pretty easy; otherwise, pliers can help.
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| Front Strap |
I used some buckskin scraps to make my straps. For the front strap, cut a strip of buckskin about an inch wide and twice the length of the width of your sandals. At one end, cut the buckskin in the middle to create two thongs, and taper these so that their ends can fit in the holes in the tabs. Tie these ends on the outside of the tab, as shown in the picture.
Then, put your foot on the sandal, pull the strap over it, and see where you should split the buckskin into two thongs to be threaded through the tab holes.
Proceed and you should have a nice strap that holds the front of your foot somewhat tightly.
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| Back Strap with Loop |
For the back strap, first you'll need to make little loops of thong so that the strap itself can wrap around your ankle without slipping off the heel. A loop about two inches long when it's stretched should do it.
Thread one end of these loops through one hole in each of the back tabs for now.
For the strap itself, again cut a piece of buckskin about an inch wide and long enough that it will be able to go all the way through each loop and around your heel, and so that it can be tied easily in the front of your foot.
See how everything will fit together and mark where the loop meets the strap on each side. Punch a hole there and thread the loop end through before threading it through the tab hole and tying it on the outside with the other end.
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| Rawhide Sandal |
Try on your sandal and make sure everything is working the way you want, then trim any excess material on the sole or the tabs if they dig into your feet. The sandals should fit nicely without flapping around or catching on anything and be comfortable. I can even run with mine. Be careful on slippery ground though, especially when wet, because there are no treads on these!
If you're satisfied with the result, then make the pattern for your other foot. If you're doing it the way I did make sure that you get the pattern for your correct foot. If you already have a left sandal you should draw your other pattern around your left foot to make your right sandal!
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| A Nice Pair of Rawhide Sandals |
Enjoy your new pair of rawhide sandals!
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