In 2013, I started looking at mukluks for wintertime minimalist footwear, and received the MacPhee Workshop Mukluk kit as a Christmas gift. One thing led to another, however, and I didn't get to finishing the kit until now.
I started with the less complicated moccasin design given impending springtime and some mistakes because of my inexperience with shoemaking. As you can see, there are a few inconsistencies from one shoe to the other as I was still learning as I made them.
As for the kit itself, you get a short guidebook, enough leather for a set of moccasins/mukluks, some Melton wool, leather needles, thread, and wool boot liners. I'll be using the boot liners this fall when I get to making a pair of mukluks.
I found the instructions for the kit to be fairly well laid-out and easy to follow. The one place where the guide can be a bit frustrating is the grainy black and white photos which can obscure some of the finer details of the stitching. Between the video on the MacPhee workshop website and some quick YouTube searches I was able to fill in the gaps.
I started by making a foot pattern based on the boot liners thinking to make mukluks, but due to either poor sewing or poor measuring the liners wouldn't fit in the moccasins once they were finished. I am planning on using this same method for making a pair of athletic shoes, so we'll see if I just made a mistake when making the moccasins.
After finishing the main part of the shoe, I used contact cement to attach pieces of Vibram Pro Tania soling to the bottom of the moccasins since I would be wearing them on concrete and asphalt. After a week or so of use including three short runs, the soling has begun to detach from the shoes. I will update this once I find a solution, but since soling is optional, I can't fault the kit for my delamination problems.
Overall, I would recommend this kit if you want to make moccasins and mukluks. If you only want to make moccasins you are probably better off looking elsewhere as you'll have a surplus of materials. If you are planning to make mukluks, the materials are quite nice and there seems to be enough Melton and thread for several sets of mukluks although you'll need to find some more leather if you're making multiple pairs.
I'll post a link once I get to making the mukluks this fall so you can see how that works.
I started with the less complicated moccasin design given impending springtime and some mistakes because of my inexperience with shoemaking. As you can see, there are a few inconsistencies from one shoe to the other as I was still learning as I made them.
As for the kit itself, you get a short guidebook, enough leather for a set of moccasins/mukluks, some Melton wool, leather needles, thread, and wool boot liners. I'll be using the boot liners this fall when I get to making a pair of mukluks.
I found the instructions for the kit to be fairly well laid-out and easy to follow. The one place where the guide can be a bit frustrating is the grainy black and white photos which can obscure some of the finer details of the stitching. Between the video on the MacPhee workshop website and some quick YouTube searches I was able to fill in the gaps.
I started by making a foot pattern based on the boot liners thinking to make mukluks, but due to either poor sewing or poor measuring the liners wouldn't fit in the moccasins once they were finished. I am planning on using this same method for making a pair of athletic shoes, so we'll see if I just made a mistake when making the moccasins.
After finishing the main part of the shoe, I used contact cement to attach pieces of Vibram Pro Tania soling to the bottom of the moccasins since I would be wearing them on concrete and asphalt. After a week or so of use including three short runs, the soling has begun to detach from the shoes. I will update this once I find a solution, but since soling is optional, I can't fault the kit for my delamination problems.
Overall, I would recommend this kit if you want to make moccasins and mukluks. If you only want to make moccasins you are probably better off looking elsewhere as you'll have a surplus of materials. If you are planning to make mukluks, the materials are quite nice and there seems to be enough Melton and thread for several sets of mukluks although you'll need to find some more leather if you're making multiple pairs.
I'll post a link once I get to making the mukluks this fall so you can see how that works.
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