D.I.Y. HF10-001

Welcome to the blog. In honor of my first post as well as first completed pair for 2010 I decided to document and share the process with everyone. I'll be doing this with various base models as I work with them in the future. For me articles like this serve multiple purposes-they provide artists with a reference for their own methods and also offer a look into how much labor goes into a hand modified shoe of this nature. Due to the lengthy process I tried to be as brief as I could, so if you have any questions don't hesitate to ask.

-Tools and supplies

Acetone
Contact cement
Powerbond
Fray check
Super glue gel and liquid
Seam ripper
Custom needle punch
Rotary punch tool
Eyelet pliers and 5/32” eyelets
Razor blade
Hand sewing awl
16 and 18 gauge leather needles
Cotton balls and q-tips
Shot glass
Flathead screwdriver
Lighter
Scissors
Dremel
3" Masking tape
Ruler
Sewing and embroidery machine
Pen
Pins
T70 and T90 bonded nylon thread
Embroidery thread and backing
5” sport zippers
Ripstop cotton
Synthetic leather
Base shoe



-Separate the soles and remove the print from the canvas with acetone.

-Trace and cut the heel for the zipper


-Pull the insole-this can be tricky with Classic and Core bases
-Pull all of the original stitches


-Carefully cut and pull the liner
-Trace and trim the heel panel

-Trace and cut the ripstop cotton panels, paying attention to the direction of the grid

-Apply Fray Check to make things easier in the long run

-Shave any excess glue from the base

-Lay a base coat of contact cement on the ripstop panels and upper
-Carefully position and bond the lace and side panels-watch for bleeding
-Working from the inside once the cement has cured, carefully punch every stitch hole on the outer side of the base

-Using a 16 gauge leather needle and T70 thread, stitch the wave first


-Stitch the top and front edges of the liner


-Trim the zipper down and burn the edges
-Position it and glue down the edge
-Stitch 3 or 4 stitches along all 3 rows of the liner to ensure proper alignment
-Stitch along the edge of a piece of masking tape and pull the stitches
-Using the tape as a guide, punch and stitch the outer edge of the zipper

-Once the zipper is stitched in, pull the stitches from the 3 rows, switch to an 18 gauge leather needle and fully stitch the rows with the T90 thread.

-Switch back to the 16 gauge leather needle and T70 thread
-Punch the lace holes, wrap the edges, and stitch the lace panel to the shoe




-Punch the new larger holes for the eyelets and install them

-Repeat everything for the inner side of the shoe, but this time add the flap behind the zipper




-Separate the tongue

-Digitize and embroider the logo then measure and cut the tongue label

-Stitch the label on the front and tag in the back

-Stitch everything back together


-Stitch the toebox with T90 thread

-Stitch the toebox back to the rest of the shoe
-This is the hardest step but important for a proper fit

-Shave the original heel embroidery

-Bond the ripstop to the heel and wrap it


-Mark, pin, and stitch the heel
-Make sure all of the rubber to be bonded to the upper is free of any debris or glue
-Reconnect the sides of the midsole to the upper with Powerbond using a flattened q-tip to apply the adhesive(thanks to wideangle and ghettro from Crooked Tongues for introducing this adhesive to the customizing world and Sharp020 for testing it on vulcanized soles)


-Now that you've finished one shoe complete the pair and repeat all the steps for the other shoe
-After many hours of work you should end up with a fully hand stitched custom sneaker with a shape, fit, and feel true to the original base