Leather Footwear - Kutch, Gujarat
Making of leather shoes begins with tanning the skins and hides of animals to produce leather. The tanned leathers are then purchased by the shoemakers, which will be used to by the craftsman to make shoes and slippers. The soles and heels of the shoes are usually made from a thick hide, which are obtained by compressing the layers of leather together.
The traditional shoemaker initially begins with the work by cutting out leather required for the sole and upper part of the slippers. Then the upper parts are colored using a chemical colour liquid which are bought from a local market. In early times natural dyes were used to color the slippers. Colored leather are then kept to dry for few minutes. While its drying craftsman begins to make the straps of slipper using camel leather and making of straps begins with cutting of leather into a required size and shape using a sharp cutter. Over the straps patters are created by cutting of the leather into triangle shape using a sharp small chisel. And color ribbons are then pasted to the back of the straps to create attractive color combination using glue and over the ribbons another layer of leather strap is pasted.
Once the upper part of the slipper are completely dry after coloring, straps are then fixed to the slippers by making holes on two sides to the edges and holes are made by piercing the small sharp chisel. These straps are then inserted in the holes and fixed using glue.
Once working on a strap is completed, artisan begins to work on the toe thong which is a divider that fits between the first and second toes. Round shaped toe thong made of leather which is decorated with embroidery work are then fixed to the foot bed of the slippers using glue. Once the straps and toe thongs are fixed to the base part of the slippers, one more layer of leather sole is pasted to the base of the slipper.
Flow Chart:
