Back in June I pinned in my to do list the idea to make some saltwater sandals, or at least something similar. I mean, how hard could making sandals be? I had almost all the materials, the 4oz leather from this project & tons of lighter weight leathers; I just didn't have a pattern or buckles. I got the buckles for 79¢ each and everything else I had on hand. Making the pattern for her was a bit tricky. First, I fleshed out what the pattern would look like on paper; then I took lightweight cotton, draped it over her foot & drew lines where I wanted the straps to go. From there I scanned it in, vectorized my drawing then printed out the pattern pieces. It was another 2 or three revisions before I figured out the fit. Even then, the fit isn't flawless. It's good, but not perfect. I sort of had a squirmy model. I used one of her shoes to trace a pattern of the sole, then I had her stand on the pattern while I made adjustments for a better fit. I have to admit, it was more than a little nerve wracking to get all of the pattern pieces glued in place. I didn't know how it all would fit (exactly) until I got the final shoe on her foot. Overall this project took me 2 weeks on & off. Most of that time was spent trying to get the correct fit. Once I got the pattern nailed down, it took about 2-3 hours to make the entire shoe. It's not much more intense than binding a book, in my opinion. I used a lot of the same techniques, too. I love these little shoes on her & she's pretty cool with them, too. I was so afraid she wouldn't like them! Now hopefully I can make a pair for me before the snow hits the ground.