How to Make a Moccasin: a Tutorial - Pioneer Lifestyle Circa 1700's
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ย. 2024
- Peter works on a canoe paddle made from curly maple, using a crooked knife as a wood scraper. He then discusses the design and function of the shaving horse he is using to secure the paddle while he works.
Peter gives a detailed tutorial on how to make a moccasin using his neck knife, a triangular awl, a needle and waxed Irish linen. He punctuates the lesson with stories and wee bits of history.
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Featuring - Peter Kelly
Cinematography - Catherine Wolfe
Producer & Editor - Catherine Wolfe
SOCIAL MEDIA
TH-cam - / @thewoodlandescape
Facebook - / the.woodland.escape
MUSIC
The amazing music in this episode is graciously provided by our friends, Richard Fortier and Al MacDonald.
#howtomakeamoccasin#18thcenturypioneerlife #selfreliance #northamericanhistory #pioneerlife #homesteading #frontierlife #selfsufficiency
I had a great-grandfather who made shoes here in NC in the 19th century. He was commissioned to make 25 pairs/month for the Confederate army. I have his original shoe molds in my possession that were passed down through the family. A treasure indeed! And supposedly my last name, Shook, originally came from the word for "shoe maker" in Germany. So, there's your wee bit of history for the day! 😁
And a grand bit of history indeed, Andrew. Thanks so much for sharing.
That is tremendously cool 😎
You're a national treasure..... we need more men like you sir.
That’s a wee bit scary … more than one of me but, thank you, very flattering.
Peter, THANK YOU SO MUCH!! My mother is 92 and suffers from adema and her feet are terribly misshaped. She has not been able to find shoes for years now. But thank to you and your awesome video I managed to make her a fantastic pair of fur lined moccasins. Once again thank you so much. 🙏🙏🙏
You are very welcome, that sure warms the cockles of the heart!
Can’t wait to watch this tonight ! Or .. maybe tomorrow over a cup of coffee ☕️ by the woodstove ! Be well ! Thanks
Appreciate your interest.
Hoping for a winter moccasin tutorial this season!!!
It is our plan to do just that. Thanks for your interest.
@@TheWoodlandEscape wonderful! I'm hoping to make myself a pair for this winter, so I'm excited to learn your method.
Excellent tutorial! Your passion for teaching and preserving the ways of old are second to none.
Thanks Marc.
I'm born and raised in Lancaster County! That is an amazing story, I always love your storys or little nuggets of wisdom. Awesome video as well, really interesting process!
Thanks Derick. You have some pretty country down there in Pennsylvania. We appreciate your interest in our humble endevour.
Me too Derek near Denver Pa
Love your content! Just wanted to drop a comment to say that a quick bath in RIT dye remover will pull that yellow dye right out of that commercial hide, leaving it looking just like brain tan!
That is a great tip, I’ll be trying that out soon, thank you.
Speaking of walnuts for dying I have used walnut shells for years in dying traps for everything from coyotes to beaver
Peter - another superb video. I had a day off work today and Ive spent 5 hours watching you. They weren't fools in the past, were they. They managed to live in conditions I think most of us would find really difficult today.
Indeed, Al, if not impossible…we’ve become a wee bit soft in the last 300 years.
Great tutorial. I made a pair of shoe packs mid-calf height from 5 oz. chrome tan. I did not use the wrap around method. Just a mid -calf boot double shoe leather soles. Because of the thick leather I used a whip stitch. This was 6 yrs. ago. The boot is still very functional no need for repairs yet.
Sounds like you made them right, well done!
This is where I would fail as a reenactor. I would have to portray a wealthy townsman, or a tenderfoot right off the boat, still wearing my bespoke London boots.
Too funny. Actually, i wear moccasins almost exclusively and when required to wear hard soled shoes, find them very uncomfortable.
Love the video. One little tip, a method I use as far as the knots go. For the starting and finishing knots on the stitching, you may want to try a slightly different method. Instead of starting on the top you can start your first stitch but going through the layers and out the top instead of going through the bottom. If I do the one needle technique I will just leave a couple inches at the beginning with no knot. When I get all the way around I will run the last stitch out through the layers in the side and then tie the two loose ends. You only have one knot which is hidden between the layers and does not show.
Sometimes this will create a bump and if it ends up inside the shoe given different circumstances, I generally use waxed thread which you can flatten using a mallet after tying the knot and it will stay pretty flat making it less noticeable visually and to the touch!!
Great advice, Joshua, I be giving that a try soon. Thanks for sharing.
Mr. Kelly, I think I have watched just about all your videos, love'em.
This one is the best. Before arthritis set in, I did some 1770 reenacting. My first moccassins were center seam and very easy to make. My problem is I am one big "tenderfoot". I'm going to try this shoe pack. Have some elk for the soles and deer for the uppers.
I truely envy you your life style sir. Many blessings to you and yours.....
Thanks David. If I may make a suggestion, I’ve found elk to wear out very quickly and would suggest that you get some very heavy weight cow leather. I pretty much live in my moccasins and can get over a years wear out of them.
Thanks again for sharing with our group!!!
Our pleasure, Chester, we appreciate your interest and support.
The frontiersman had little to gather around him, in the way of possessions, and all that touched his hands was a reflection upon himself.
Thanks for sharing such a profound thought, I might just have to reuse that one!
Beautifully said
I agree. Well said!
I believe the what you shared is absolutely true. This is one of the spectacular reasons I appreciate custom leather artisans. They are so much more inclined to share their ideals and skills. Rather than approaching the art with a competitive and secretive mentality, we celebrate and value the creative diversity of one another. We know each piece is one of a kind, made by our hands. It is a great community to be a part of. Happy 'Mocking'!
I just recently took up leatherworking and tooling…I am completely fascinated by it, and I love, love, love moccasins. I basically live in my Minnetonkas, but they’re only ankle high, and I want some good bush Moc’s to expand my capabilities. So your video comes at a perfect time for me. Thanks for doing this! Can’t wait to see more!
It is all in the timing they say, Corbin. You will not be disappointed with a good pair of shoe packs.
Check out moccasinscanada.com
One of the best tutorials I’ve been able to find! I’m glad you made boots or “high top” styled Mocs rather than the eastern slipper styled ones. Good work! 😁👍🏼
Thank you. I’ve made pretty much ever kind of historical moccasins but, the one I made in this tutorial is by far my favorite.
Excellent job, I use boars hide for the sole & Elk or Moose for the upper! Thank you for the video....ATB
I’ll bet that makes for a long lasting moc.
I had a whole fantasy about being your apprentice just now. Literally just found your video for the first time
Glad you found us!
Well done thank you for all your knowledge my wife and me enjoy watching your videos my wife said she is going to make herself some my father showed me when I was little he used walnuts for dying his traps works great for diet as well on clothing just don't get it on your hands it won't come off for a long time thanks so much again God bless
Thanks for your interest in our channel and your right about keeping walnut dye off your skin. My hands have been partially dyed for weeks , lol.
Spent a winter in NWT working for a trapper 32 years ago, his mother-in-law made me a pair or winter jee-kay (don't know how to write it) I'm back here in England watching you so I can make a summer pair as I've been 'barefoot' for a year now.
Great videos taking me there and wishing I was back in the northland ( without the authoritarian bit!)
Time well spent on what is guaranteed to be the most often used piece of gear other than the special purpose opening on a pair of trousers, P.S. All of your videos truly shine and mean a great deal, thank you for them.
We are flattered and thank you for you interest and support.
Hello from Detroit Michigan USA brother great video thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise I have size 16 feet this knowledge will come I handy
Size 16, I think I want you on my side!
@@TheWoodlandEscape
That’s funny! LOL!! I always enjoy your videos. Many thanks!🇺🇸
Good afternoon Peter. What a pleasant early surprise. Hope all are well and warm up north. Thank you sir.
Indeed we are Michael
Hello! I just made a pair of moccasins from a deer hide I tanned (with mayo, not brains-I didn't have them) using your instructions here! They turned out well and it was a very satisfying project. Thank you so much for sharing! It took me about 40 hours total, 20 for tanning and 20 for making the moccasins. I did use some thick leather I already had around for the soles.
Wonderful, glad it worked out.
@@TheWoodlandEscape Thanks very much!
Your very addicting to watch, I really respect your talents in building and craftsmanship in life’s necessities. You are an inspiration. God bless you and thanks for sharing. (Old guy from Arkansas)🇺🇸
Thanks for your very kind words.
I’m amazed at how you’ve honed your craft and understanding of early pioneer life. You make it look so easy at how it just jumps up at us. You’ve made me want to dust off my books on the early colonial wars between Great Britain and France. Well done Peter….
Flattered, thank you.
Thanks for all of your great videos. You have become one of my favorite channels and I really appreciate all of your hard work recording and getting the info to us. This information is valuable in so many ways. Thanks!
That is both flattering and encouraging feedback and we certainly thank you for your interest.
When I was a kid in the early 70's they sold these just above the ankle hightop mocs that I thought were super cool they were double soled and I remember older people that could afford them had them for years, they would just have them resoled. Years later I searched and searched and found some being sold at The Kittery Maine Trading Post for big bucks and they advertised as chromepack leather. I always wanted a pair.
Don’t we all have those childhood meow things that w3 wanted, but knew we’d never have. I have a number that come to mind.
An Indian friend of mine from up north told me that the soles were made of the Buffaloes forehead because of the thickness. Makes sense I guess. Good luck finding one though. Hahaha
Thanks for the video.
That’s interesting. Actually I have a green Buffalo hide coming in about a week from a friend.
Very nice. Can't wait to see what you do with it. I'm new to your channel and I'm loving it. Thank you for helping keep history alive.
Appreciate your interest and support, Alan.
Peter in past talk that purely shines love always Freddie
Great tutorial your patience along with our ancestors is amazing
Thanks, Tim, glad you enjoyed.
My Grampa John taught me double stitching to save time & frustration. Essentially the same stitching patern that you use, but both stitches are completed with 1 pass of the awl.
A stitch in time saves nine comes to mind. I think you refer to the awl that you pass through and when you pull it out it is saddle stitched. Sadly they didn’t have that device in 1750.
@@TheWoodlandEscape we used an ordinary awl, punched the hole, pulled the wax thread half way through, opened a hole in the thread to pull the main thread back through enough to pull both ends evenly through each side at the same time.
My Moccasin's wore out in a year, so I took them apart and used them for a pattern, I used Elk hide to make a new pair of Moc's.. Elk is harder to sew, but last 4 times longer than Deer hide, especially the sole.
Elk is certainly better than deer. Brain tanned is always stronger than commercial and moose is the king of material for Mocs.
My family lives as the pioneers did, and I have looked for instructional videos, and it seems I have found one.
I am tanning my first hide.
I was going to make mittens or a forager's bag, but I am contemplating some lady's slippers with shearling.
Thanks for your time, and knowledgeable ways.
Glad that you found it helpful and good luck with your tanning project.
Beautiful work! These are my next 2 projects...a paddle and some mocs. We'll, maybe after some honey-do projects, 3 knives and an axe handle. On the list!
Well sir, you are getting yourself quite a long row to hoe … good luck with your projects.
THAT was Fascinating! Always have thought that a man should know how to sew and cook. Nothing feminine about it...only survival! Watching and listening makes a body understand how 'important' it is to 'do things right' or again...it is a risk to survival. Well taught and nice filming Catherine! Peter, you also have a lovely sounding voice. I pray your wife does also, as it is a wonderful past time. A brief hunting poem for you..."Oh moose, Oh moose, Elusive moose. Where will I find you this day? My larder needs fillin', my footwear grows thin. How I long for our meeting. One to surprise, the other to eat." Thanks most kindly 4 sharing your time/talents with us all. Health and God Bless!
What an appropriate poem for my last 3 hunting seasons. Funny, I actually don’t mind it when we come home empty handed … one for the moose I say. Music is a big part of our lives.
More of these longer videos please , first class content once again.
Well done, Peter. My shoepacs need replaced. Maybe this video will give me the incentive to get that job done.
One does need to protect ones feet … good luck with your project.
Awesome , now I know how to make my favorite foot wear . Thank you 😊
I hope you enjoy your project.
I've seen some fancy shave horses that have a carved horse's head for a clamp block.
There’s an idea for my next one. Thanks for watching.
I have an "antique" shaving horse...quite useful and quite comfortable. The only repair I made to it was one leg. Amazing that it stood the test of time in such good shape.
Very functional tool.
It's cold as heck where I'm at, and this is the perfect activity to keep me from getting cabin fever. Thanks!
Glad you enjoy it!
Thanks Peter. Very informative and quite enjoyable. I will probably try your style for my next winter moccasins. I too made mine out of commercial moosehide as moose are somewhat scarce here in NW Oklahoma, but mine are soft sole side seam and I made wool blanket liners to go inside.
Y'all keep the great videos coming; they are a highlight of my weekend.
TC
I appreciate your kind words.
I love your stories- telling. Thank you for this interesting tutorial. You rock!! By the way, good voice.
I’m flattered, Emsol.
Beautiful, I'm about to make my first pair
I wish you well on your project.
thanks for the awesome video! its probably the only good in depth tutorial on youtube for the puckered toes. Ive made 2 moccasins within the last year (Waxed thread and chemically tanned leather i found on ebay) and they all fell completely apart, one of them being on a camping trip at Mud Pond NY and had to do the rest of the camping trip either barefoot or crudely wraping the twine i had around the leather to my foot.
Thank you.
good stuff. you have such patience and a nice, calm presentation style.
I appreciate that, John and your interest in our endeavour as well.
I've been wanting to do this for a while. I'll be watching this a lot! Thanks so much! You're such an inspiration!
Good luck, you’ll find it pretty straight forward to make.
Thanks for sharing and teaching us how to make a pair of shoes and for the history lesson blessings to all
Thanks Kim.
I LOVE
your moccasins!.
Most comfortable footwear on the planet.
The many many uses of a hoof knife!
I was waiting for this video! Thank you! Went snow shoeing in the woods a couple of days ago, man the snow is deep in there! Take care
It is in our parts as well and I kinda like it!
Those cracks in the hands tells stories kinda like rings on a tree…hard days work work
They have seen a wee bit … kinda like 80 grit sandpaper, lol!
I have made these but though useable, they were not right. Now I see what I did wrong and did not do. Thank you Peter. You always have wonderful videos. 👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
Appreciate the feedback.
i enjoy watching whatever you do...such a great personality.stay blessed.
Thanks, Amir.
So interesting! Thoroughly enjoyed this video.
Thanks Paul.
Well, I get to put on my hunting frock and take my Kentucky rifle to an offhand NMLRA shoot tomorrow. First event I have been to in 10 months. Love the old ways and days.
Pretty much live in my old gear. Good luck on your shoot. Remember, James, “Aim small, miss small”.
@@TheWoodlandEscape And we are with you Canada. I wish I was standing along you brave men and women. God speed Canadians!
I have seen the "saddle" stitch you mentioned done with two needles, thus the continuous stitch is all done in one go. I am enjoying your videos (old and new) very much. I am a practicing Blacksmith/ blade maker in Nova Scotia.
I wish I knew that, we just returned from Nova Scotia. You’re absolutely right, most often the saddle stitch is done using two needles. I just prefer my method.
Wow! Thank you!
Thank you for the moccasin tutorial, I have made center seam moccasins, but not your design, I, going to try your design next. Thanks again.
Thank you Scott, and should you try the shoe pack design, I’m sure you will not be disappointed .
Excellent tutorial Peter ! I have been doing leatherwork for many years but haven't made any footgear. Just a few repairs. Now perhaps a trial at moccasin work ? Thank you, Sir !😀
With your experience,you will find the project pretty easy and if I may add, very satisfying
That was fascinating!!
Glad you enjoyed.
Your videos are so interesting
Glad you like them!
Thanks for the video and lesson. Going to try to make me a pair.
Good luck.
Herzliche Grüße aus Österreich!
Greetings from Austria!
👍 Danke fürs Hochladen!
👍 Thanks for uploading!
👍 Very good and beautiful, thank you!
👍 Sehr gut und schön, danke!
Pretty nice, not as hard as I thought but then again you have made a few pair. Almost tempted to try myself. Thanks 👍
I encourage you to give it a go, not all that hard to do.
Great tutorial. I really like the design. My next pair will be your method. My pucker toe mocs are more difficult.
Pucker toe can be made with a pattern but, your right, they take a little more time.
Where would one go to buy a pair of these or the materials? I enjoy these videos. I think if people were busier making their own things they wouldn't find the time to always be so angry.
Try Tandy leather for both the cow leather soles as well as hide. They also sell Irish linen and proper leather sewing needles etc.
Or causing trouble for others .
I like the shanty, glad it wasn't too long
Thanks for the tutorial and a bit of history, i wouldn't mind trying to make a set of moccasins one of these days.
I encourage you to give it a good, Jeff. Not all that difficult to build.
great episode
Excellent!
Yet another awesome vid, thanks so much for sharing this old skill. Love the content, great channel. Thanks brother
Thank you.
Job Well Done! Thanks for this Tutorial, it was a great one!
Thank you.
I would love to have a pair of winter moccasins! Boot style uppers…
Pretty darn easy to make them yourself, Bernadette.
Respect
I've made some holsters and of course stabbed myself more than once. Slow learner and all. When I first saw the pieces I was more confused how it would work but it all came together wonderfully. Love to see the your set up with your snowshoes as far as your bindings. Thanks again.
I’ve been sewing leather for decades and I still frequently give myself blood tests. We will try and fit in a snowshoe harness pointer … thanks for your feedback.
Brilliant information thank you 😊 👣
Thank you, glad you got something out of it.
@@TheWoodlandEscape do you waterproof the soles with animal fat or beeswax?
Thank you for the amazing videos. I enjoy watching all your content.
Glad you like them! Thanks for watching.
I have a large piece of top grain cow hide leather, 1/4 inch thick. I would love to make some kind of foot wear. I think the 1/4 inch would do well as a sole..I guess, time will tell. Thankyou for this..its pretty awesome. Well done.
Happy to be of service!
Around where I live the would use rawhide as the outer sole. Also they had lace up tall boots for winter. Very few survived colonization.
Very few plains hardsole moccasins have survived? Are you smoking crack?
That's literally the most popular moccasin amongst collectors.
I know you know this but....... if you drill a few more holes at intervals in that dumbhead upright and use a 3/8 inch metal pin to pass though the upright you can adjust the dumbhead up and down for larger working stock. Just pull out the pin and raise or lower the dumbhead upright and put the pin back in.
I do indeed but, as you raise it I find it not as ergonomic for the treadle. Check out the German style, it uses an adjustable horizontal table rather than the French influenced French style. The German design I believe is still a 1700’s design.
Thank you
You're very welcome, Bradley.
I always enjoy your videos, and wait anxiously for the next one. Just want to say thank you and ask if you can show how you finished the saw , to get it to work better , also I can't wait till you do a video on the canoes ( ? ) Your going to make .
We plan to do cover everything you’ve mentioned at some point. I too am looking forward to the canoe build … hardest part of the whole build is finding that good piece of bark.
@@TheWoodlandEscape thank you for responding I'm really amazed , ! I love your videos , your stories especially , your knowledge , and how you do everything ,and your humor . I never expected you to reply and I have to say , I'm really shocked , thank you so much .
well done. made a few.might try your way next time.keep warm
Never far from the hearth and stay warm yourself.
Good Evening Peter! Really like Your Shave Horse! Wanna make me one someday, I really like the shape of yours ! Hope Yall Have A Wonderful Weekend My Friend ❗
It is a French design but, the new one I intend to built with have a German influence. They are more ergonomic and period correct for our era.
The German "schnitzelbank" was around earlier than the book he stated.
Thank you for sharing that.
Nice job.
interesting use of a hoof knife lol
Wait a minute! Finish about Peter! The shoe can wait!
That sadly is all I could find on Peter Reccer.
What's crazy is, I watched a guy in Scotland doing a trek through the country in traditional deer skin shoes, they had holes in 2 days, I said, no, either it was because he walked on gravel roads part of the time that didn't exist then or he didn't understand how to place his feet properly or they only had documentation of shoes used in the homes in villages that got less wear and there knowledge of the shoes for long treks was lost somewhere but then, your video popped up and I wanted to see something from my own country and bam, you told how moccasins only lasted 4 days! Was it because they were Englishmen who didn't know how to properly walk or did the natives shoes also only last that many days and our ancestors just delt with the extra work and carried that much extra leather for repairs and new shoes on long treks or they just mostly were barefooted? Makes many questions pop up!😮
Bear in mind, the Lewis and Clark Company were covering a lot of ground. Their Mocs were made mostly from elk, while thicker than deer hide simply don’t wear all that well. I make mine from moose and they’ll last me a year and I wear them everyday. Historically, natives went barefoot in the spring through fall and only wore Mocs in the cold or when on hunting and warfare expeditions.
Fair effort by Native Americans creating their footwear using only flint & bone!! (I assume).
Fair effort from you also, thanks for the tutorial, excellent work.
They did indeed but, they did make some pretty amazing and functional tools before steel. Thanks for your interest.
Great video!! Do you have a video of you adding fur to your moccasins?
I never wear fur on the outside but, do make inner moccasins from fur. I should actually show that some time,thank you.
@@TheWoodlandEscape yes!! That is exactly what I was asking for!! Loved the video!! Thank you for responding!!
My pleasure.
Gee! I should get you to put a leather sole on my Garfield bedroom slippers! Ha ha!
Where do acquire bear fat? Enjoying your channel very much. I made a pair of handmade boots following the pattern in a book called, Shoes for Free People. Fun old book I picked up at a used bookstore. Have you ever tanned fish skin?
Thanks for what you do.
As far as I know it is not commercially available. I hut deer and moose but a good friend is an avid bear hunter and keeps me supplied with rendered bear fat.
@@TheWoodlandEscape Sounds like a Julia Child Recipe "First catch your Bear"
Dodderidge said moccasins were a “decent way of going barefoot”.
He did have a wonderful sense of humour.
Another great video. I make my walnut dye as you do. I add rubbing alcohol to the mix when I'm done. It helps to preserve the dye when making a big batch. I'm curious to see the finished canoe paddle. I noticed the curl right away.
Thanks for sharing that idea. I will be given that a try. I think the paddle is going to look amazing.
Hi from Syracuse NY USA brother and I everyone is well
All is well up here in Canada.
anyway to get us a idea of patterns for the sides and Tops of those moccs??
I don’t use one. I draw a pattern on the leather for the sole and simply sew the two rectangular pieces of the sides to the bottom. Put you foot in the sole and pull and pin the two sides for the Corte seam. Remove foot a stitch. Finally put foot back in and mark the heal, cut off excess and sew.the top is simply another rectangle long enough to overlap.