Speaker A
Listen, ever since I bought my first pair of Crocs, I've been obsessed. We've traveled the world, taken silly photos together. I can say we're pretty much inseparable until recently.
Mizwu attempts to create custom Crocs from scratch in 14 days, exploring shoemaking techniques and challenges along the way.
Ask about this video. Answers come from its transcript only — with the timestamp, so you can check them.
Generated from the transcript and can be wrong — check the timestamp.
Key Takeaways
- Making custom Crocs from scratch is a complex and time-intensive process.
- Shoe lasts are critical for shaping and fitting shoes and can be difficult to source quickly.
- The cementing method allows flexibility in materials and design but requires skill and patience.
- Collaboration with experienced shoemakers can provide invaluable knowledge and resources.
- Even simple-looking footwear like Crocs involves detailed craftsmanship behind the scenes.
What the video covers
- Mizwu is obsessed with Crocs and wants to prove they can be stylish by making a custom pair for a wedding.
- He researches the history of clogs and Crocs, understanding their evolution from utilitarian footwear to fashion items.
- He decides to make clogs from scratch using the cementing shoemaking process, similar to Birkenstocks.
- Mizwu visits a local cobbler to learn about shoe lasts, the essential molds for shaping shoes.
- He struggles to find a suitable last in Toronto due to time constraints and availability.
- A shoemaker named Peter helps him by providing a sandal last and guidance on construction.
- They discuss toe shapes, lasting, and building up the last for proper shoe silhouette and fit.
- Mizwu documents the challenges, including pattern making, stitching, and lasting the leather upper.
- Despite setbacks and time pressure, he pushes through late nights to complete the shoes.
- Ultimately, Mizwu reflects on the complexity of shoemaking and the dedication required.
Chapters
- 00:00Introduction and obsession with Crocs
- 01:21Understanding Crocs and clog history
- 02:14Planning the custom Crocs project
- 02:55Visiting a cobbler and learning about lasts
- 03:36Challenges finding a shoe last
- 04:39Meeting Peter the shoemaker
- 06:38Design considerations and toe shape
- 07:26Building the last and shoe construction
- 08:14Pattern making and stitching
- 09:22Lasting the leather upper and finishing
Full Transcript — Download SRT & Markdown
Speaker A
No, you can't wear Crocs to my wedding. Dress nice, look nice, not Crocs. They're really ugly. [screaming] Well, Serena, I'm going to prove you wrong by making the most beautiful pair of Crocs you've ever seen, and then I'm going to wear it to a wedding. But
Speaker A
before we start, we need to first understand what makes a Croc a Croc. Well, Crocs actually belong to a family of shoes known as clogs or klompen.
Speaker A
These were worn by Dutch farmers in the 1300s to keep their dogs dry and safe from sharp tools. And for most of its existence, clogs were a utilitarian shoe worn by farmers, mill workers, meaning they actually served a purpose outside
Speaker A
of jibbitz. Now, it wasn't until the 1970s when the clogs finally decoupled from just being a manual labor shoe. And like many elements of counterculture, the peasant look was quickly co-opted by the mainstream fashion industry. From designers like Yves Saint Laurent who began
Speaker A
styling their models in platform clogs to Swedish pop and ABBA performing in their custom wooden clogs. And by the early 2000s, the shoe had completed its evolution from being a humble farmer's footwear into a global mainstream commercial juggernaut. Now, I don't want
Speaker A
to just color over these Crocs, or it might end up looking like this. Oh my God.
Speaker A
So, I'm going to make my very own clogs from scratch in 14 days with no experience. Now, in terms of construction, there's a couple of different ways to make a clog. You got the OG Dutch clog, which is hand-carved
Speaker A
out of a block of wood, or the Crocs made from a plastic mold in a factory.
Speaker A
Unfortunately, I don't have the wood carving skills, nor do I own a factory. So the most practical way for me to do this is using a process in shoemaking known as cementing where you construct the shoe by bonding the upper to the
Speaker A
midsole to the outsole. And this is exactly how Birkenstocks are constructed. And this will also provide me with enough flexibility to get creative [music] with material choices and silhouette. At this point, I feel like I'm making good progress. I'm
Speaker A
excited. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. But I also had a couple questions like how do you actually shape a shoe to fit a foot? What kind of material is ideal for the clog? And ultimately, how does everything bond
Speaker A
together without falling apart? So, before I sell my organs to buy some Hermès casket, I decided to pay a visit to my local cobbler, someone who repairs shoes for a living to see if he can answer some of my questions. Alazar,
Speaker A
right? Yeah. Mike. Mike. Nice to meet you. Of what I'm trying to do. I showed him some designs and references of what I wanted to make.
Speaker A
I think the best way when I researched it was to just do a cementing.
Speaker A
He basically told me I'm a genius and then proceeded to show me what I was missing.
Speaker A
Let me show you. Okay. Thank you. I don't make shoes. I'm a shoemaker by trade but yeah, I never made shoes.
Speaker A
You see this plastic foot that he's holding? That's called a last. And ironically, it's the first thing you need when making a shoe. It's essentially a 3D mold that acts as a foundation. Once you have your last, you
Speaker A
stretch your upper over it in a process known as lasting to get the shape of the shoe.
Speaker A
Okay? Then you put the sole. The sole. You cement the sole on. Mhm. So this not only does the last provide enough tension to hold the upper in place during construction, it also determines the final silhouette and fit of the
Speaker A
shoe. The shape of the last has to be the design of the shoe.
Speaker A
We cannot make these shoes with this [music] last. Okay, I think this is what I need to find.
Speaker A
Yeah. And with only 11 days until the wedding, I needed to move last. I mean fast.
Speaker A
All right, so just a bit of update. I spent pretty much the last hour trying to figure out how I'm going to make this possible. At first, I wanted to make my own last. Googled it. Not possible. How the hell am I going to make a
Speaker A
replica of the human foot? So, that leaves me with two options. Number one, I can go buy last. It is 1 to 5 business days to process the order. An additional 2 to 5 business days to get the item shipped. Worst case, it comes
Speaker A
in 10 days. It is way, way too tight of a timeline. So, that leaves me with the last option, which is essentially just message every cobbler shoemaker here in Toronto, pray that one of them has a bunch of lasts in my size and then make
Speaker A
it. Hi, I'm wondering, um, if you guys have any shoe lasts, carry like any shoe last, shoe last? No, we don't make shoes yet.
Speaker A
No, we don't have them. It's after hours now actually. So, please send me an email.
Speaker A
Your call has been forwarded to voicemail. Has a voicemail box. Your call has been forwarded to a voicemail.
Speaker A
I had no idea finding a last was this hard. Oh no. And over the next few days, I had pretty much called up every single business in Toronto with the word shoe in it. Is this novelty shoe last? Is
Speaker A
this professional shoe repair? Is this OD on shoe repair? You want to make a pair of shoes?
Speaker A
Yeah. And still no luck. Yeah, I have. But I use them for myself. Okay, so a bit of an update. Uh, not going too well. Wasted 4 days literally calling businesses up and, uh, nothing. Absolutely nothing. There's a
Speaker A
couple stores that told me to come in. So, what I think I'm going to do tomorrow is just drive around and physically visit these stores and see what we can do. But, um, yeah, time is, uh, time is running out. And just as I
Speaker A
was about to leave the house the next morning, I received a call back. Is there any possibility I can come in today?
Speaker A
The day I'm literally supposed to go and visit cobblers and I'm stressing out. Some guy pulled through for me. Dude, we're going to head over there right now. Meet Peter. Um, he might just save this whole entire video. Now, out of all
Speaker A
the calls I made, only two were to a shoemaker, and Peter happens to be one of them. This is Peter, by the way.
Speaker A
Yeah. I mean, come on. Just look at it. Waxed canvas work apron, stylish Scandinavian frames. Tell me that's not giving shoe making runs in the family vibes.
Speaker A
Oh, thank you. Wow. Okay, this is gorgeous. Can I follow you? Yeah. Okay. Wow. Hopefully you can, uh, either help me out or tell me it's impossible.
Speaker A
Okay. To advance, right? So, I would just want to cement the upper just like this construction and then like you put it underneath and then you put a sole on.
Speaker A
Exactly. That's Now, there's two things that I would, you know, want to ask. A the shoe last.
Speaker A
Do you have like a sandal last that's relatively similar? Okay. It seems like the last is the hardest thing.
Speaker A
Like this one we made for a Birkenstock. Mhm. Oh, okay. So, like at last the last. [music] Not going to lie, I kind of got emotional looking at his wooden foot.
Speaker A
Something like this could work 'cause it has no heel. So, it's perfect. Okay. And it's [music] got like a nice cone.
Speaker A
And that's when I got an idea. So, when you make a last like this, how many sizes do you have of this?
Speaker A
We have a We have a size run of this. Instead of making one shoe that I haven't even made yet, I thought it'd be nice to make my girlfriend a pair as well since we'd be attending this [music] wedding together.
Speaker A
All right, guys. We are back in the shop and then, uh, we're going to break down everything that we need to do today.
Speaker A
Your first interest was that image that you sent me and it had a specific toe shape. So, now we're going to talk about the toe shape of these because these are not the same as what you were looking at. Pretty
Speaker A
generic sneaker sort of last, right? It has low, uh, toe spring. So that means there's a low heel. So that's exactly what we need for the project.
Speaker A
My biggest thing is how do I make it actually stand up like this? Uh, well, you would want to build up the last.
Speaker A
Okay. Easiest way is I'm using pieces of leather or pieces of cork. Would you say this is the most difficult part?
Speaker A
Uh, it's time-consuming.
Speaker A
Mhm. Otherwise, what happens is you put glue on the smooth surface, you glue something to it, and then it'll peel off.
Speaker A
And this is special glue. Yeah. Like a contact cement, but very strong. You don't want lots, but you want like a good coating. So, then you let that dry.
Speaker A
And basically, you want it to be able to like you don't want it to be sticky. And you don't touch it with your hands because there's a bunch of oil and dirt here. You want it to be completely dry.
Speaker A
Yeah. Such a mess here. It's okay. I I want to show your table. And this is important to actually make sure that there's clear contact.
Speaker A
Yeah. And then what you do to get rid of the hard edges is away from the center of the piece. If we're going this way, what we're going to do is take the edge and lift it off. So you want to go away
Speaker A
from where you're working. However, after completing the first last reality hit. So, this is like more like 12 hours bespoke shoe kind of.
Speaker A
Yeah. 100%. And it's really expensive. I'm like, this isn't a $700 project. Okay. You know, I don't know that we you have enough time to do what you're trying to do.
Speaker A
Okay. So, let me offer an alternative. I go back and I build this last.
Speaker A
We could try to do that if you want. This [music] cannot be good for my lungs.
Speaker A
One thing I didn't account for is the fact that this is going to be sitting in the footed, which means that like it's not just going to be the thickness of the shoe is going to be the thickness of
Speaker A
the shoe and the footed added together. Yeah, not an easy job. So, I'm almost done with the first shoe.
Speaker A
Look at this. And I will say it is kind of fun. Are you filming a video?
Speaker A
I'm not filming a video. Yeah, you are. I'm definitely not filming a video. If I'd be filming a video, I screen record the thing. Why would I film a video about this?
Speaker A
No. Like, you're gathering ideas on Are you actually making me a shoe? I'm not making you a shoe. [music] It's been 2 days and we are pretty much finished with the these custom soles.
Speaker A
So, look at this. This is uh one foot and this is the second foot. And I think the most difficult thing is making sure that the right foot and the left foot have the exact same shape. So, I add a
Speaker A
lot more volume and I'm pretty happy with the shape of this toe box. On to the next step. The last are done. as you finish one step, the more you realize like, dude, there's another mountain to climb.
Speaker A
All right, we are on the way to downtown to meet Peter again. Uh, today is officially Tuesday. My flight's on Thursday so I got two days to finish this weekend.
Speaker A
Not too bad. That was all right. I'm just going to bring this in a little bit.
Speaker A
Okay. But homework wise, it's pretty good. Yeah. You know, I've never owned a pair of Birkenstocks.
Speaker A
Really? Yeah. But don't you have like a go-to summer shoe? superstar. I don't mess with summer shoes.
Speaker A
Really? No. No sandals. And like this thing like that. I So you go to the beach and you're in sneakers going to the beach.
Speaker A
Yeah. No flip flops. Oh, but I think you're staying true to the craft. Only oxers and boots and [laughter] nothing. Just somewhere like that's too funny, man. It can't be like poured into a mold. Somebody has to have
Speaker A
made it. So you're [laughter] like respect. With the foot bed secured onto the last, we're ready to move on to making the pattern, which will be used to create the upper of the shoe. The pattern is created through a process
Speaker A
known as flattening, which starts with taping over the last. Once that's complete, the design is drawn right onto the tape.
Speaker A
Question I have is I [snorts] am going to do a braid along the side of the shoe.
Speaker A
Where'd you get this? Just this idea. Oh, I just saw you know Kith. Yep.
Speaker A
Keith did a collaboration with Birkenstocks that kind of if you kind of hold your your pencil Mhm. at a finger's width away, it ends up sitting really nicely.
Speaker A
Like I think that's good. Okay. And now that the design is drawn onto the tape, it's time to make the pattern.
Speaker A
You can't do it right on the masking tape. Yeah. Like cuz we have to flatten that because that masking tape when it comes off of the last has three dimensions.
Speaker A
Like cuz you can see here how Well, I can show you on the pattern piece like how we had to make some insert like cuts to get it rid of that. This has a lot of shape in it. So you have to work it to
Speaker A
flatten it out. Bone folding knife. Okay. Good for smoothing out the bits. And then once you have it flat, then from here we can make a pattern.
Speaker A
So do you still make your own shoes either? I can't afford to make it. It takes so long. They're from 60 hours plus doing it like that like at night and on my own like it'll take me 100 hours to make a
Speaker A
pair of shoes. If there's like a reject like something happens, you're adopting it. You're adopting like the shoes but then they're bespoke for somebody else. [laughter] It's so uncom.
Speaker A
So once we have the pattern, then we can trace it onto the proper leather.
Speaker A
After doing some shopping around, I decided to go with this 4 oz vegetable tan leather.
Speaker A
See that pull up? Yeah, that's beauty. It's also extremely durable, which is perfect for the braiding. And the color will only get better with age.
Speaker A
Loosen up the leather. No, just to see where the stretch is. It has a natural stretch. So, because it's so stretchy this way, I don't want that on the width.
Speaker A
Now, all we had to do was trace the design onto the leather and cut it out.
Speaker A
Which, by the way, the amount of pressure this requires, I didn't even know your fingers could bend like this.
Speaker A
Extreme carpal tunnel. So much carpal tunnel, you don't even feel it. And after some final stitch work, this was what we made.
Speaker A
And then you're part of the club now. Don't lose that pen. Yeah. Okay. Cuz then you won't be allowed back in. This is like how you get in. You got Okay. I'm with you.
Speaker A
Okay. All right. We just wrapped up. Everything's in the backpack. One more day, but we're making a lot of progress.
Speaker A
So, we're going to go back home. I got to do the braiding around the shoe.
Speaker A
Hopefully, tomorrow I'll be able to finish by the afternoonish. And uh yeah, the rest is history.
Speaker A
Honestly, dude, I've been doing this for like 2 hours. The most painful thing is like my finger just holding this knife like this the whole time. Man, it took me 40 minutes to do this. Why do people have two feet? Why can't they just have
Speaker A
one foot? You know when they make shoes, you just have to make one shoe. [music] I finished one side and this taking me to like 1:00 a.m. in the morning.
Speaker A
Another three more pairs to go. Okay, this is the progress. My [snorts] phone's about to die. Shit's everywhere.
Speaker A
I finished one, two, it's 2:30 in the morning. I'm going to get to it tomorrow morning. It's like 7 in the morning. I got to finish the shoe.
Speaker A
Somebody get up or go up before I see Peter. [snorts] Another day, another trip to Peters. By the end of today, I should be able to have a completed shoot.
Speaker A
Okay, let's get started on this. I mean, you naturally get faster at doing this, but it's just like it's like man.
Speaker A
Okay, these are done. And with all the pieces complete, it was finally time to put the shoe together. This is kind of like pre-mounting because I am stretching over to make sure that they both match.
Speaker A
And then from there, we'll start closing the lining. [music] These look gorgeous. Now, we're lasting the uh leather upper.
Speaker A
Okay. So, that's the process of stretching the upper over the last to have it take on the shape of the last. So the way that you do that is by using a pair of pliers, pulling the leather, physically
Speaker A
stretching it one in the middle, one one to the underside of the last. It's to keep [music] the tension even.
Speaker A
This this part is the part that looks easy, but I don't think it's easy at all.
Speaker A
No, it comes from like lots of trial and error, right? [music] [sighs] So, I guess we'll have to like I don't know. I don't know how you're going to try to connect these final dots here with these things being finished in like
Speaker A
tomorrow. What's your I mean, I just have the souls and then you want to leave them then in the morning I can finish.
Speaker A
Um, good news, bad news. cuz I don't know news. I guess Peter has gone home, but he did help me finish one pair of shoes before. I'm probably going to clock him to like 8 or 9 and just finish
Speaker A
the whole thing in one go. Now, the good news is the only thing that I had to do was attach the outsoles. However, the bad news, it's a little more complicated than that. Like a lot more complicated.
Speaker A
Dinner time at the shop. This is Dan. He's helping me out. Dan the man.
Speaker A
Do you remember the first day? You were the one that picked up the call. Do you remember?
Speaker A
It's after hours now, actually. So, I can't remember our conversation exactly, but you seem kind of like desperate.
Speaker A
Can we say you were willing to do whatever it takes? I think that sounds so much better. [laughter] Right now, I'm just acting.
Speaker A
Yeah, I know. And honestly, this reminded me of one of those allnighters you pull right before an assignment is due.
Speaker A
Are you hungry? No, no, I'm not hungry at all. If anything, like my stomach is uh not feeling too well. You need like vegetable. have a couple carrots.
Speaker A
And yo, shout outs to Dan because he canled his rock climbing appointment to help me finish this. And Dan really likes rock climbing cuz now we kind of finished the foot like this right here.
Speaker A
And we're moving on to the final sole. So, you're going to want to rough this up and prep it and glue it on, trim it up, sand the edges.
Speaker A
And for the first time, I can see the finish line. We're close. Yeah. Okay. Anyways, I might as well film this, but my car got towed and then I'm not even finished to shoot. I don't even know what to do now. Do I message a
Speaker A
Tony? There wasn't much that I could do cuz if I go get my car, there was no way I was driving back to finish the shoes. And plus, I can't just expect Dan to wait around.
Speaker A
Okay, I'm going to go get my car later, but uh right now the most important thing is the shoe. It is what it is. At least my car is safe somewhere. I'll go pick it up from an impound.
Speaker A
Whatever, man. Go from the center outwards cuz you don't want air bubbles trapped in the middle, right? Think of like when you're putting on a screen protector, you're like pushing it.
Speaker A
Moment of truth. Got to like push it down right? That looks pretty good, actually. And this is just a rough cut.
Speaker A
Oh no You already nick it. Yeah. Oh my god. Yo, I can't And I nicked it again. It's okay. Is it bad?
Speaker A
I don't know. I can't tell. Not too bad. Is it brushed? It's like 3:00 in the morning. I got to go in my car. I'm like, that's actually the job of those is that you put those on to mask it.
Speaker A
Yeah. And then polish on top. You shouldn't even I'm going to be honest. Like uh I think I'm going to need the gun to me, man.
Speaker A
Yeah, I just I just like I don't know. I'm losing faith in my ability right now man.
Speaker A
And like I need to get my You ever stop for what it is now? Then you just got to keep going.
Speaker A
I know, but I also think like you're right there. You're at the last the last moment.
Speaker A
I'm going to get home at like 6:00 a.m. But think about the video, right?
Speaker A
At this point, Mike, you've been in so much time. It's about pride at this point. You got to finish, man.
Speaker A
Yeah. I'll help you get there. Holy your hand. Oh my goodness. Can I Dude, I thought you had gloves on.
Speaker A
We got a monitor here. Can I trim that up or no? You wouldn't recommend that. That's at this point. That's a waste of time.
Speaker A
Oh, yeah. But you can always do that part. Those are just I have those like we are out of here. At what time is it?
Speaker A
4:37. It's basically 5:00. Look, the the sky is like turning bright. But I finished the shoes and I'm literally going to go get my car.
Speaker A
You could bless me with a discount. All right, we back, baby. Let me out.
Speaker A
Let me [music] out. Come on, man. The Uber is here. Oh, sorry. You got the right ride. [music] Just got home 6:00 in the morning. Today we're off to Vancouver.
Speaker A
There she is. You knew I was giving you something. I had a suspicion. Why?
Speaker A
Why? Because when I called you, you're like, I have to get it done. I have to wait.
Speaker A
Can you close your eyes? Oh my god. Close your eyes. You close your eyes.
Speaker A
You want to see it? AH, I'M SO NERVOUS. OKAY, you can open them. You can open them. You can open them.
Speaker A
Oh my god. I can literally smell the paint. You can open them. Oh, did you make this Okay.
Speaker A
Can you open it? Can you open it? Okay. Is this what you're working on?
Speaker A
Yeah. Entirey. Wait, how did you make this? You actually like it? Yeah. Whoa. Wait. How did Okay. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Look, [laughter] we like it.
Speaker A
Yeah. Really? Yeah. We're going to go to the wedding. Okay. We're not going to wear this at the wedding bro.
Speaker A
Why? Because this is not going to make sense with the dress. Are you happy I didn't wear Crocs?
Speaker A
Oh, I'm happy you wore Cro. You did not. No, I'm happy you didn't wear Crocs. Okay, that looks good.
Speaker A
You know, I made this shoe myself just for your wedding. Oh, wow. From scratch.
Speaker A
You made scratch? Really? Yeah, from scratch. Yeah, seriously. What the Yeah, from scratch. Why didn't you make me one? I made [music] [music]
Topics:Crocscustom shoesshoemakingshoe lastclogscementing processDIY shoesshoe constructionMizwufashion
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