Making Costume Shoes From S-core
These are the new shoes for the Jysterious Trip Joker costume. The photo's on the main page show it with the old set of shoe covers.
These are the new shoes for the Jysterious Trip Joker costume. The photo's on the main page show it with the old set of shoe covers.
In this technical section I'll explain how to make costume feet with an S-core base and rubber soles. The exact form and appearance of the shoe can vary greatly. I took some pleather, foam, plastic stones and bells and made the shoes shown above. In another costume I used plastic mixing bowls, fake fur, spandex and latex to make a set of horse hooves. The thing these two had in common was the method used to make the soles and base of the shoe. What you build on top of that could be anything, jester shoes, paws, space boots, anything.
Those hooves have got a couple of miles of parade in them but they're still in good condition so costume shoes of this type are fairly durable.
What is S-Core?
S-core is a type of flexible plastic structured like corrugated cardboard. It's available at most well stocked arts and craft stores, sign makers or, if you're feeling scroungy, discarded roadside signs (especially at gas stations). Its versatile, pretty durable and, due to it's hollow cells, lightweight.
The construction can be divided into 3 seperate parts.
You will need:
And last but not least, all the other stuff you need to make the shoe out of. Like I said it varies by design.
Now the order in which I'll give the instructions will be a little strange. I will essentially be showing the final phase of making the shoe first. This is because the first steps have so many variations it's impossible to give thorough instructions for all of them. First we'll go over the construction of the sole and after that the construction of an inner and outer shoe will be briefly examined.
For this example an oversized mascot costume paw/foot will be used because it covers most of the basic features without getting too specialized.
Design and Construction
No matter what design the outer shoe has it will always need one main feature to work. It will require an extra length of fabric at the bottom (about an inch) that is necessary so it can be later tucked under and attached to the sole. In the illustration there are wavy cuts in this bottom piece where edges of the sole are sharply curved. You can don't have to cut these untill you are about to assemble the sole so you shouldn't cut them just yet.
On to the sole itself:
1) The sole is based on two layers of S-core. The first layer is the same as the outline of your foot. Now due to S-cores hollow, corrugated chambers it's more flexible in one direction than another. It has, for lack of a better word, a "grain". When you trace your footprint make sure that it's parallel to the grain. (see figure 1 for details)
2) Now cut another outline out of s-core, this one matching the sole of the costume shoe. This time it should not be parallel to the grain. (again, see figure 1).
Why is it done like this? Well, S-core is a bit flexible, no matter which way the grain goes. If both layers had the same grain it might be a little too weak to properly hold the shape of the shoe and not make a very good construction material. When they criss-cross they're stiffer. Since you intend to walk in these costume shoes you need a little flexibility in the "toes" of the costume shoe when you lift your feet, that's why the second layer is cut against the grain. Otherwise it would be like trying to walk with a pair of stiff swim fins on.
Note:Step one is only really neccessary if the costume shoe is going to be oversized (i.e. clown shoes). If the costume shoe isn't much longer than your foot you don't need the extra flexibility in the toes because you won't have that "swim fins" effect. In this case make two pairs of outlines of the costume shoe like you would in step 2 but be sure to make one set with the grain and the other against the grain. For a smaller costume shoe this will make construction easier and make the shoes structure more solid.
3) The S-core layer made in step one is going to be the top layer. This would make the S-core layer in step two the bottom layer. Cut a piece of stiff fabric in the same shape as the top layer and sew the inner shoe to it.
4) Make a line of staples going all the way around and parallel to the edge of the bottom layer. They shouldn't be too far apart, about one half inch between each staple.
5) Now attach the inner shoe and stiff fabric from step 3 to the top layer using the heavy needle and strong thread using large, looping stitches. If you wish you can use a bit of contact cement to bond them together first and make it a little stronger. If the thread keeps breaking through the S-core you have to make the stitches wider and closer toward the center.
6) Now attach the bottom layer with the staples facing outward to the underside of the top layer. Use a little contact cement first, if you have it, then sew them together with the heavy needle and strong thread. If you tried them on now they'd resemble cleats with a bunch of little spikes (the points of the staples) on the bottom. You'll probably get a little scratched up in this step by the exposed staple points. Um... Sorry.
Note: If your top and bottom layers are the same shape, like I mentioned in the "note" after step 2 you can attach all 3 layers together at step 5 and basically skip step 6. Just go through both layers and the stiff fabric attached to the inner shoe at the same time.
7) Now we attach the outer layer to the sole of the shoe. You may have attached the outer layer to the inner shoe/sock before step one, or you might attach it during this step or it could be attached after the sole is constructed. It depends on your design.
Make sure whatever stuffing you're going to use is in place, attaching it to either the inner shoe/sock or the outer layer. Slip the outer layer over what you have so far. Now use a long length of strong thread to make a criss-crossing pattern across the bottom of the shoe, attaching that extra flap shown in the first illustration to itself pulling it firmly aroung the bottom of the shoe (there's a picture below). Now would be the ideal time to cut the wavy bits shown in diagram one so that you can follow the curved edges of the S-core sole without the outer layer fabric overlapping.
8) Use the needle nose pliers to press down the outer layer and poke the points of the staples through it. Then use the pliers to twist or curl the staples outward causing them to hook into the outer layer and secure it to the rest of the shoe.
9)Finally we attach the rubber sole using a powerful glue. Use a generous amount along the rim of the rubber sole to secure it to the piece of the outer layer that's now on the bottom. Use a few dabs in the center to secure the rubber sole to the S-core on the bottom too. Use a bit of masking tape if the rubber sole might come free from the rest of the shoe before the glue sets.
Be careful!. These types of glues tend to have extremely strong chemical solvents that you should not be exposed to for long. Try to work in a ventilated area. Get everything prepared before you open the glue tube, work quickly and get out. Let the glue dry in a seperate, isolated room, near an open window if possible and let it dry for at least 3 days. Do not fuck around with this shit.
| Full diagram of layers.  | Shoe without rubber sole or outer layer.  |
 Crisscross pattern as explained in step 7 |
There are many choices on shoe design. The shoe should idealy be created from the inside out. Start with your foot, create something that fits around it and go from there. Basically there's 3 ways to wear the shoe: pull on, zippered and laced.
Pull-on - The "inner sock" of a pull-on shoe should be made of a stretch material to fit your foot well. It should be a "two way" stretch fabric (the kind that only stretches one way, as opposed to "4 way stretch") or else it will bunch up within the shoe as you're trying to get it on. It has to hold hardest at two points, under the arch of the foot and around the heel. In the picture above I added an extra, tighter ring of stretch material around these two areas. Designing a pull-on shoe gets more difficult as the cuff gets higher. My spandex bodysuit pages have a bit on making a form fitting foot out of stretch fabric. I might include some expanded plans in the future.
Zippered - The inner sock for a zippered shoe should be made of a less stretchy fabric. You can't place the zipper too high or else your you might not be able to get your heel through the shoe's ankle. The zipper should start just above the ankle. If you place it on the inside of the leg it's least noticible. It takes extra work to put in a zipper because it takes time to sew the zipper to both the inner and outer layer.
Laces - Laces give a good fit and are not too hard to install. Laces can be used for a shoe that's supposed to look like a shoe. You will need to buy metal grommets (those little metal ring things) and punch them into a rigid piece of cloth (they pop out of stretch fabrics). The inner shoe should be made of a mixture of low stretch and no stretch fabrics. If the shoe is really oversized you can make an inner shoe that's not connected to the outer shoe at the top (but still connected to the sole), use laces to secure the inner shoe to your foot and zipper or pull up the loose outer layer over it.
Picture provided by The Bellaire Depot model building webpage.