Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 4 days ago
If you want to make shoes, the shoe last is one of the first things you need to understand. It is the three-dimensional, foot-shaped form on which we build the shoe, and it determines the basic shape, fit and structure of the footwear.
But there is something interesting about standard shoe lasts.
A standard shoe last has a specific length, but its width is usually based on an average width chosen by the manufacturer. This is one of the reasons why so many people wear a larger shoe size than they actually need.
For example, if your foot length corresponds to size 43, but you have wide feet, you may end up buying size 45 simply because you need the extra width. Your shoes are longer than your feet, but at least they don't squeeze your feet.
This is not the way I recommend approaching custom shoemaking.
Instead of taking a longer shoe last to compensate for width, we can take the correct length and customize the shoe last according to the actual foot measurements.
And this is where shoemaking becomes very interesting.
For customizing shoe lasts, I mainly use two materials: vegetable-tanned leather and cork. Both have their own properties and can be used depending on what we need to change on the last. I also use another helpful material in my courses that makes some customization work faster and easier.
The customization itself can be very different depending on the footwear we are making. We may need to add width, change the shape, adjust particular areas or modify the last to suit specific feet.
That's why knowing how to work with a shoe last is such an important part of learning how to make shoes. You are not simply choosing a size from a chart—you are working with the three-dimensional foundation of the entire shoe.
I explain more about shoe lasts, measurements and customization in my articles:
👉 shoemakingcoursesonline.com/shoe-making-supplies/shoe-last-2
👉 shoemakingcoursesonline.com/cork-in-shoe-making
And in my next post, I'll show you the different types of shoe last customization and how we approach them for different footwear.
Or my full online shoemaking course program:
shoemakingcoursesonline.com/on-line-courses/1-year-pro
If you want to make shoes, the shoe last is one of the first things you need to understand. It is the three-dimensional, foot-shaped form on which we build the shoe, and it determines the basic shape, fit and structure of the footwear.
But there is something interesting about standard shoe lasts.
A standard shoe last has a specific length, but its width is usually based on an average width chosen by the manufacturer. This is one of the reasons why so many people wear a larger shoe size than they actually need.
For example, if your foot length corresponds to size 43, but you have wide feet, you may end up buying size 45 simply because you need the extra width. Your shoes are longer than your feet, but at least they don't squeeze your feet.
This is not the way I recommend approaching custom shoemaking.
Instead of taking a longer shoe last to compensate for width, we can take the correct length and customize the shoe last according to the actual foot measurements.
And this is where shoemaking becomes very interesting.
For customizing shoe lasts, I mainly use two materials: vegetable-tanned leather and cork. Both have their own properties and can be used depending on what we need to change on the last. I also use another helpful material in my courses that makes some customization work faster and easier.
The customization itself can be very different depending on the footwear we are making. We may need to add width, change the shape, adjust particular areas or modify the last to suit specific feet.
That's why knowing how to work with a shoe last is such an important part of learning how to make shoes. You are not simply choosing a size from a chart—you are working with the three-dimensional foundation of the entire shoe.
I explain more about shoe lasts, measurements and customization in my articles:
👉 shoemakingcoursesonline.com/shoe-making-supplies/shoe-last-2
👉 shoemakingcoursesonline.com/cork-in-shoe-making
And in my next post, I'll show you the different types of shoe last customization and how we approach them for different footwear.
Or my full online shoemaking course program:
shoemakingcoursesonline.com/on-line-courses/1-year-pro
