ELVES AND THE SHOEMAKER

Cotton is used to make shoes and clothes. A needle and cotton is used to sew shoe patterns and dress patterns together. Cotton is made from a natural vegetable fibre which comes from the cotton plant.

This piece of red leather has a pattern for a shoe on it. The pattern is traced onto the leather and cutout using a knife. This process is called ‘clicking’. Leather is made from the skins of animals. You can make leather from the skin of any animal, but cows have the thickest skins to make the strongest.

The hammer is made from wood and metal. A Shoemaker’s hammer is slightly different to a general woodworking hammer. One face of the hammer is slightly rounded. This is to stop the leather being marked by any sharp edges as the hammer comes into contact with it.

Leather is a strong material which will protect the shoemaker while s/he works. A shoemaker or Cobbler would wear an apron like this whilst making shoes. The apron is made of leather.

This is a Chamberstick. people used Chambersticks to light their way about the house during the 19th century, before the invention of electricity. The Shoemaker and his wife use a Chamberstick a few times in the story, do you remember when?

A PAIR OF SHOES