Klash Course 101

Your shoes, called klash, start with this stack of fabric, strung together by strips of leather to make the sole. The sole is the most difficult part of the shoe to master. A quality sole can be tested by bending the shoe and searching the sole for gaps and holes. If a sole passes the bend test with relatively few breaks in the pattern, we can be assured that it is going to last you for the long haul. Owing to the physical strength required to make this part of the shoe, this work is done 100% of the time by Kurdish men.

After the sole is completed, between two and four different Kurdish women invest no less than an additional 20 hours to carefully create the beautiful upper part of the shoe, with the topmost weave being reserved for the most skilled. Stitch-by-stitch each shoe is born, with every one carrying the unique mark of its maker. No shoe is perfect, as Muslim craftsman often regard that quality as belonging to God alone. But your shoe is made with great care, comprised of thousands and thousands of hand-sewn knots. The weave is so fine, you’ll be amazed when you inspect your klash close up that these are not made by machine.

Visit this page to see some of the stories of the Kurdish men and women who make these shoes…