I earlier made a pair of Poulaines on a set of modern lasts, and the results were not bad – in fact, I thought they were rather pretty. Of course, we all know that the fit has to be perfect, otherwise they can be as pretty as they like, and they won’t be suitable. As a result, I decided to carve a last based on historical reproductions. First, the finished results, and I apologize for the fuzzy image.

The lasts that I received were appropriate for a mid 15th century shoe, so my task was to scale the last up to suit a larger foot.

The first thing that you’ll notice about the medieval last is that it doesn’t look like a foot. In fact, it looks very different than a foot! Still, as you can see, they make rather nice shoes. The originals are made in beech, but I only had pine available to me in the appropriate thickness, so I used that. A combination of chisels, rasps, and a low grit grinding wheel were used to fashion the lasts. All said, they’re pretty close, though I’d probably take more off on the front of the last and definitely make it more obvious from the top whether the last is for the left or right.

Once the lasts were made, minor modifications were made to the pattern to lengthen the heel. Other than that, the pattern was left nearly unchanged. The seam could be moved back a bit more, consistent with the period examples. All in all, not a bad attempt, though we learn as we go.