Hm, a second look at the subject title kind of makes me want to change it, but nope! Going to leave it as is. =) A fun pair that I bound all the way around the straps to reinforce them. I think the black looks absolutely smashing, and you can just imagine lovely braids or ribbons through the straps. There is a single heel lift pegged on to the bottom. Since I’ve been pasting and pegging lifts, I haven’t had anyone report failures, which seems to me to be a good indication that they’re hanging in there and withstanding the test of time.
Now, I need to get my act together and start making some period lasts…
A pair for the incomparable Elizabeth M. You’ll note that the binding strip on these has been snipped to give it a decorative look. This is in lieu of turning down the top of the upper and stitching it down. I’ve done it both ways, but I have to admit that this is easier, since you’re not dealing with having to make tunnel stitches all the time which are something of a pain.
And no, that isn’t a typo – they were called pumps, pumpes, and any other alternate spelling you can come up with =)
A while back, some good friends discussed the possibility of doing a pair of welted renaissance shoes as a weekend workshop. Back in 2013, I’d hosted a two weekend workshop, but this time, I thought that I could get through it in a single weekend, just as we did for the medieval shoe workshop. Taking some lessons from there, I had two students making up some cowmouth shoes, and let me tell you, we finished about ten minutes before we had to get on the plane. =) A few things that worked quite well:
– Lasts were prepared in advance based on measurements provided
– Uppers were cut out and ready for dyeing
– Stitching cords and tools all set at the ready.
As you can see, my very lovely and talented students came out with some excellent pieces right out of Goubitz. In fact, I was amazed at how successful they were, showing that it is possible to do a pair of welted shoes in a weekend. Keep in mind that because these shoes were on straight lasts, they did all of the inseaming and sewing themselves. I even had a little bit of down time here and again which I could have used to help push things along, had we been using crooked left and right lasts. Fantastic work for first-time shoemakers!
I thought it might be illuminating to describe the manner in which I currently outsole a shoe, since I’ve recently started playing with a new technique and rather like the results. In two separate instances with two different and very knowledgeable individuals, I’ve had welted stitching described to me as “rice grains laying against each other,” or a similar variation thereof. As a result, I think I’m getting rather close to the ideal, as I hope the images will soon describe.
