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shoe construction...behind the veil

ntempleman

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No problem - I should probably add that I was talking about the traditional styles that 99% of folk are familiar with and want, where the benefits of hand sewing don't quite justify the increased effort. If someone proposed a handstitched piece with some heavier linen thread in a more exotic creation where some sort of feature could be made of it, then that could be an interesting thing to work on. You'd need someone with skills in saddlery most likely, to get that Hermès level of craftsmanship on the stitches. I think j ingevaldsson has got something in the works like that at the moment, his brother is saddler if I'm not mistaken.
 

DWFII

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Possibly a stupid question, but does anyone know why no shoemaker will completely hand sew a leather upper?

(cc'ing @DWFII, @ntempleman, and @bengal-stripe since they might know)


Once upon a time of course it was all done by hand....probably until well towards the end of the 19th century. But it required an incredible amount of time and skill. Not everyone could muster the finesse to do it esp. extensively.

That said, when we look at boots and shoes that come from that time period we often see work that is both elaborate and more exquisitely done than anything being done today. Most of the prize work that has been catalogued which demonstrates high frequency ...such as 50-64 stitches per inch...was done at that frequency both on the uppers as well as on the welt and outsole. The boots made by John Nelson Hefford in 1851, for instance, are exceedingly elaborate. (click on these photos to get a closer look)

700


And while it takes a lot of time to hand sew at even 10 spi, it also has to be done with great precision and evenness. Try stitching at 10 stitches per inch...it takes skill. It takes time. I have seen contemporary attempts to duplicate that 19th century work and, to be frank, it looks crude and clumsy by comparison...even at 20spi, much less 30+

But I am not so sure that the plainness of footwear from this era can be entirely attributed to a time burden (skill maybe). Rather, I think it might have been just the style of the time. That said, here are two shoes that can be found at the Albert and Victoria Museum that are quite exceptional. If I'm not mistaken all the "white lines" are stitching...so fine you can't immediately pick out the individual stitches. What's more, these are all men's work. Look at the women's work being done at the time. It is almost rococo, it's so elaborate--all that embroidery was done by hand too.

Click on these, then click on "original," then use the magnifier cursor to click on the photo again...only then does the tightness and the finesse of this work become apparent.

700


edited for punctuation and clarity
 
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dieworkwear

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Once upon a time of course it was all done by hand....probably until well towards the end of the 19th century. But it required an incredible amount of time and skill. Not everyone could muster the finesse to do it esp. extensively.
That said, when we look at boots and shoes that come from that time period we often see work that is both elaborate and more exquisitely done than anything being done today. Most of the prize work that has been catalogued which demonstrates high frequenc ...such as 50-64 stitches per inch...was done at that frequency both on the uppers as well as on the welt and outsole. The boots made by John Nelson Hefford in 1851, for instance, are exceedingly elaborate. (click on these photos to get a closer look)

700


And while it takes a lot of time to hand sew at even 10 spi, it also has to be done with great precision and evenness. Try stitching at 10 stitches per inch...it takes skill. It takes time. I have seen contemporary attempts to duplicate that 19th century work and, to be frank, it looks crude and clumsy by comparison even at 20spi much less 30+

But I am not so sure that the plainness of footwear from this era can be entirely attributed to a time burden (skill maybe). Rather, I think it might have been just the style of the time. That said, here are two shoes that can be found at the Albert and Victoria Museum that are quite exceptional. If I'm not mistaken all the "while lines" are stitching ...so fine you can't immediately pick out the individual stitches. What's more, these are all men's work. look at the women's work being done at the time it is almost rococo it is so elaborate --all that embroidery was done by hand too.

Click on these, then click on "original," then use the magnifier cursor to click on the photo again...only then does the tightness and the finesse of this work become apparent.

700


Thanks, DW. The shoes in both those photos look amazing. Hard to even conceptualize how much time and skill would be required to handstitch those things.
 

DWFII

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Thanks, DW. The shoes in both those photos look amazing. Hard to even conceptualize how much time and skill would be required to handstitch those things.


June Swann...past Keeper of the Shoe collection at the N'Hampton Shoe Museum... wrote that the story behind one pair she catalogued was that the maker had worn several pairs of glasses simultaneously and it took him three years to complete. And he never made another pair again.

Might be apocryphal...I wasn't there.

All this falls into the category of lost skills and lost appreciation of what quality and excellence is...or can be.

Why are contemporary women's high heels universally mounted with screws? Or nails? There are plenty of examples of high heeled shoes from the 19th century in which the heel was actually sewn on. "No plastic, no paper, no nails" (or screws).

No one does this kind of work anymore. Why? The skills are lost. The quality of the materials so far short of what is needed. Maybe even the ability to appreciate what human hands hath wrought.

Is such work something to strive for...then or now?

"Ah, but a man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's a heaven for?" -- Robert Btrowning

The following is a miniature!! I'd guess the stitching here is 25-30spi

700


700
 
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DWFII

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BTW,

I must credit the photos of the green and black shoes above to shoefan and the photos of ladies work to Duncan McHarg.
 

VRaivio

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DWFII

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@dieworkwear,

It's worth noting that on very high end (expensive) and bespoke shoes, some hand stitching is done regularly.

For instance, in the following photos the apron and the toe are perforce done by hand...although at a fairly low spi--I'm guessing no greater than 8spi (as compared to 20 spi or 30 spi or even 50 spi done historically). This kind of apron stitching and the skin stitching on the toe cannot be done by machine. Which is why it is limited to high end and bespoke work.

Even there, the time invested in sewing by hand adds value...in the eyes of the maker certainly...and the price of the shoe reflects that. I seriously doubt whether more than a handful of people on this forum would see enough value in a hand stitched shoe, done entirely at even a paltry 20spi, to as much as consider purchasing it. When you consider the outraged resistance people have to the $1500-$2000+ price tag that hand welting alone nearly necessitates, it's pretty clear that such work would not...could not... be appreciated enough to overcome the prospective price, much less induce any maker to sit down and stitch a shoe entirely by hand (including linings). Maybe at 5-6spi (as above ^^) or for the sake of novelty or curiousity but not too likely otherwise.

hand stitched aprons and toes...(click on photo to see larger version)

400

400


--
 
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shoefan

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Someone I've been helping over the last few years doesn't own a leather sewing machine, so he has hand-sewn his uppers. However, he is doing this as a hobby, and his output is very low -- I believe he is on one of his first pairs, even after several years. Here is one of his shoes:



Very impressive for someone who is learning on his own.
 
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DWFII

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^ Not too shabby.

Is that a J&V last?

Stock? Or one of your hybrids?
 
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shoefan

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^ Not too shabby.

Is that a J&V last?

Stock? Or one of your hybrids?

It is not one of my lasts, I guess it is a J&V, if that is the type of nomenclature that J&V use. Not sure if it was a stock last or if it was a semi-customized one, although I have vague recollections that it may be the latter.
 

DWFII

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Shoefan,

Looks like a J&V...not so much because of the model number itself but the placement of it and the size number. Also the colour of the last.

I did some hand sewing like your friends under the worst of conditions--I made a pair of jodhpurs and made the stupid mistake of not backing the strap. No, I take that back--it wasn't a mistake, it was a deliberate...but equally stupid...decision. I was so wrapped up in my folding technique, esp. at the billet end.

I lasted the shoe and then, while positioning the straps realized how blind I had been. I had to take the straps off, pick the stitches, back the straps, and then resew in the same holes--@ 15spi. I did that with the machine...slowly, slowly.

But then I had to remount the straps...and the lining was already trimmed, closely. I had to resew the uppers for about threes inches (times four corners) by hand at @15sp hitting all the old holes, both in the upper and the lining.

The good news is that my holes were evenly spaced because they had originally been done by machine.

The better news is that three days after I decided to pull the straps and back them, you couldn't tell it had ever happened.

But...Doh!!!

:facepalm:
 
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DWFII

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