Restitching shoes at a cobbler?

[jhwang116]

Hi all,

I recently took a pair of my shoes to the cobbler to have a small repair on the uppers; however, to my dismay, he fixed it by creating additional stitching (e.g. puncturing new holes and stitching through those holes) without asking me. These are my first pair of nice shoes (~$300), so I'm a bit overprotective. To make matters worse, he did a pretty poor job--the stitching is somewhat loose and may come undone.

In the case that the new stitching comes undone, can cobblers remove the stitching entirely and restitch using the existing holes or will the machines make a new set of holes. I'd hate to have multiple sets of stitching punctures. Additionally, I imagine having multiple sets of punctures in a small area may compromise the integrity of the leather and may increase the chances of tearing. Is this understanding correct?

Additionally, how difficult is it to hide extra holes via filler or whatever substance cobblers might use if it is indeed possible to remove them? Also, would these fillers just fix it visually or would they help repair the structural integrity of the leather?

I understand these are a lot of questions, and I appreciate everyone's patience.

Thanks,
J

 

[NORE]

You can send your shoes for a complete refurb where they will replace the entire sole and put on a new one. Then you will have only one set of holes and the job should be done right. This is, of course, if the shoes we are discussing are Goodyear welted.

 

[jhwang116]

Thanks for your response. I should have clarified that the cobbler altered the uppers, not the sole.

 

[MyOtherLife]

Posting photos of the shoes in question would help.
Welcome to Styleforum jhwang116.

 

[jhwang116]

Posting photos of the shoes in question would help.
Welcome to Styleforum jhwang116.

Thanks for the suggestion. Here's what I'm talking about.

 

[NORE]

Looks like whatever he was trying to fix might have not held up if he used the original holes. That of he was drunk and blind.

 

[jhwang116]

Looks like whatever he was trying to fix might have not held up if he used the original holes. That of he was drunk and blind.

If it were restitched at some point, would a cobbler be able to follow the same puncture holes or would another set have to be made?

 

[bengal-stripe]

Normally it is pretty tricky to re-stitch a pair of finished shoes. When the upper is stitched together, it’s flat on the sewing machine and well before the sole is in place (restricting access). A long-armed sewing machine called a “patcher” can be used to re-stich seams in finished shoes. With a patcher you can turn the sewing head to stitch either length- or cross wise.

In your case there is really no excuse. The section that needed re-stitching is easily accessible; your cobbler could have done those 10 stitches by hand, utilizing the existing holes. Find someone who will stitch it by hand, but, I'm afraid, you’ll have to live with the additional needle holes that cobbler has managed to produce.

With (woollen) fabrics you can use a steam iron and the needle holes are gone; in leather they stay in forever.

 

[JP Marcellino]

my impression from this pic is that stitching is all wrong with one long stitch, whats up with that? and than it bunches up to the seem. i agree, find someone to do it by hand and they can control the stitch.

as far as those extra holes, when some one hand stitches i might think about just running another parallel stitching line, but you might have to consider do the same on the other shoe. to keep the strength and integrity i would think more along the line of filling those holes with stitch as opposed to any glue or filler. that my opinion though. good luck.

 

[jhwang116]

my impression from this pic is that stitching is all wrong with one long stitch, whats up with that? and than it bunches up to the seem. i agree, find someone to do it by hand and they can control the stitch.

as far as those extra holes, when some one hand stitches i might think about just running another parallel stitching line, but you might have to consider do the same on the other shoe. to keep the strength and integrity i would think more along the line of filling those holes with stitch as opposed to any glue or filler. that my opinion though. good luck.

Thanks for the suggestions. Do you think the integrity of the leather is at risk of tearing at all?

 

[JP Marcellino]

i don't think it is at risk of tearing, they are small holes and the leather looks good. my concern would be that long stitch that is just waiting for something to nic it and it will come undone but as you said i think you are aware of that.

 

[GBR]

What a mess, burning comes to mind I am afraid.