A Classic Guide to Making and Repairing Vintage Shoes and Boots - Including Instructions for Hand-Sewn Boots, Riveted Boots and Sporting Boots and Shoes

By Anon Anon

Teach yourself to repair and rescue your favourite leather boots and shoes. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Sep 6, 2016
• ISBN: 9781473359048

Book preview

Operations

Making a Pair of Hand-

sewn Boots

THE advantage of making-up a boot in the hand-sewn style is that all peculiarities in measurement or shape can be coped with. The wooden last may be fitted in any way necessary to the requirements of the foot (see Figs. 1 to 3); its length may be increased by padding the heel and toe, or the width of its bottom may be added to by tacking runners along the last edge. In fitting up this last, it is only necessary to tack on a piece of leather in the exact position where the extra measurement is required, and to skive down and bed the leather to the last so as not to impede the pulling up of the upper.

Fig. 1.—Method of Increasing Instep Measure for Hand-sewn Work

Attaching and Preparing Insole.—Having fitted up the uppers as described in an earlier chapter, next prepare and attach the insole (see Fig. 5). Cut the insoles from a mellow tanned shoulder, in two oblong pieces big enough to well cover the bottom of the last. Tack the insole on the last in its rough shape, the grain side downwards next to the wood. It is important now to block the insole to the last. Pull the surplus leather at the toe well over. Hammer it to the front of the toe, and drive a rivet through the leather into the toe of the last. Hammer the surplus leather on the inside waist well up against the side of the last, and rivet to the last. Bed the surplus leather over the heel, and rivet to the back and sides of the last heel. Next drive a rivet through the insole on the bottom of the last at the toe, one at each joint, two on each side of the waist, and two in the middle of the heel. Leave in this position until the wet insole is just drying off mellow. Then withdraw all the block rivets from the sides of the last, and the insole will be found to be nicely moulded to the shape of the last bottom. Round up the insole closely to the last. Mark off for the length of heel. Next, beginning at the heel-mark, mark round the waist and forepart, 1/4 in. inwards, for the feather. Again mark round, in line with the first marking, but 3/8 in. farther inwards, the space between the two markings being intended for the inseam. Now mark again 1/4 in. still farther inwards (see Fig. 5). Holding the knife at a slant, skive down from the mark first made, to the edge of the insole all the way round. Next, holding the knife upright, start at the heel corner on the second marking, and cut straight down, judging the depth to about half the substance of the insole. Cut in this way all round the marking. Now hold the knife almost flat on the last marking line, starting at the heel corner, the knife pointing towards the marking line which has just been pierced. Cut all the way round in this slanting manner, judging the knife point to reach up to the marking line last cut. It will now be possible to remove the freed leather as the result of the last cutting, thus resulting in the insole being prepared with feather edge and inseam.

Fig. 2.—Method of Increasing Joint Measure for Hand-sewn Work

Fig. 3.—Leather tacked on to Provide for Enlarged Toe Joint

Fig. 4.—Last Markings, Indicating how Insole should be Treated

Fig. 5.—Insole Marked for Preparing Feather, etc.

Lasting the Upper.—Now last up the upper, much as described on pages 13 to 15, but instead of using tingles, 3/4-in. iron rivets must be used and left standing up, and the rivets must be driven through the upper to catch the insole just at the beginning of the feather skiving. (After lasting the upper with rivets, long whip stitches may be put through the inseam and upper, and the rivets then withdrawn, as in Fig. 11.) Figs. 6 to 10 show the lasting of the upper. The upper having been lasted in this manner, the welt (Figs. 12 and 13) must next be placed in position.

Fig. 6.—Lasting the Upper

Welts.—The welts may be obtained ready cut from the leather shop, but one edge of the flesh side will require to be skived down the whole length of the welt. Place one end of the welt close to the lasting tacks at the heel corner, grain side next to the upper, and the skived edge nearest the lasting tacks or rivets. Drive a rivet through the welt and lasting into the last. Pull welt forward to joint, keeping the skived edge close to the lasting tacks, and drive a rivet through the welt at the joint. Follow on to the toe, and drive a rivet at the side of the toe, one at the front, and one at the farther side. Follow on to joint and tack there, and finish at heel-corner. Do not cut away the spare length of welt, as some of this will be taken up in sewing.

Fig. 7.—Cutting Leather at Toe

Fig. 8.—Pulling up the Joint

Sewing in the Welts.—The welt is now ready for sewing in. Select an awl with medium-curved shoulder, and for ordinary substance men’s boots use an eleven-cord thread for sewing in the welt. It must be noted that the welt has to carry the whole of the boot. Hold the boot on the knee with the toe nearest the workman. Start sewing at the left-hand heel corner. Place the point of the awl nearly flat on the insole with its extreme point next the inseam; that is, the square edge of the ridge formed by removing the freed leather in the last operation of preparing the insole. Force the awl through the inseam, upper and welt, bringing the awl-point out on the welt in a position that is level with the feather edge of the insole. Insert the bristle of the thread from the inseam side, and pull half the length of thread through on the welt side. Now bore as before 1/4 in. farther on, insert the bristle on the welt side, follow with the bristle on the inseam side, and pull up the threads evenly and tightly. Proceed in this manner until the toe is reached. In going round the toe it will be necessary to tap down the welt gently after each stitch. Again, care must be taken in boring on the inseam side, for whilst the holes on the welt side will be 1/4 in. apart, they will be much closer on the inseam side until the toe is passed. Caution is needed, therefore, on the inseam at the toe, or the holes may break into each other. Proceed to the right-hand heel corner and cut off the surplus welt.

Fig. 9.—Laying Heel Pleats with Hammer

Fig. 10.—Upper Lasted for Hand-sewn Work

Fig. 11.—Whip Stitches

Sewing in the Heel.—This is the next operation. The awl is used on the insole in the same way as in sewing in the welt, but no inseam is usually cut for the heel. The awl is held at a smart angle, the insole well pierced, then whilst boring forward the awl is dropped nearly level. The stitch is brought out on the upper itself at the heel, as the welt does not extend beyond the heel corners. Use a thirteen-cord thread for the heel, as the stitches will have to carry the heel itself. Do not pull up the stitches too tightly, and see that the line of sewing is uniform, and is in line with the beginning of the heel feather—that is, 1/4 in. from the edge of the heel insole. (Sometimes a last having an iron-plated heel