Medieval Shoes

[NigelT]

Griff posted this elsewhere on the site - thought it might be of interest to anyone looking for shoes that can't be bothered making them.

[griff]

http://www21.brinkster.com/annascrafts/leather.htm
some good tips and info here

[wuzzle]

[Boyd]

I've used this site with success

Making Medieval Arrowheads by Martin Austwick
http://www.the-exiles.org/essay/makingmedishoes.htm

The pattern making section is easy to do and can be done on the cheap.
For those who aren't interested in making vegetanned leather shoes or buying expensive thick leather to sew, this pattern will work on 1mm thick leather. It can be either hand stitched using glovers needles (you don't need to buy an awl) or a sewing machine that can handle leather. Using the thin leather also means that there is no Edge/Flesh stitching

The shoes are wide in the 'waist' (under the arch) but are good for people who require orthopedic support.
It's also a easy way of making shoes for children that won't break the bank.

I have found these shoes to be comfortable, dry quickly when wet, and my prototype pair (with a PVC glued sole insert of leather) have survived dancing and combat on wooden floors, walks on metal roads, tarseal, concrete and aggregate, as well as grass. They don't handle mud that well as they get slippery.

This pattern can be used to make lace up shoes, latchet shoes and boots, even poulaines.
Please view Marc Carlson’s site for styles of shoes (website in an earlier posting)

I tried using this technique, without using any of my leatherworking equipment, and using items that most people should be able to access from craft shops.
Craft-knife, Glover’s Needles, 2 Normal sewing needles, thread (I like Gutterman’s Linen, but cotton will work), beeswax for waxing the thread, emery paper, Ados F5 Glue (I prefer the gel product).

If you do use thin leather:

I used two thin pieces of leather, glued flesh side to flesh side to make the sole.
If you do lots of dancing inside I suggest keeping the bottom of the sole smooth (I have found the grip on my shoes to grip inconveniently when dancing on wood an lino!) If you want more grip for outside wear or combat then before gluing; cut long, thin strips of the leather. Make short slits in the sole at the ball of foot and the heel, and weave the strips into the sole. You will then have a loose checkerboard effect on the bottom of your sole with raised pieces of leather. It may not look like much but it is surprising how much grip you get. Then glue the pieces together flesh to flesh

Sew the upper piece and the heel piece together.
The sole piece and the upper & heel piece can be sewn using 'saddle stitch' through all 3 pieces of leather. I suggest starting at the toe point and working down either side to the around the ankle.
You can use a Glover’s needle as your awl, but the sides of the triangular point need to be sanded with your emery paper.
The points of your normal sewing needles will need to be blunted.
Aim for stitches every 3-4mm. A shoe should take around 4-5 hours of hand stitching (with breaks!)

This design needs a heel stiffener, please include in your shoes or you will get damage on the bottoms of your heels.

The shoes can be water proofed with Dubbin, and nuggeted when they look shabby. If you want really waterproof shoes glue all the inside of the seams with Ados F5.

[White Knight]

A good way to prevent your shoes from getting soaked is to make a pair of pattens. That's pattens not patterns (pieces of wood shaped like the sole of your shoe which strap on to your foot underneath your shoes).

Most reenactor shoes are uncomfortable mostly because they use incorrect stitching technique. Read the book Shoes and Pattens by Francis Grew ISBN 0851158382.
In this book hundreds of different types of medieval shoes have been dug up and they have been studied right down to the type of stitching used. Diagrams of about 20 shoes covering about four centuries are included in this book which you can use to take patterns from.

Your typical medieval shoe consists of usually two pieces of leather called an upper and the sole. The upper is the top of the shoe in case you hadn't figured that out.
Medieval shoes were called turn shoes because they were made inside out and then once made turned the right way out.

The secret to comfortable medieval shoes is in the stitching.
The best stitch to use is called the edge/flesh stitch. This connects the sole of the shoe to the upper. This stitch is made by instead of going straight through the leather sole as it would if it was punched straight through, it goes into the top of the leather called the flesh and then comes out through the side edge of the leather at a 90 degree angle. A curved needle should be used for this type of stitch. The needle then passes straight through the upper piece of leather completing the stitch joining the two pieces of leather together.
The reason for this type of stitch is so that you don't have the seam digging into your foot as you walk.

I have made a pair of brown poulaine shoes, the very pointy ones, and find them incredibly comfortable. I will be wearing these at NAAMA so if you want to know more look out for the poulaines and you should be able to spot me.

Brent.

[pmel018]

Sorry double post

[pmel018]

Hi Guys
here are some links to the Vikings here in the UK. I have made the centre seamed shoes and they are perfectly waterproof if waxed or oiled properly. I did demonstrate the construction to AS&S a few years ago and a number of people successfully modified and made them.http://www.vikingsonline.org.uk/resources/authenticity/basickit/basickit15.html

[Victorius]

I've made three pairs of leather hand-stitched shoes now, but I'm still a novice. How does one waterproof them? I know using oil or wax: but how?

[pmel018]

Hi There
use a soft wax like Sno-Seal, warm up the leather(few hours in the hot water cupboard)and apply, keep doing this until no more is absorbed. It can take a few days as veg-tanned leather is very absorbent.
If you choose to oil it then Neatsfoot oil is the traditional product. originally made from boiled down pigs feet, it is now a, mostly , mineral oil concoction that will eventually degrade the leather. It works well in the short term though.
Phil

[NigelT]

[amuckart]

Hi Nigel,

I'm new to the forum, but I'm a Wellington-based medieval shoe geek.

[Inigo]

I have leather available for people in Auckland who want to come and visit. $10-$15 will get you enough for a pair of shoes. All the leather I have is commercially dyed various shades of brown and I have some heavies leather suitable for sole leather as well. I'm in Albany, Auckland. PM me for details.

The leather isn't 100% right, so if you're looking for museum reproduction quality it's not right. But if you're currently running around in ex Xena props, it's a whole lot better

Monday or Tuesday evenings are usually a good time if you want to pick some up. Bring some beer if you want a hand making a pattern.

[Bogue]

And Inigo did say: