shoes&pattens0

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Shoes and Pattens

and the holes seem to have been madę with an awl. In one instance, a compromise between an overlapped seam (Fig. 78) and a butt seam was achieved by cutting the edges of the leather on an angle (Fig. 79) to obtain a closer fit. These seams were normally used to join the main parts of the upper, but smaller pieces, such as facings {cf. Figs. 87, 93) or tongues {cf. Figs. 91, 107), were often attached with a binding-seam (Fig. 80). This was done with a single thread, in some cases possibly using a needle rather than an awl and bristle.

Although it was possible to make a drawstring shoe from one piece of leather (Fig. 83), there were exceptions, notably when a miscalculation occurred, or when additional height was required for an ankle-shoe or Iow boot {cf. Figs. 23 and 40). The example shown in Fig. 23 offers a possible explanation for the surprising absence of taller boots (see below, pp. 118-9): additional pieces, such as the one suggested with broken lines, would have a minimum of cut and stitched edges, and could have been easily reused. Fig. 40 shows a Iow boot based around a one-piece cutting pattem with two inserts to compensate for the extra height. Even with the extra pieces, there are still only three edge/flesh butt seams joining the upper together.

Figs. 89 and 90 represent some of the earliest versions of the side-laced footwear which, with some modifications, was to dominate the early/mid 15th-century groups at Trig Lane {cf. Fig. 108). One of them is unusually cut, with both sets of lace-holes in the ąuarters (Fig. 89). There does not seem to be an obvious advantage in having the lacing on a separate insert {cf. Fig. 90), but the use of lace-hole reinforcement-pieces to strengthen the areas of the shoe most subject to wear and weakness was an obvious improvement. Whilst some of the later shoes still show evidence of being based on single-piece cutting pattems {cf. Fig. 97), Fig. 108 has a separate vamp and ąuarters, with a large rectangular insert covering the front of the foot and taking most of the lace-holes down one side. The lace-holes have reinforcement-pieces along their fuli length, a necessity given their closeness and the tightness with which the boot was evidently laced to fit the wearer’s leg.

It is with the 13th-century toggle-fastened shoes that one sees shoemakers beginning to

79 Bevelled seam. The edges of the leather have been cut diagonally so that the seam, although shallow, is very close. Found rarely in the present collection, and then only on side seams. Cutting the edges in this way has been common practice from the 18th century onwards, and is generally termed ‘skiving’.

80 Binding-seam, used to join two pieces edge-to-edge. Rarer than the ordinary butt seam, this was generally used only for smali inserts or edgings. It is easily recognised by the edge/flesh stitches on both pieces and by the deep scalloped impressions caused by the thread having been whipped across and pulled tight.