page_title: Shoemaking
section_title: Traditional methods
hierarchical_section_title: Shoemaking / History / Traditional methods
caption_attribution_description: English: I took photo with Canon camera of early shoemaking shop exhibit at the Maine State Museum in Augusta.
context_page_description: Shoemaking is the process of making footwear.
  Originally, shoes were made one at a time by hand, often by groups of shoemakers, or cobblers. In the 18th century, dozens or even hundreds of masters, journeymen and apprentices would work together in a shop, dividing up the work into individual tasks. A customer could come into a shop, be individually measured, and return to pick up their new shoes in as little as a day. Everyone needed shoes, and the median price for a pair was about one day’s wages for an average journeyman.
  The shoemaking trade flourished in the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries but began to be affected by industrialization in the later nineteenth century.
  Traditional handicraft shoemaking has now been largely superseded in volume of shoes produced by industrial mass production of footwear, but not necessarily in quality, attention to detail, or craftsmanship. Today, most shoes are made on a volume basis, rather than a craft basis. A pair of "bespoke" shoes, made in 2020 according to traditional practices, can be sold for thousands of dollars.
  Shoemakers may produce a range of footwear items, including shoes, boots, sandals, clogs and moccasins.
context_section_description: For most of history, shoemaking has been a handicraft, limited to time-consuming manufacturing by hand. Traditional shoemakers used more than 15 different techniques for making shoes. Some of these were: pegged construction, English welted (machine-made versions are referred to as "Goodyear welted" after the inventor of the technique), goyser welted, Norwegian, stitchdown, turnout, German sewn, moccasin, bolognese stitched, and blake-stitched.
  The most basic foot protection, used since ancient times in the Mediterranean area, was the sandal, which consisted of a protective sole, held to the foot with leather thongs or cords of various materials. Similar footwear worn in the Far East was made from plaited grass or palm fronds. In climates that required a full foot covering, a single piece of untanned hide was laced with a thong, providing full protection for the foot and so made a complete covering.
  The production of clogs (wooden shoes) was widespread in medieval Europe. They were made from a single piece of wood roughly cut into shoe form. A variant of this form was a wooden sole to which a leather upper was attached. The sole and heel were made from one piece of maple or ash two-inches thick, and a little longer and broader than the desired size of shoe. The outer side of the sole and heel was fashioned with a long chisel-edged implement, called the clogger’s knife or stock; while a second implement, called the groover, made a groove around the side of the sole. With the use of a 'hollower', the inner sole's contours were adapted to the shape of the foot. The leather uppers were then fitted closely to the groove around the sole. Clogs were of great advantage to workers in muddy and damp conditions, keeping the feet dry and comfortable.
  By the 1600s, leather shoes came in two main types. 'Turn shoes' consisted of one thin flexible sole, which was sewed to the upper while outside in and turned over when completed. This type was used for making slippers and similar shoes. The second type united the upper with an insole, which was subsequently attached to an out-sole with a raised heel. This was the main variety, and was used for most footwear, including standard shoes and riding boots.
  The traditional shoemaker would measure the feet and cut out upper leathers according to the required size. These parts were fitted and stitched together. The sole was next assembled, consisting of a pair of inner soles of soft leather, a pair of outer soles of firmer texture, a pair of welts or bands about one inch broad, of flexible leather, and lifts and top-pieces for the heels. The insole was then attached to a last made of wood, which was used to form the shoe. Some lasts were straight, while curved lasts came in pairs: one for left shoes, the other for right shoes. The 'lasting' procedure then secured the leather upper to the sole with tacks. The soles were then hammered into shape; the heel lifts were then attached with wooden pegs and the worn out-sole was nailed down to the lifts. The finishing operation included paring, rasping, scraping, smoothing, blacking, and burnishing the edges of soles and heels, scraping, sand-papering, and burnishing the soles, withdrawing the lasts, and cleaning out any pegs which may have pierced through the inner sole.
  Other types of ancient and traditionally made shoes included furs wrapped around feet, and sandals wrapped over them (used by Romans fighting in northern Europe), and moccasins - simple shoes without the durability of joined shoes.
  The patron saint of shoemakers is Saint Crispin.
caption: Early shoemaking shop on exhibit at Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine.
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