Triangles, Angles & Houndstooth

post-fitting table: the fit models I made for the client, with the fabric, leather and thread color choices for the 'real' shoes

This commission started with a general idea of bespoke lace-up oxfords with angular/cubist asymmetry lines (like these or these I've made previously). I made the fitters with quickly stitched and drawn lines for where elements would be. If you've read some of my previous blog posts, you'll know I love using Western Massachusetts Fibershed fabrics-- so I was absolutely thrilled when this client chose their graphic Houndstooth wool as the base textile. This wool is grown, harvested, spun and woven locally - notice I didn't say dyed. The two colors are the actual NOT-dyed-in-the-wool but grown-on-the-sheep colors!

Dark, dark brown calfskin from Kolde Leather (Vienna) and turquoise kidskin from Shrut & Asch (Boston) are the upper leathers.

final sketch with sample swatches of triangle perforation and Norwegian welt ideas

After the first fitting, I took the design ideas and compiled a final sketch. The slimmer leather-covered wood heel became a chunkier stacked-leather heel for the 'real' shoes. The client liked the textured decorative look of the braided stitchdown construction in the Wave/Leaf D'orsay pumps that I have on display in the studio, but I wasn't sure how to handle that method of sewing the upper to the sole if part of the upper was to be fabric. So - I settled on a Norwegian welt construction but with the leather welt thinned-but-not-too-thin. I dyed the welt to match the dark brown of the calf.

detail: the WMASS Fibershed Houndstooth fabric uppers

Cutting! and flipping the fabric around to yield a nice mirror image even when it's not exactly possible to flip and mirror that houndstooth. It would look silly to have the two shoes with fabric going the same direction...

flatlining

This fabric is super drapey and lovely. Which is why I'm giving it stability by hand basting a cotton drill fabric to it, making sure to match all the bits that need matching.

detail: one lacing tab on the Houndstooth

One of four lacing panels, which each have the triangle and dots perforated edge, with turqouise kidskin underlay

on the work table: leather upper bits prepped for 'turning', using water-based contact cement and reusing a plastic container until it qualifies as Halloween decoration.

Every piece of dark brown leather gets an edge of triangle and dots perforation, with turquoise leather underlay. The lacing tabs also have a thin layer of extra stabilization since there will be so much tension during wear on that area.

Upper assembly in process - edges are turned on the leather pieces, stitching it all together begins

underside of the lining. Sure, maybe you can attach the blind eyelets all the way through the uppers and linings with just a hair of metal showing on the exterior, but that's not how I do it!

I've used a paler turquoise kidskin for the lining, and the gold circles are blind eyelets to further reinforces the lacing holes but not show as eyelets on the exterior of the upper. Lots of ways to make something very thin but very strong, which is needed with the constant motion shoes get with walking and taking them on & off.

Here I'm fitting the uppers to the linings - I use double-sided tape for this but the fabric is still in need of extra holding clips here and there.

this is how it looks to me when I start sewing on the machine

I'm beginning to stitch around the uppers to sew the lining in, on my Singer 51w54 post machine made for being able to sew tubular things like this.

skipping ahead past lasting into the final bits of sewing the welt on

The uppers have been wrapped and tacked around the shoe lasts - and I'm almost done sewing the welt on.

process photo of the curved awl going through the insole channel, the lining and upper, to the exterior visible welt

This sewing by hand part takes a while....lots of work hours put in. I've got a fabric tape running to my foot, around the last, to help hold it in place while I use both hands to stitch. You can just see the tip of the awl going through all of the layers to pierce the welt, on the right.

the finished shoes -- !

Maximalism! These were super fun to make & it's nice to revisit the making of the uppers in this post.