Pair 2

Overall

Photos

Thanks

In no particular order, and doubtless incomplete:

• Kirby Allison and Lee Miller for the bespoke cowboy boots making series on YouTube
• the late D.W. Frommer II, for Western Packers
• several helpful, pseudonymous denizens of the stitchdown.com Discord server’s #cordwaining channel

Materials

Mistakes

Trimming Lining

I tried to trim the quarter lining of the first shoe by just leaving some excess, pulling on it, and trying to cut just deep enough with a knife. So I nicked the turned edge of the upper leather in a few places. Laying a thin steel rule under the lining and cutting over that prevented nicking, but dulled my blade and worked only awkwardly through the curves.

I suspect the better approach here is pulling the lining taught and trimming with a guarded knife like an edge beveler, french skive, welt knife, or feather plow.

Closing Order

I initially stitched the tongue to the vamp, but later unstitched it to stitch the vamp to the counter first.

Counter Seam Margin

I somehow managed to join first counter to beading and vamp only halfway through its seam allowance, leaving the closed upper five millimeters or more longer than planned.

Blood Stains

I knicked a finger skiving a set of quarters, but only bandaged it well enough to stop the bleeding. I got a few drops of blood on the light-brown leather before realizing the bandage was leaking.

Backseams

I chose a stitch for the backseams that was flat on the inside and crossed on the outside, under the baclstraps. A bit like bar lacing for tennis shoes. The flat stitches on the inside created noticeable ribs under the linings, despite the relatively thick lining leather.

For smoother interiors, I should have just pasted the quarters temporarily using a strip of fabric and relied on the cement and stitching of the backstraps for strength.

Advancing One Shoe Alone

I was nervous about giving myself enough lasting allowance, and decided to make and last one whole upper before clicking the vamp and counter pieces for the second. This might have been a good idea, but I wasn’t as thorough enough taking notes about how I made the first upper to be sure I’d make all the same choices again on the second.

I got very, very close in the end. But I spent a lot of time retracing steps and measuring things on the shoe that got ahead. I also just plain skipped looking at my own notes on the thread I’d used on the quarters, mis-remembered, and had to pick and restitch to match.