14th Century Shoe Patterns?

[Prince Of Darkmoor]

Time to ditch the ol' combat boots.

Are there any pictures of patterns online for turnshoes or boots for the 14th century? Either English or German, or whatever goes with a coat of plates and splinted armour.

T-Bob once pointed me to a great site with all kinds of 14th century clothing but I lost the site

Thanks all.

[This message has been edited by Prince Of Darkmoor (edited 04-16-2002).]

[Sasha]

Get thee hence to the site of Marc Carlson...for all your footish needs.

Just spend twice as long as you think you need fiddling with the patterns. They are sketched and not to scale.

Sasha

[Erik Schmidt]

Here's a tip I learnt recently to make any pattern fit your foot perfectly without having to download, print or fiddle with it in any way. Yeah, right! you say?

Follow these simple instructions;
1/ Find pattern you want and simply make a note of where the seams run.
2/ Put an old sock on your foot.
3/ Cover sock in masking tape so that it completely encloses your foot to the same extent as the shoe you intend to make. Don't tape too tightly, just loosely over the sock.
3/ Now, draw seam lines you noted from the pattern onto the masking tape on your foot.
4/ Cut your masking tape 'shoe' off your foot along the seam lines. Don't cut foot!
5/ Flatten the pieces out over pattern paper and draw around them. Don't forget to add the excess(whatever the correct word is) for the seam. Also add any extras the pattern calls for such as the point.

There. Told you it could be done.

[Sasha]

That system tends to produce stuff that is exactly two sizes too small. The foot gets compressed and the patterns don't allow for movement at all. It also doesn't allow for any double layering or under-tabs (which were used lots in early period shoes)

what I do instead is tape a sock onto someone's foot (Lets call her "Your Majesty the Queen, for instance). This operation is best done at a busy airport terminal as you are about to put her on a red-eye flight after a frantically busy event weekend, mind you. At no other time does the operation yeild as good results.

Make sure the security gaurds arrive at just the time you are cutting the sock off with the very sharp little embroidery scissors. That always adds to the moment.
Make the cut vertically at the back so you can remove the foot form the sock and deposit girl (plus security escort) into the secured area of the airport. Wave goodbye nicely.

Tape up the back of the sock where you sliced it open to extract a Queen.
Now fill with plaster of paris and hang up for a couple of days.

Cut of sock and wrap with a couple of layers of tightly stretched duct tape. You now have a last of her footsy wootsy. Stretch your wetted leather over it and make shoes accordingly.

Sasha

[jester]

I've got to agree with Sasha on this. I haven't had any luck with using the duct-tape wrapping itself as the pattern (lots of other people swear by this method, though). I am told that if you remove the sock (and the elastic it contains) after you cut out your pattern then you get a nice pattern-piece that doesn't stretch out of shape.

I prefer to make a last. For my court slippers, which are made with craft-felt at the moment, I just stuff the sock and tape last with old socks. This holds the shape of the last very well and allows me to pin the felt directly to the last. It also allows me add a nice little point to the front of the last.

For fighting shoes (which will need to be durable leather) I am experimenting with filling the last with spray-foam (minimal expanding). This seems to be strong enough to stretch wet leather on (I can pin directly to the last) but I don't know if the last will be re-usable (the ultimate goal). Friends have suggested using silicone sealant (the best idea so far) or wood paste (sorry, forget the name of the stuff) to create a more durable last.

One trick I have found to work well (with court slippers which don't see lots of abuse) is to use a lightweight material (a light canvas in my case) for the sole and then glue a leather sole on the bottom and put in a little stitching around the edge.

Resources for shoes:

I. Marc Carlson's page. The best on the web.
http://www.personal.utulsa.edu/~marc-carlson/shoe/SHOEHOME.HTM

Cynthia Virtue, Poor Person's Poulaines.
http://www.virtue.to/articles/poulaines.html

I forget, but it's one my list.
http://www.cs.latrobe.edu.au/~pears/SCA/SHOES/shoes.html

Company of St. Sebastian homepage
http://www.wiredpalette.com/sebastian/

The Tower of London put out a book on medieval footwear (based on archaeological evidence, so it's very nice). It was out of print last I heard (though there were rumors it was going to be re-printed) and it is generally available through inter-library loan.

Last, the Bibliotheque Nationale Francaise has an online exhibit of art depicting the 14th century (some of it may actually be from the 15th century, I believe). Some excellent pictures of footwear (particularly in the hunting scenes) that illustrate the sheer variety of styles available.

Some words of advice on footwear:
1) Take lots of time on the pattern.
2) Work in cheap fabric first to get the hang of fitting the pieces together. Thick felt (cheap) is a good substitute for leather (expensive) during this learning process.
3) Leather is not fabric. No matter how much you practice with fabric you will eventually have to bite the bullet and start working with leather. Don't expect your first effort to be perfect.
4) If you make the pattern using the sock and tape method, make sure you are wearing your athletic insoles inside the sock.
5) Take lots of time when constructing your pattern. The pattern generally takes two to three times as long as the rest of the construction process (in my limited experience).

Good luck.

[Thaddeus]

Thanks for that little piece of insight Sasha. I just had one of those Doh!!! moments, having been about to put in an order with my mother in law for old iron lasts. (antique dealer) might still do to make hobnailed boots come to think of it.

[DanNV]

The Museum of London book is "Shoes and Pattens" and I believe it has been reprinted by Boydell and Brewer. It should be available from any major book dealer. There is also a German book along the same lines (which I can't remember the name of) which is also full of great pics even if I can't read the thing.

Dan

[Talbot]

Or you could also buy any one of my eleven books on making medieval shoes!



------------------
Doug Strong
Sir William Talbot, OL
(The artist formerly know as Talbot Mac Taggart)


http://talbotsfineaccessories.com

[Thorgrimr]

I second the motion to use felt first. I did this when I made my boots and they turned out ( no pun intended ) quite nicely.

[DanNV]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Talbot:
<B>Or you could also buy any one of my eleven books on making medieval shoes!
</B></font><HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

These are really good books. I got the lot of them in PDF format. Well worth the price.

Dan