Shoe Making Part 1 - Pattern Cutting

Shoe making primer through photos.

My fiance has been kind enough to share some of her footwear making notes with me. She documents every part of the process of making a shoe so this will be the first in a series of posts about the art of shoe making. The process involved in making proper footwear is quite complex so I'll be doing my best to outline the majority of it through captioned photos. In order to get the form of the shoe and start cutting the pattern the process starts out with the use of a shoe last made of wood, plastic, or in rare cases iron. For most modern shoes these lasts come in pairs; one left and one right.

Shown here is the last being taped. This is done in order to  have a surface which can be made flat for cutting of the pattern.

Once the last is fully taped a straight line is drawn marking the center of the last. This is the mark guiding how the pattern will be flattened. There is also a line marking the center of the heel of the shoe.

Next marks are made on the tape detailing the joint of the shoe (where the foot bends.) Design lines are also added to the tape and will give a general idea of how the finished shoe will look.

The tape is then cut down the center line and removed from the last. There is no tape on the bottom of the last, only the upper part.

Once removed from the last the tape is then laid on paper to. The paper is cut using the tape as a guide. The paper is much easier to work with and reusable.

Design lines are then transferred to the paper. Noticed the stitch lines as well. Seam allowances can be calculated based on this so everything can be prepared before a cut is made.

The paper pattern is cut based on the seam lines. Each of these is a different piece of leather and will be sewn together later in the process.

This details the basics of pattern making for shoe design. In the next part of this series we will be reviewing stitching the leather together to finish making the upper part of the shoe.

Using the paper pattern as a guide the leather is then cut to shape