Chapter VI: Sewing and Stitching

Now the welts are fitted, the threads made, the boot lasted, and it is time to commence to sew. Before sewing, if the boot has dried, damp it all round over the holes, and well rub an old wet tooth-brush round the heel part, to moisten the edge of the stiffener.

Sewing in the welt is one of the most important stages in boot and shoe making, as the ripping of a welt-seam nearly spoils the boot, since it cannot be well repaired without re-welting--a process far from pleasant if it has to be done before the sole is worn out. Before starting to sew, see that the thread is nicely twisted, waxed, and smooth throughout.

Commence sewing in the welt at the left corner of the seat, proceeding towards the waist, the boot to be held between your knees, toe towards you. In the right boot this side, the inside of the waist, will be the longest. With the welt, measure from this point to the corner of the joint of the sole. Mark this point in order to know the length the welt is to be in the waist, and for this distance skive the welt from the grain side to about half the substance. Then the welt is ready for sewing in.

If a strap is used, it should have the buckle under the left foot; or if a stout piece of cord or rope is used, put the knot under the foot so that it is out of the way, and the thread does not catch in it and break while sewing. Place the boot, toe towards you, between the legs (which should be held close together), letting the strap go over the waist of the boot, as at A (Fig. 90), to keep it fixed while it is sewn. The tack at B can now be drawn, and the sewing-awl put in the first hole of the waist, as at C.

Fig. 91 shows a larger section of the welt being sewn. It is used grain side downwards, with the surface from which the angular piece was taken off against the upper. While the awl is passed through a hole in the insole in the position shown at C (Fig. 90), the welt shown (Fig. 91) is placed so that the awl may be passed through it at A, and is then withdrawn. The thread held in the left hand has one of its bristles put through the holes A (Fig. 91) and C (Fig. 90), which are now opposite. The thread is pulled through until the twisted centre is reached, and there is an equal length on each side, taking one end in each hand; and, with the awl in the right and the hand-leather, described on p. 61, in the left, you are ready to set the first welt stitch. As before, the awl is put through the next hole D (Fig. 90), about 2 in. of the left bristle is passed through; the right bristle follows similarly, but from the opposite side. The points of the bristle change hands, and each is pulled through simultaneously for nearly half a yard. This is done (with their points directed away from the work) holding the bristles between the thumb and finger, with the palms of the hands upwards. When the thread is pulled out a little, the hands are twisted so as to give the thread a turn round the hand, where it is held by the thumb and finger of both hands, and so the first pull is finished. The thread is then dropped, and picked up again near the holes, the bristles being kept between the thumb and finger, ready to use again. Another stroke is made, and this will probably pull the whole of the thread through. But if not, another pull must be taken. These pulls must be made in quick succession until the stitch is set at the final stroke, which is a tightening pull. It must be hard, especially on the side which pulls the stitch into the welt; but an over-strong pull on the other side may possibly pull the stitch through the in-sole. To give this extra strong tightening pull, wind the left thread end round the hand-leather on the left hand, and the right thread end round the end, or knob, of the handle of the awl, as A (Fig. 92). When this stitch is done and pulled in tight, the next and all following stitches can be proceeded with in a similar way.

After five or six stitches have been set, the seam can be knocked down with a hammer to make it smooth; but it must not be hit so hard as to bruise it. During this stoppage in the work it is well to wax at least one of the threads. It is best to wax only the end on the right side; then set another stitch and wax the other end, which this time is on the right. This is because the first time the thread passes through the leather a little wax is very apt to chip off and fly on to the work. In this way if the wax falls on the inner sole, it does no harm; otherwise, the wax would fall on the upper of the boot, and would need getting off, and would spoil Russian or any coloured leather. The waxing is done by holding with the left hand one thread end straight above the work, holding a ball of wax in the thumb and finger of the right, and rubbing it up and down quickly and evenly.

Proceed in the same way with the rest of the welt-sewing, until the other joint (E, Fig. 90) at the commencement of the waist is reached. Here skive off the remainder of the grain which has been left on the welt, turning it back upon the sole or upon a piece of thin wood, and skiving it as was done the other end. Then sew it in till the point F is reached; there it is cut off, and the last welt stitch set over the end. When the toe is reached, the boot will need turning end for end, toe from you. It is best to draw each tack, so that the work shall not come unlasted. When the seat is sewn in before the welt, this can be sewn in with the same thread.

The boot has now stitches in place of tacks, and all round there is surplus upper stuff, which must be cut off quite close to the stitch, but not so that it weakens the seam. The knife must be sharp, and the point dipped towards the inner sole, except at the heel seat, where it is held flat with the inner sole. The whole seam can be hammered down, to make it as smooth as possible.

In sewing in the heel seat, well wax the two ends, and there must not be a join in the thread; this must be long enough to go the whole way round, otherwise a new thread must be used. Commence sewing in the same way as before, but use no welt; therefore, on one side the stitch will lay on the inner sole, and on the other on the upper, as at A (Fig. 93). This sewing commences at B and ends at C. Make very solid stitches, pull the last end through to the inner sole, and tie the two ends into a good knot, to make a solid finish. The four tacks D, D, D, D must be taken out. A piece of chalk is rubbed round on the stitches, and a piece of felt is laid on the inner sole and tapped all round. This leaves a chalk mark to show the size that the felt will need to be. The inner sole is pasted all over, the piece of felt is laid upon it, hammered all over, and left to dry, and it is then trimmed all round level with the welt. A piece of good solid leather, of the size marked out by the dotted line E and F, is pegged in the waist with about four pegs. It should be skived thin at the ends and sides, leaving it thick in the centre only. This leather is pasted, and a thin piece of felt, by warming and splitting the felt, placed over it. If the bottom is hollow at G, the felt must be pasted, and another layer laid in the same way as the first; the sole is required to be made just level with the welt. The whole surface, from heel to toe, should be quite smooth, and when a sprinkling of powdered French chalk has been rubbed in the boot is ready to receive the sole.

The sole leather has to be wetted, and dried until it is just mellow. Scrape off the grain, flesh the back, and then gently hammer it from the centre outwards. The dotted line in Fig. 94 shows the shape of the soles when bought in pairs, and also how the sole can be fitted to the boot so that, if it be a narrow toe, the piece G is not wasted. Two of these odd pieces will half heel a pair of boots, or, spliced together, will make one top-piece. Therefore, it is well to mark the sole round to the boot, and cut this piece off before putting the sole on. In this condition the sole leather is well pasted on the flesh side. The bottom of the boot must also have a coat of paste, and French chalk should be sprinkled upon the felt to prevent the boot from creaking. A sole-tack is put through the centre at the toe end, as at A (Fig. 94), another at B, and two others at C and C. The sole is tapped all over with the hammer, and the boot held firmly on the knees by the strap which passes across the centre of the waist, a little below B, and under the left toe. The waist at either side should be treated with a waist- or cramp-hammer, which has a rounded face.

In very strong work the waist of the sole is left to the full substance; but this depends greatly upon the kind of wear such boots are to be subjected to, and also the desire of those who will have to wear them. When left in this way, and stitched through close to the edge, it is called a square waist, and is suitable for riding and other strong boots. Usually the thickness of the sole is reduced off the flesh side at either side--not the whole way across. The sole is placed flat upon a board, grain side down, and a skiver taken off from D to D, and (by turning the sole the reverse way round) another from E to E, leaving the skivers a little thicker at F and F. When placed upon the boot, these dark-shaded pieces, F and F, will be next to the welt, not on top, as here shown.

When thus prepared, and the work has been hammered to make the bottom quite smooth and level, it can be taken off the knees. A piece of blunt bone or hard wood run right round between the upper and the welt will make the welt level, and cause it to set flat against the sole. If well rounded up before the sole is put on, the boot will form a good guide to the shape that the sole should be, which has now to be rounded up.

Rounding or knifing-up the sole is a part of the work needing care and attention, since it is this shaping-up which makes the difference between boots well finished and badly finished.

The boot should be held firmly with the left hand upon its side on the knees. The knife must be very sharp, and held in the right hand. The point should lie on the first finger, the thumb on the top of the blade, and the rest with the handle held firmly in the hand. The point should overhang the side of the finger only just the substance of the sole, and not as shown at A in Fig. 95, which would cut the upper of the boot. The finger is kept against the sole, as shown at point B, and forms a guard to the knife. The piece (C) need not be taken off at one cut; so as not to go too far, it can be pared in very small pieces, and the shape of the boot obtained gradually.

This paring is continued all round, but at C and D the leather will be wanted to make the seat with and to cover the stitches; so the cut must not be close. As the upper does not overhang the sole so much towards the toe, more liberty may be given to the knife. The welt and sole should be pared closer at E than at F (Fig. 95); starting very close at G, it becomes gradually wider until reaching F, and similarly narrower until reaching B, and the ends of the waist C and D should match.

Great care is necessary to make and keep the edge quite even and square. This is the only opportunity now left to give the fore part of the boot shape and form, and this should be done consistently with the shape the heel is to be. A channel is cut round the sole to contain the stitches with which it is sewn to the welt. It will be seen by the dotted line in Fig. 96 that this channel has to be cut very near the edge round the fore part, from B to C, and it is wider in the waist from A to B and C to D. This line can be marked with a pair of compasses, about ¹⁄₁₆ in. from the edge in the fore part and about ¹⁄₄ in. in the waist. Another way of marking the fore part is by filing off the sharp edge of the sole so that the edge of the bevel on the grain will form a line.

The sole is channelled by holding the boot firmly with the left hand between the knees. The knife must be very sharp at the point, it should not be wide, and it is held in the right hand, as we hold a pen, only a little more upright. The third and little finger should be free. The tip of the second finger is placed on the face of the sole at the extreme edge. The knife is then dug into the leather at A (Fig. 96), and the third and little fingers are used against the edge of the sole and welt to steady the movement of the hand while the knife is being passed round the sole.

We have already shown on page 90 how to hold the knife, and how its position should be at an angle of 50° with the flat of the welt. The point of the knife should pass through the grain of the leather and into the fibrous portions sufficiently to allow the thread to be well embedded in it. This will be nearly half-way through the leather; but it is the substance of the sole that decides the thickness of thread which shall lie in this channel. The thread, lying in the firm part of the leather in this way, leaves the grain free to form a covering for the stitch when the channel is laid down.

Care must be taken with the waist, as the leather has been thinned down; and if the knife should go more than half-way through, it would not hold the stitch, and so the entire sole would be spoiled.

The channel can be opened with any blunt instrument, but the prick-stitch (Fig. 79) is best. Put the point in at B (Fig. 97), and open the channel the whole way round, as shown at A, until C is reached. In doing this, do not disturb the edge, but throw the grain on top quite back so as to allow the stitching-awl to pass through without cutting. If cut, it would make the channel harder to lay down, and cause an unsightly appearance in the finishing.

The bone can now be rubbed round the welt, and it is ready for stitching with a thread made as directed on p. 60.

In many boots and shoes the stitches on the welt side are shown up yellow. For this result, yellow flax is used to make the thread, and white wax or beeswax to wax it. If the ordinary shoemaker’s brown wax is used, the flax must be waxed very sparingly indeed. Slate flax is very good for stitching, if the stitch is required to show black; but whatever material is used to form the thread it will need to be twisted lighter than sewing-thread, and should be a firm wiry thread.

Before commencing to stitch the sole, run the fudge wheel round to make impressions upon the welt, then you will be able to set a nice, regular stitch by placing the awl carefully into each mark made by the fudge wheel.

In making a boot you may sew and need not necessarily stitch the waist, or even the fore-part; but it is better to do so, since it makes the work much more solid. Should you sew the boot, either for quickness or because you find a difficulty in using the stitching awl, the seam will be much stronger if you use a small sewing awl the side of which has been rubbed off a little on the emery stick. Stitching is stronger than sewing because the stitches are got closer together than in sewing, and a much smaller hole is made owing to the shape of the awl and the way it is used.

Before putting the awl through for the first time, place the strap over the waist of the boot and the left knee. The boot should lie on the lap, the toe towards you, with the upper to the right and the sole to the left, the knees being held together quite firmly. With the thumb-nail of the left hand the channel can be opened for a length of about 2 in. This is to prevent the stitching awl (Fig. 98) from cutting or notching the thin piece of grain thrown up to form this channel, and which, if cut, would be very unsightly when laid down and finished.

The stitching awl (Fig. 98) is a tool made like the sewing awl, which is illustrated in Fig. 57, p. 57. It is put into a handle similar, only a little smaller. The differences between the sewing and the stitching-awl are pointed out on p. 57, where the blade of the latter is shown without the handle. As shown at A (Fig. 98), the point has a drop or pitch, from B to C. As already explained this awl must not be wriggled, as the sewing-awl is, but passed right through by one rapid and almost straight jerk, the boot being held firmly or the awl will break. There are also other kinds of awls used by shoemakers, such as the heel-awl, the use of which is explained on p. 104, and the pegging-awl which is referred to on p. 110.

Assuming the waist has been stitched or sewn, let us see how to stitch the fore-part from the point where you set the fudge on the welt. The left thumb is pressed against A (Fig. 99), just beyond where the awl is coming out, as shown by B. The curved part of the awl is laid on the upper, as seen at C (Fig. 99), with the point against the flat of the welt. It must then be pushed through by one sharp thrust, dropping the elbow while doing so, and sending the point through to the other side of A, and into the pit of the channel. Then the awl must be pulled out quickly, and in the same way, but this time raising the elbow.

The way the stitch is set depends, to some extent, upon whether the work is to be “pricked up,” “fudged,” left plain, which is called a “blind-welt,” or the stitch sunk, and the welt fudged to imitate stitching. For the first two it will have to be set up boldly by overcasting the stitch, letting the end of the thread in the right hand pass under the stitch during the whole time it is being set, as at A (Fig. 100), until it is finally pulled to the same tension as the other stitches. The three black lines at B show the mark of the fudge wheel, where the awl is to be put through each time. The part at C shows how the stitch is each time thrown the same way.

For a blind welt direction of the stitch and thread can be reversed, and so much care need not be taken with the work. The stitch shown in Fig. 100 wants learning, and this is the best place to get the practice. To sink the stitch in order to fudge it, take the sewing awl, lay it on the upper as though you were going to sew, and, with the point against the welt, draw it round the welt from C to D (Fig. 99), letting it cut a channel in the welt the depth of the grain, and in the place where the stitches are to be set.

The stitching can be proceeded with, opening about every inch or so of the channel with the left thumb-nail, at the same time putting a little wax on the thread on the left side. This process is continued the whole way round, pulling out the nail at E when you come to it. This nail is placed in the channel to avoid a mark or hole at F, where the tack is generally put, and a peg or piece of leather afterwards used to fill up.

The stitches that lie in the channel must be rubbed down the whole way round with a piece of bone, and a little paste is rubbed in, so that there is a thin uniform coat all round inside the channel. This is done by placing a piece of old soft rag over the right thumb, and putting the nail in the channel and rubbing it from one end to the other.

The boot is held between the knees, heel towards the worker, and the channel is lightly laid down by passing the smoother side of an old file over it from A to B (Fig. 101), holding the file one end in each hand, and taking strokes from A to C, and D to E, and so on. Move the file in an outward direction, as indicated by the arrow, starting contact at F and finishing at G. This will throw over the edge as a burr the narrow margin of grain made in cutting the channel. This burr is thrown back again by the action of the back of the knife on the edge of the sole, used as the file on the top. Then the boot is turned round, and the knife is held in the right hand and the boot in the left, the blade of the knife being flat on the sole. In this position it is passed round to cut off this burr level with the face of the sole.

The sole is then slightly damped all over and rubbed down with a long-stick made from a piece of round boxwood, about a foot long, smoothed by rubbing with fine sandpaper. The sole is worked down by well rubbing all round the seam, as at H, and then the centre. The long-stick must be passed over the leather briskly, but not so as to generate heat and thus injure the grain. For this process the boot has to be held firmly between the knees, the long-stick is used as the file was, one end in each hand. The stick must form a right angle with the channel, and the rubbing must be done with the centre of it, as at H. When this is done, and the bottom is smooth, the stitches on the welt can be lightly rubbed down with the bone, and the sole also hammered all over until it is perfectly even. A round-faced hammer is necessary for the waist, this part being nicely hammered.

So that the wax of the thread will not stick to the sewing awl, the point is thrust occasionally into a piece of soap. The awl is then passed under each stitch, which fastens together the sole and upper, as at I--not very far, but sufficiently to make the tight stitches lie in loops a little way from the upper, as at I, J.

The end of the sole is filed about A, B (Fig. 101), to throw the grain up and make it smooth. The edge K is also made straight. The leather to make the seat-piece must be cut straight at one edge, and filed on one side. The two pieces are pasted, the edges put together, and a nail placed at A (Fig. 102), then about five pegs are driven in the sole-piece, and two in the sole; these pegs are indicated by the seven dots on Fig. 102. The piece is then pared to the shape required, as shown by the dotted line. Plenty of stuff is left all round to overhang the stitches ¹⁄₄ in. The angle must be taken off round, for a third or bare half of the thickness of the leather, to the inside dotted line on Fig. 102. The nail A is drawn, the tops of the pegs taken off, the grain of the leather cut away round them, and from the whole of the top, from B to C, but most away where the pegs are driven. These pegs should be ¹⁄₂ in. from the edge all round, and when the cutting away has been done, the leather can be rasped to make it rough, though fairly level.