May 2010

Blake Stitching by hand falls under the “It can be done but…” category of handmade shoemaking.

There have been machines around for a very long time that can do the job faster and, stitching channel aside, better than by hand.

I don’t have either a Blake Stitching machine or room for one, so here are a few photos of me taking on the job by hand.

After making a hole with an awl, a hooked sewing awl with a slight curve…

…is used to grab a loop of thread from inside the shoe…

…and then puled though the sole…

…where the outside thread is fed through the loop and then the stitch is tightened by pulling on each end of the thread.

And repeat!

The Blake Stitch Slip-Ons now have their soles attached and stitching channels cut.

Here’s the tool I made to clean-up stitching channels. It’s not as nice as Marcell’s, but it does do the job!

Prepare yourselves for photos of stitching for awhile!

The Wholecuts now have stitching channels and are ready for the soles to be stitched on. Here are a few photos from yesterday’s trip to the shop.

Cutting the stitching channel.

Opening the stitching channel with a bone knife.

Ready for stitching.

Soles have been glued onto the Wholecuts and have been roughly trimmed to shape.

Here’s where both the Wholecuts and the Blake Stitch Slip-Ons are currently at.

The soles on the Wholecuts still need a little more shaping before I start stitching the soles on. The Slip-Ons are needing some sanding to level the bottoms before I attach soles.

The Blake Stitch Slip-Ons have been re-lasted. I keep forgetting to bring my camera to the shop, so not much more to show for the last few days of work.

Only spent a few minutes at the shop yesterday. Just enough time to trim the lining and glue toe puffs in place on the Blake Stitch (Bologna Construction) Slip-Ons.

The Blake Stitch Slip-Ons that I’ve been working on? They’re actually Bologna Construction Slip-Ons.

A Bolognese-Constructed shoe uses a Blake Stitch to attach the sole, but instead of having a full insole, this Bologna Construction uses a half insole for the backpart (from the shank to heel) and lining leather sewn to the upper lining for the forepart.

The stitch used to attach the two pieces of lining leather together is called the Bologna Stitch, which I finished last night for both shoes.

My apprentice, Aloha, attentively watching as I complete the heel seat stitching on the Blake Stitch Slip-Ons while enjoying some nice spring weather over the weekend.

Next step for these are toe puffs.

I prepared the bottoms of the Wholecuts yesterday for a fiddleback…

and skived the welts for a beveled waist. More about both of these things once the soles have been attached, which is the next step for the Wholecuts.

I also finished the heel seat stitching one side of the Blake Stitch Slip-Ons.