London Intensive Shoemaking Course Week 2, Day 8

The enthusiasm is still bubbling away today as the group finished their first sole stitching before lunch and started on after lunch to finish the second. Fatigue is starting to set in and there have been breakages (two awls) and injuries (shoulder) on the way...

although we don't know whether this is a shoe or rough-housing-with-the-nephew related injury!

This bristle - usually straight with a slight curve at the end - goes some way to illustrating the pressure everyone is under to finish!

Once stitched, sole edges were hammered back into shape!

Getting started on the second shoe often causes confusion and threads end up wrapped around the sole edge. You start with an equal amount of thread in each hand and then stitch the first stitch as usual.

Bristles came off and were put back on...

Threads snapped and were re-rolled...

 

and the second channel was carefully, oh so carefully cut.

Once the stitching was completed, the channels were glued down and the edges re-shaped to 90 degrees.

So we're ready for a day of heel building tomorrow...if everyone has done their homework. Until then happy shoemaking!